GLOSSARY GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
 

-AABANDONED MINE LANDS: Inactive or abandoned 

mines located on or near public land where the owner 

or operator cannot be established, have no financial 

assets, are cannot assist with the reclamation of these 

mine sites. 

ADVERSE OR NEGATIVE: An effect that is detrimental 

or causes harm to a specific resource or resource use. 

Could be used in short-term, long-term, or both short 

and long-term contexts. 

ACCELERATED EROSION: Soil loss above natural levels resulting directly from human activities. Because of 

the slow rate of soil formation, accelerated erosion can 

lead to a permanent reduction in plant productivity. 

ACTIVE PREFERENCE: That portion of the total grazing preference for which grazing use may be authorized. 

ACTIVITY PLAN: Site-specific plan which precedes 

actual development. This is the most detailed level of 

BLM planning, and is also referred to as project level or 

implementation level planning. 

ACTUAL USE: The amount of animal unit months consumed by livestock based on the numbers of livestock 

and grazing dates submitted by the livestock operator 

and confirmed by periodic field checks by the BLM. 

ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT: Field Office, Resource Area, 

District or State. 

AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT: Natural, physical and human-related environment that is sensitive to changes 

due to proposed actions. 

AIR QUALITY: Refers to standards for various classes 

of land as designated by the Clean Air Act of 1978. 

ALLOTMENT: An area of land where one or more 

livestock operators graze their livestock. Allotments 

generally consist of BLM lands but may also include 

other federally managed, state owned, and private 

lands. An allotment may include one or more separate 

pastures. Livestock numbers and periods of use are 

specified for each allotment. 

ALLOTMENT CATEGORIZATION: Grazing allotments 

and rangeland areas used for livestock grazing are assigned to an allotment category during resource management planning. Allotment categorization is used to 

establish priorities for distributing available funds and 

personnel during plan implementation to achieve costeffective improvement of rangeland resources. Categorization is also used to organize allotments into similar 

groups for purposes of developing multiple use prescriptions, analyzing site-specific and cumulative impacts, and determining trade-offs. 

ALLOTMENT MANAGEMENT PLAN: A written program of livestock grazing management, including supportive measures if required, designed to attain specific 

management goals in a grazing allotment. 

ALLOWABLE SALE QUANTITY: The maximum quantity 

of timber that may be sold from the area of suitable 

land covered by the resource management plan for a 

specified time period specified by the plan. 

ALTERNATIVE: In an Environmental Impact Statement, one of a number of possible options for responding to the purpose and need for action. 

ALLUVIUM: Any sediment deposited by flowing water, 

as in a river bed, floodplain, or delta. 

AMENDMENT: The process for considering or making 

changes in the terms, conditions, and decisions of approved Resource Management Plans or Management 

Framework Plans using the prescribed provisions for 

resource management planning appropriate to the proposed action or circumstances. Usually only one or two 

issues are considered that involve only a portion of the 

planning area. 

ANALYSIS AREA: The geographic area defining the 

scope of analysis for a particular resource. This area 

may be larger than the project area when effects have 

the potential to extend beyond the boundaries of the 

proposed action. 

ANALYSIS OF THE MANAGEMENT SITUATION: A 

comprehensive documentation of the present conditions 

of the resources, current management guidance, and 

opportunities for change. 

ANIMAL UNIT MONTH (AUM): A standardized measurement of the amount of forage necessary for the sustenance of one cow unit or its equivalent for 1 month; 

approximately 800 pounds of forage. 

APPEAL: Application for review by a higher court. 

APPLICATION FOR PERMIT TO DRILL (APD): Before 

beginning construction or the drilling of a well, the 

lessee or operator must file an Application for Permit to 

Drill (APD) with the BLM Great Falls Oil and Gas 

Field Station. A copy of the application is posted in the 

Field Station and Butte Field Office, and if applicable, 

in the office of the Surface Management Agency 

(SMA) for a minimum of 30 days for review by the 

public. After 30 days, the application can be approved 

in accordance with (a) lease stipulations, (b) Onshore 

Oil and Gas Orders, and (c) Onshore Oil and Gas regulations (43 CFR Part 3160) if it is administratively and 

technically complete. 

APPROPRIATION: Public lands covered by an entry, 

settlement, claim, location, withdrawal, or reservation 

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Glossary 

that sets the land apart for some particular use or disposal. 

AQUATIC: Living or growing in or on the water. 

