By Larry Hyslop| October 10, 2015
Changes are coming to Elko County based on the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service’s Greater Sage-grouse Conservation Effort. Land Use Plans are being amended to protect the bird and the sagebrush habitat.
The changes are complex so I will, in a series of columns, attempt to explain some of their parts. Lauren Mermejo is the BLM’s Great Basin Sage-grouse Project Manager and I asked her to explain the habitat designations and their new restrictions.
Of the habitat designations, the Sagebrush Focal Areas receive the highest protection. These are intact landscapes with high breeding population densities and high-quality sagebrush habitat. They are also composed mostly of federally managed land and are prioritized for habitat improvement. They are incorporated into larger Priority Habitat Management Areas (PHMA), which are being managed to avoid and minimize further disturbance.