5.3 Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 



Habitat management guidelines for grizzly bears on federal lands administered by the BLM in western 

 Montana are located within area specific Resource Mana^emeni Plans (RMP). The BLM also relies on the 

 Interagency Grizzly Bear Guidelines (1986) and the Interagency Rocky Mountain Front Wildlife 

 Guidelines (1987) for resolving management issues on the eastern front. 



Garnet Resource Area (GRA) - includes sizable amounts of public land in Missoula, Granite, and 

 Powell counties. Although the Garnet Resource Management Plan (1986) recognizes that the area 

 contains current and historic habitat for four threatened or endangered species including the grizzly 

 bear, at the time of writing the RMP, there was no known occupation by grizzly bears. No 

 amendments have been made to the plan and it is not due for revision until 2012 (Jim Sparks, wildlife 

 biologist, Missoula). There are currently no habitat management guidelines in place for grizzly bears. 



Great Falls Resource Area (GFRA) - management direction is provided within the Headwaters Area 

 Resource Maiia;,iciue}tt Plan/ Environmental Impact Stateuwnt (1983). Specific guidance includes 

 mitigating the negative effects of livestock grazing through modified livestock grazing plans that 

 deter grazing until July 1 . Further direction is also provided for forestry management practices, and 

 oil and gas leasing and development. Direction regarding habitat access management is, however, 

 lacking (Fred Roberts, wildlife biologist, Lewistown). 



• Butte Field Office (FO) - is currently engaged in the scoping phase of revising its existing RMP. A 

 supporting environmental impact statement (EIS) will be prepared which will address a wide variety 

 of issues and analyze a reasonable range of alternatives for resource management in the planning 

 area. In addihon, the Butte FO is currently working on travel plans for several areas; road density 

 analysis will be conducted for these travel plans (Sara LaMar, wildlife biologist, Butte). 



5.4 National Forests (NF) 



The National Forest Management Act (NFMA) of 1976 provides the legal basis and direction for 

 development of national forest plans. NFMA specifies that the National Forest System be managed to 

 provide for diversity of plant and animal communities to meet multiple use objectives. In addition, 

 regulations adopted in 1979 (36 CFR 219) augment the diversity policy by requiring management of 

 habitats to maintain viable populations of vertebrates. 



Within western Montana, area specific land management direction for grizzly bear conservation is 

 contained in individual Forest Land Resource Management Plans (LRMP). Many of these plans were 

 produced in the 1980s and several are in the process of revision: the Bitterroot, Lolo, Kootenai and 

 Flathead Nahonal Forests are currently revising their forest plans and expect them to be released in 

 winter 2006. 



Additionally, the 2001 Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) record of decision to amend Forest Plans in Montana, 

 North Dakota and portions of South Dakota, recently limited wheeled motorized cross-country travel in 

 most Nahonal Forests in this geographic area. Several Forests have, or are currently in the process of, 

 amending their travel plans to provide off-road motorized opportunities. The 2004 Record of Decision 

 regarding Forest Plan Amendments for Motorized Access Management within the Selkirk and Cabinet-Yaak 

 Grizzly Bear Recoven/ Zones changes the LRMPs for the Kootenai and Lolo National Forests by amending 

 the objechves, standards, and guidelines that address grizzly bear management within the Selkirk and 

 Cabinet-Yaak recovery zones. Specific amendments are summarized below under each Forest, however, 

 major changes include removing existing Forest Plan standards regarding linear open road density and 



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