AQUIFER: A water-bearing bed or layer of permeable 

rock, sand, or gravel capable of yielding large amounts 

of water. 

ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESOURCE/REMAINS: A term 

with legal definition and application, meaning any 

material remains of human life or activities that are at 

least 100 years of age, and that are of archaeological 

interest. 

AREA OF CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN: 

Areas within the public lands where special management attention is required to: (1) protect and prevent 

irreparable damage to important historic, cultural, or 

scenic values, fish and wildlife resources, or other natural systems or processes, or (2) protect life and safety 

from natural hazards. 

ARID: A condition of a region where precipitation is 

insufficient to support any but drought-adapted vegetation. 

ARMORING: Placement of protective material for the 

primary purpose of reducing sediment into streams or 

other water bodies. 

ASPECT: (1) the visual first impression of vegetation at 

a particular time or seen from a specific point. (2) The 

predominant direction of the slope of the land. 

ASSESSMENT: The act of evaluating and interpreting 

data and information for a defined purpose. 

AUTHORIZED OFFICER: The Federal employee who 

has the delegated authority to make a specific decision. 

AUTHORIZED USE: Uses of public land that may be 

authorized include agriculture development, residential 

use (under certain conditions), business, industrial, and 

commercial uses, advertising; research projects, State 

National Guard maneuvers, and motion picture filming. 

Recreational concessions are considered business uses 

and may be authorized by lease. Timber harvest, livestock grazing, mineral extraction and special recreation 

events, among other uses, are authorized under other 

regulations and not under Section 302 of the Federal 

Land Policy Management Act (FLPMA). 

AVOIDANCE AREAS: Areas with sensitive resource 

values where rights-of-way would be strongly discouraged. Authorizations made in avoidance areas would 

have to be compatible with the purpose for which the 

area was designated and not be otherwise feasible on 

lands outside the avoidance area. 

-BBACK COUNTRY BYWAYS: Vehicle routes that traverse 

scenic corridors utilizing secondary or back country 

road systems. National back country byways are designated by the type of road and vehicle needed to travel 

the byway. 

BANKFULL CHANNEL: The elevation on the streambank where flooding begins. Bankfull discharge normally re-occurs every 11⁄2 years. The bankfull stage 

corresponds to the discharge at which channel maintenance is effective. 

BASIN: A depressed area having no surface outlet 

(topographic basin); a physiographic feature or subsurface structure that is capable of collecting, storing, or 

discharging water by reason of its shape and the characteristics of its confining material (water); a depression 

in the earth’s surface, the lowest part often filled by a 

lake or pond (lake basin); a part of a river or canal widened (drainage, river, stream basin). 

BENEFICIAL OR POSITIVE: An effect promoting a 

favorable result for a specific resource of resource use. 

Could be used in short-term, long-term, or both short 

and long-term contexts. 

BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMPS): A suite of 

techniques that guide, or may be applied to, management actions to aid in achieving desired outcomes. Best 

management practices are often developed in conjunction with land use plans, but they are not considered a 

land use plan decision unless the land use plan specifies 

that they are mandatory. They may be updated or modified without a plan amendment if they are not mandatory. 

BIG GAME: Large species of wildlife that are hunted, 

such as elk, deer, bighorn sheep, and pronghorn antelope. 

BIG GAME ANALYSIS UNIT: Logical locations across 

the landscape to conduct analysis of big game winter 

range. These areas were broken out based on a combination of Elk Management Units from Montana’s Elk 

Management Plan (MFWP 2004) and watershed 

boundaries. 

BIODIVERSITY: The diversity of living organisms 

considered at all levels of organization including genetics, species, and higher taxonomic levels, and the variety of habitats and ecosystems, as well as the processes 

occurring therein. 

BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT: The gathering and evaluation of information on proposed endangered and threatened species and critical habitat and proposed critical 

habitat. Required when a management action potentially conflicts with endangered or threatened species, 

the biological assessment is the way federal agencies 

enter into formal consultation with the Fish and Wildlife Service and describe a proposed action and the 

consequences to the species the action would affect. 

BIOLOGICAL WEED TREATMENT: These are treatments 

which involve living creatures, such as insects, sheep 

and goat grazing, plant pathogens, and biopesticides. 

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Glossary 

BIOMASS: Vegetative byproducts or materials leftover 

from stand treatments usually made up of all or portions 

of trees and woody shrubs, including limbs, tops, 

stumps and stems. This term can refer to such material 

that can be gathered and transported to cogeneration 

plants, and there utilized for production of electricity. 

