Government Updates Oregon Land Plan Nobody Asked About
Published Date: 1/17/2025
Notice
Summary
The Bureau of Land Management just updated the rules for managing 3.2 million acres of public land in Oregon’s Lakeview District. They’re protecting wilderness areas, setting new rules for off-road vehicle use, and improving how livestock grazing is handled to keep the land healthy. These changes are official now and will help balance nature, recreation, and ranching for years to come.
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Analyzed Economic Effects
4 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 3 costs, 1 mixed.
Large Category C Wilderness Protections
The BLM prioritized wilderness characteristics in Category C units covering 373,132 acres. These lands are managed as Visual Resource Management Class II, kept in public ownership (Land Tenure Zone 1), closed to saleable minerals, exclude major rights-of-way and commercial renewable energy projects, and allow leasable minerals only with a no surface occupancy stipulation; road-boundary setbacks of 300 feet (paved/gravel) and 100 feet (natural surface) apply.
New Section 202 Wilderness Protections
The BLM set aside 42,547 acres (24 whole units and parts of two units) as new Section 202 Wilderness Study Areas. Those lands are managed as Visual Resource Management Class I, kept in public ownership (Land Tenure Zone 1), excluded from all rights-of-way, and closed to leasable and saleable mineral development and new mineral material sites.
Off-Highway Vehicle Use Reclassified
The plan changes off-highway vehicle (OHV) access: 12 areas totaling about 70,573 acres are open to OHV use; 397,671 acres that were open are now limited to existing routes, producing a total of 3,121,499 acres classified as limited OHV use in the planning area; and an additional 476 acres that were open are closed, producing 11,285 acres closed to OHV use.
New Livestock Grazing Rules and Reviews
The BLM will consider taking action in areas failing Rangeland Health Standards even if current livestock grazing is not found to be the cause; it will not permit increases to animal unit months if analysis shows potential negative impacts where assessments are missing or outdated; and it will review voluntary grazing permit relinquishments to decide whether areas become unavailable to grazing or remain allocated to livestock.
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