BLM Natl WesternUS GRSG ROD HabitatMgmtAreas Feb 2026

This dataset represents the consolidated submissions of Greater Sage-Grouse habitat management areas from each individual BLM 2025 Greater Sage-Grouse Approved Resource Management Plan (RMP) Amendment/Records of Decision (ROD). The dataset represents the westwide Greater Sage-Grouse habitat management areas as defined in the associated RMP Amendment. These data were submitted by the BLM State Offices to the BLM’s Wildlife Habitat Spatial Analysis Lab in December 2025.  

The following habitat management areas were used in the creation of this feature class: 

PHMA: Areas identified as having the highest habitat value for maintaining sustainable GRSG populations and include breeding, late brood-rearing, and winter concentration areas. 

GHMA: Areas that are occupied seasonally or year-round and are outside of PHMAs. 

IHMA: Areas in Idaho that provide a management buffer for and that connect patches of PHMAs. IHMAs encompass important areas of generally moderate to high habitat value habitat or populations but that are not as important as PHMAs. 

LCHMA: Areas in Colorado that have been identified as broader regions of linkage connectivity important to facilitate the movement of GRSG and maintain ecological processes. 

CHMA: Part of the Unique Habitat Management Area (UHMA) as identified in the MT/DK 2025 GRSG Approved RMP Amendment/ROD. Connectivity HMA (CHMA) are areas that provide regions of connectivity important to facilitate long-distance movements of GRSG and maintain ecological processes, including between priority populations, adjacent states, and across international borders, including but not limited to Montana Connectivity areas. This HMA boundary represents where stopover sites may exist, likely within a matrix of degraded or converted habitat or non-habitat (such as in Montana general habitat within the HiLine). Areas are delineated using results from analyses of seasonal migratory movements and habitat characteristics conducive to movements, particularly between silver sagebrush and big sagebrush habitats. 

LMHMA: Part of the Unique Habitat Management Area (UHMA) as identified in the MT/DK 2025 GRSG Approved RMP Amendment/ROD. Little Missouri HMA (LMHMA) is an identified core area by the states of Montana and North Dakota. This area contains high-quality GRSG habitat in Montana and encompasses the remaining GRSG habitat in North Dakota. A substantial portion of the area is the Cedar Creek Anticline unitized oil and gas field. Formerly occupied habitat has been converted or degraded, an outbreak of West Nile Virus impacted bird numbers, and GRSG are challenged by being on the periphery of their range. Unique management and a focus on restoration efforts is needed to maintain connectivity of sagebrush and GRSG habitat between Montana and North Dakota. 

SCHMA: Part of the Unique Habitat Management Area (UHMA) as identified in the MT/DK 2025 GRSG Approved RMP Amendment/ROD. South Carter HMA (SCHMA) is an identified core area by the state of Montana. This area has a high density of bentonite mining. Unique management is needed to balance GRSG habitat and mineral development in the short term, while planning for longer-term reclamation. 

OHMA: Areas in Nevada and Northeastern California, identified as other unmapped habitat in the Proposed RMP/Final EIS, that are within the Planning Area and contain seasonal or connectivity habitat areas. 

SHMA: GRSG stewardship habitat areas in Wyoming that are generally characterized by large percentages of private land, existing disturbance and prior and existing rights, and fragmented landscapes that continue to support substantial populations of GRSG, provide important connections between populations, and are important for maintaining GRSG populations.

Tags: adaptive-management, allocation-decision-analysis, anthro-mountain, biota, blm, boundaries, bureau-of-land-management, ca, california, co, colorado, core-areas, environment, geospatial, ghma, greater-sage-grouse, grsg, hub-grsg, hub-ifrms, id, idaho, ihma, lchma, location, management, montana, mt, nd, nevada, north-dakota, nv, ohma, or, oregon, phma, plan, public-lands, record-of-decision, rhma, rod, sage-grouse, sd, south-dakota, udh, undesignated-habitat, united-states, update, us, usfs, ut, utah, wa, washington, wildlife, wy, wyoming
Organization: Department of the Interior