Bureau of Land Management Range Improvement Projects in Idaho

A geodatabase consolidating point, line, and polygon features for range improvement structures on BLM-managed land in Idaho. The data originates from the Range Improvement Project System (RIPS), which has tracked inventory, status, and maintenance since the 1960s. This is a work in progress, lacking data from some field offices and containing potentially incomplete attributes.

Use Cases

• Map the locations of range improvement structures like water troughs, fences, and reservoirs for geospatial analysis with other land management data.
• Analyze the status and maintenance cycle of projects tracked in the RIPS system to assess resource allocation and project lifecycle.
• Identify undocumented or unauthorized range improvement projects by comparing GIS locations with official RIPS inventory records.
• Study the distribution of wildlife-specific improvements, such as guzzlers and artificial nest structures, across BLM field offices in Idaho.

Strengths

• Data originates from the official Bureau of Land Management Range Improvement Project System (RIPS), providing an authoritative inventory.
• Includes a variety of structure types intended to enhance rangeland resources for wildlife, watershed, and livestock management.
• Geodatabase format (point, line, polygon) allows for integration with other geospatial datasets for comprehensive analysis.

Limitations

• The dataset is explicitly a work in progress, missing data from specific BLM field offices like Coeur d'Alene and Cottonwood.
• Attributes may be incomplete or inaccurate, and the dataset lacks fields required by the official Idaho IM 2009-044 standard.
• Contains legacy data from a paper-based system, and locations of historic or unauthorized projects may be unverified or missing.

Provenance

Source

Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Collection Method

Migrated from the automated Range Improvement Project System (RIPS) and historic Job Documentation Reports (JDRs) into a GIS geodatabase.

Time Range

Projects tracked from the early 1960s to present.

Freshness

Last updated March 2026, indicating active maintenance.

Geography

BLM-managed lands in the state of Idaho, USA.