Sagebrush Focal Areas for Greater Sage Grouse in Idaho and Southwestern Montana

BLM ID SW Montana Greater Sage Grouse FEIS Sagebrush Focal Areas 2015 ROD is a geospatial dataset delineating the most valuable habitat for the Greater Sage Grouse. It was created by the Bureau of Land Management National Operations Center in 2015 and further refined by the Idaho State BLM Office. The dataset is a subset of 'Highly Important Landscapes' identified by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in 2014.

Use Cases

• Identify Priority Habitat Management Areas (PHMA) for land-use planning using the SFA polygon boundaries.
• Analyze habitat fragmentation by examining the 842,900 acres of removed lands, including specific non-habitat areas like the 12,400-acre Donkey Hills ACEC.
• Model conservation strategies by overlaying SFA polygons with other federal land management layers, such as Wilderness Study Areas or National Park Service lands.
• Assess the impact of exclusions, such as the 460,700 acres of National Park Service non-habitat in Craters of the Moon NM, on regional habitat connectivity.

Strengths

• Dataset specifies exact acreage for numerous exclusions, such as 75,800 acres of BLM Non-Habitat and 61,800 acres within Wilderness Study Areas.
• Based on a defined lineage from the US Fish and Wildlife Service's 'Highly Important Landscapes' and a subsequent BLM draft layer, with processing steps documented.

Limitations

• Spatial coverage is incomplete, excluding all Sagebrush Focal Areas in SW Montana and the USFS Raft River Unit in Utah.
• Limited to BLM and USFS managed lands, omitting habitat on other federal, state, or private lands within the sub-region.
• The core data reflects a 2015 administrative decision, potentially not incorporating more recent habitat changes.

Provenance

Source

Bureau of Land Management (BLM) National Operations Center and Idaho State Office.

Collection Method

Derived via refinement of the US Fish and Wildlife Service's 'Highly Important Landscapes' and the BLM's 'SFA_Draft_January_2015_DIS' layer.

Time Range

2014-2015, reflecting the administrative planning period.

Freshness

The record was last updated in April 2026, but the underlying data represents a 2015 Record of Decision.

Geography

Idaho and Southwestern Montana, USA, specifically on BLM and US Forest Service managed lands.