BLM seeks public comments on Upper Snake East Travel Management Plan
Nestled between Idaho’s Sand Creek Desert and Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks is a landscape rich with conifer forests, riparian corridors, and sagebrush steppe. Framed by the foothills of the Centennial Mountains along the Idaho-Montana border and following the Snake River Corridor south past Idaho Falls, this 126,378-acre area, managed by the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Upper Snake Field Office, is home to iconic wildlife, crucial winter wildlife habitat, and a collection of trails and routes that provide incredible recreation opportunities. Right now, the BLM is looking for your input on how to manage travel and recreation — whether on foot or by motorized vehicle — in this special area.
These BLM lands — in addition to the patchwork of private, state, and federal lands that comprise this landscape — provide critical habitat for elk, moose, deer, and the iconic predators like grizzly bears that follow these species. For wildlife traveling between winter range in the Sand Creek Desert and summer range in Yellowstone and Grand Teton, this landscape allows movement and access to the seasonal habitat and food sources they need to survive. The northern portion of the management area is also key grizzly habitat and important for the ability of grizzlies to travel from Yellowstone to Idaho’s Bitterroot Range.
In addition to being key wildlife habitat, this area is a hub for both motorized and non-motorized recreation. The forests and plains provide extensive opportunities for hunting, mountain biking, hiking, and motorized recreation. The rivers, streams, and wetlands support fishing, floating, bird watching, and many other river-related activities. A landscape of great value to those who live there and those who visit, this area is highly prized and heavily utilized.
As with many landscapes across the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the area is seeing dramatic growth in visitation and development. With incredible wildlife, scenery, and recreation opportunities, we get it – what's not to love? With this growth, however, comes pressure on our wildlife and natural resources. This severely impacts wildlife habitat, primarily leading to habitat fragmentation or the loss of seasonal habitat.
Historically, BLM lands in this area have been open to travel, meaning a visitor could go wherever they wanted on their motorized vehicle. This has led to a proliferation of routes, leaving behind a spider web of trails and roads that compromise the integrity of wildlife habitat, decrease vegetation and food for wildlife, degrade soil, and increase the likelihood of conflicts between people and wildlife. Continued, unbridled use and overuse could leave Yellowstone and Grand Teton’s wildlife with insufficient habitat and food or altogether unable to access and utilize vital seasonal habitat, threatening their survival. Additionally, overuse degrades the quality of recreation opportunities for those who enjoy spending time on the landscape.
Fortunately, the Upper Snake Field Office is taking a critical look at routes and trails on BLM lands in this area through the travel management planning process – the first ever travel management planning process to occur on these BLM lands. Travel management planning is a chance to take a thoughtful and organized look at how travel and recreation impact this planning area and its many resources by evaluating and managing motorized and non-motorized routes on BLM lands. A travel management plan is an opportunity to protect wildlife habitat and preserve high quality recreation opportunities in this area, now and for generations to come.
Until July 10, 2023, the BLM is accepting public comments on the Draft Environmental Assessment (Draft EA) for the Upper Snake East Travel Management Plan. Submit your comments on the Draft EA before July 10, 2023, using this online form, via email to blm_id_usfo_east_tma@blm.gov, or by mail to BLM Upper Snake Field Office, 1405 Hollipark Drive, Idaho Falls, ID 83401.
Want some guidance on what to say? The Greater Yellowstone Coalition team has been hard at work analyzing the content of the Draft EA. Based on our analysis of four alternatives provided by the BLM, we have determined that Alternative B best ensures the continued protection of critical wildlife habitat, especially winter range, while balancing the demands for recreation in the Upper Snake East Travel Mangement Area. However, Alternative B could do even better. Ask the BLM to select Alternative B as the preferred alternative for the Upper Snake East Travel Management Plan with the following requests: additional reductions in route density and more seasonal closures for wildlife in the winter months.
Additionally, if you have favorite routes or areas within the planning area that you want to see preserved, let the BLM know by visiting the BLM’s interactive route map to identify the route ID number and incorporate it in your comments. And if you’re an Idaho resident, make sure to mention that.
Implementing Alternative B in the Upper Snake East Travel Mangement Area not only protects wildlife, but also secures the integrity of this important landscape we love. Alternative B, with additional reductions in route density and more seasonal closures for wildlife in the winter months, makes certain that wildlife have the clean water and protected habitat they need.
This plan represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to preserve critical wildlife habitat that ensures the long-term survival of threatened and endangered species like grizzly bears, Canada lynx, and the Yellow-billed cuckoo, as well as many iconic, beloved species like elk, moose, mule deer, and pronghorn. Your voice matters. Together, we can protect the lands, waters, and wildlife of southeastern Idaho, now and for future generations.
—Allison Michalski, Senior Idaho Conservation Associate