BOARD FEET: A unit of solid wood one foot square 

and one inch thick. (BF- board foot, MBF-thousand 

board feet, MMBF million board feet) 

BROWSE: To browse (verb) is to graze a plant; also, 

browse (noun) is the tender shoots, twigs and leaves of 

trees and shrubs often used as food by livestock and 

wildlife. 

BUFFER ZONE (STRIP): A protective area adjacent to 

an area of concern requiring special attention or protection. In contrast to riparian zones which are ecological 

units, buffer strips can be designed to meet varying 

management concerns. 

BUNCHGRASS: Individual grasses that have the characteristic growth habit of forming a “bunch” as opposed 

to having stolens or rhizomes or single annual habit. 

-CCANDIDATE SPECIES: Any species included in the 

Federal Register notice of review that are being considered for listing as threatened or endangered by the U.S. 

Fish and Wildlife Service. 

CANOPY: Foliar layer(s) consisting of the crowns of 

trees or shrubs in a forest or woodland. 

CARRYING CAPACITY: The maximum stocking rate 

possible without damaging vegetation or related resources. 

CENOZOIC: The most recent era of geologic history 

(65 million years ago until the present) during which 

the world’s modern landforms, animals, and plants 

came into being. 

CHANNEL: An open conduit either naturally or artificially created which periodically or continuously contains moving water or forms a connecting link between 

two bodies of water. 

CHEMICAL WEED TREATMENT: These are treatments 

using additives, such as applying herbicides or changing soil nutrient ratios. 

CLASSIFICATION: The authority of the Secretary of the 

Interior to examine land to see whether it is proper for 

entry, selection, or location. 

CLASSIFICATION OF LANDS: The process of determining whether lands are more valuable or suitable for 

transfer or use under particular or various public land 

laws than for retention in federal ownership for management purposes. 

CLEAN AIR ACT: Federal legislation governing air 

pollution. 

CLIMAX: The culminating stage in plant succession for 

a given site where vegetation has reached a highly 

stable condition. 

CLIMAX VEGETATION: The ecological vegetation 

community that represents the culminating stage or 

highest development of natural vegetative succession. 

The climax community often can perpetuate itself indefinitely unless disturbed by outside forces. 

CLOSE (SEGREGATE): To remove land from operation 

of some or all of the public land laws for a given period 

of time. 

CLOSED: Generally denotes that an area is not available 

for a particular use or uses; refer to specific definitions 

found in law, regulations, or policy guidance for application to individual programs. 

CLOSED ROAD: Closed to motorized public access and 

subject to administrative or permitted uses based on 

case-specific exceptions (such as for mining claimants 

with existing claims accessed by existing routes). 

Routes identified as closed would have a route bed left 

intact in case they are needed for valid existing rights 

only, or in the extended future for administrative purposes. Closed routes would be open to non-motorized 

use. 

CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS (CFR): The official, legal tabulation or regulations directing federal 

government activities. 

COLLABORATION: A cooperative process in which 

interested parties, often with widely varied interests, 

work together to seek solutions with broad support for 

managing public and other lands. 

COMMERCIAL FOREST LAND: Forest land which is 

producing, or has a site capable of producing, at least 

20 cubic feet/acre/year of a commercial tree species. 

COMMON VARIETY MINERALS: Stone, gravel, pumice, pumicite, and cinders that, though possibly having 

value for trade, manufacture, the sciences, or the mechanical or ornamental arts, do not have a distinct, 

special value for such use beyond normal uses. On the 

public lands such minerals are considered salable and 

are disposed of by sales or by special permits to local 

governments. 

COMMUNITY: An assemblage of plant and animal 

populations in a common spatial arrangement. 

COMPOSITION (OF FOREST VEGETATION): The proportion of each tree species in a stand, expressed as a 

percentage of the total number, basal area, or volume of 

all tree species in the stand. 

CONDITION CLASS: Departure from the historic fire 

regime, as determined by the number of missed fire 

return intervals - with respect to the historic fire return 

interval and the current structure and composition of the 

system resulting from alternations to the disturbance 

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Glossary 

regime. Three classes categorize the current condition 

with respect to each of five historic Fire Regime 

Groups. The relative risk of fire-caused loss of key 

components defines the system increases for each 

higher number condition. Class 1 level means little or 

no risk. 

CONFORMANCE: That a proposed action shall be specifically provided for in the land use plan or, if not 

specifically mentioned, shall be clearly consistent with 

the goals, objectives, or standards of the approved land 

use plan. 

CONIFER: A tree or shrub of the order Coniferae with 

cones and needle-shaped or scale like leaves. 

CONIFEROUS: Pertaining to conifers, which bear 

woody cones containing naked seeds. 

CONNECTIVITY: The degree to which similar but separated vegetation components of a landscape are connected. 

CONSERVATION AGREEMENT: A formal signed 

agreement between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 

or National Marine Fisheries Service and other parties 

that implements specific actions, activities, or programs 

designed to eliminate or reduce threats or otherwise 

improve the status of a species. Conservation agreements can be developed at a State, regional, or national 

level and generally include multiple agencies at both 

the State and Federal level, as well as tribes. Depending 

on the types of commitments the BLM makes in a conservation agreement and the level of signatory authority, plan revisions or amendments may be required prior 

to signing the conservation agreement, or subsequently 

in order to implement the conservation agreement. 

CONSERVATION STRATEGY: A strategy outlining 

current activities or threats that are contributing to the 

decline of a species, along with the actions or strategies 

needed to reverse or eliminate such a decline or threats. 

Conservation strategies are generally developed for 

species of plants and animals that are designated as 

BLM Sensitive species or that have been determined by 

the Fish and Wildlife Service or National Marine Fisheries Service to be Federal candidates under the Endangered Species Act. 

CONSISTENCY: The proposed land use plan does not 

conflict with officially approved plans, programs, and 

policies of tribes, other Federal agencies, and State, and 

local governments to the extent practical within Federal 

law, regulation, and policy. 

CONTIGUOUS: lands or legal subdivisions having a 

common boundary; lands having only a common corner 

are not contiguous. 

COOPERATING AGENCY: Assists the lead Federal 

agency in developing an Environmental Analysis or 

Environmental Impact Statement. The Council on Environmental Quality regulations implementing NEPA 

defines a cooperating agency as any agency that has 

jurisdiction by law or special expertise for proposals 

covered by NEPA. Any tribe or Federal, State, or local 

government jurisdiction with such qualifications may 

become a cooperating agency by agreement with the 

lead agency. 

CORRIDOR: A wide strip of land within which a proposed linear facility could be located. 

COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY (CEQ): An 

Executive Office advisory council established by the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 for review 

of federal program effects on the environment. They 

conduct environmental studies and advise the President 

on environmental matters. 

COVER: Any form of environmental protection that 

helps an animal stay alive (mainly shelter from weather 

and concealment from predators). 

COVER TYPE: The present vegetation composition of 

an area, described by the dominant plant species. 

CRITICAL HABITAT: An area occupied by a threatened 

or endangered species “on which are found those physical and biological features (1) essential to the conservation of the species, and (2) which may require special 

management considerations or protection”. 

CULTURAL RESOURCE/ CULTURAL PROPERTY: a 

definite location of human activity, occupation, or use 

identifiable through field inventory (survey), historical 

documentation, or oral evidence. The term includes 

archaeological, historic, or architectural sites, structures, or places with important public and scientific 

uses, and may include definite locations (sites or 

places) or traditional cultural or religious importance to 

specified social and/or cultural groups. Cultural resources are concrete, material places and things that are 

located, classified, ranked, and managed through the 

system of identifying, protecting, and utilizing for public benefit. 

CULTURAL RESOURCE INVENTORY CLASSES: 

• Class I – Existing data inventory: a study of published and unpublished documents, records, files, 

registers, and other sources, resulting in analysis 

and synthesis of all reasonably available data. 

Class I inventories encompass prehistoric, historic, 

and ethnological/sociological elements, and are in 

large part chronicles of past land uses. They may 

have major relevance to current land use decisions. 

• Class II – Sampling field inventory: a statistically 

based sample survey designed to help characterize 

the probable density, diversity, and distribution of 

archaeological properties in a large area by interpreting the results of surveying limited and discontinuous portions of the target area. 

• Class III – Intensive field inventory: a continuous, 

intensive survey of an entire target area, aimed at 

682 Butte Draft RMP/EIS 
Glossary 

locating and recording all archaeological properties 

that have surface indications, by walking closeinterval parallel transects (generally at 30 m intervals) until the area has been thoroughly examined. 

CULTURAL WEED TREATMENT: These are treatments 

which involve human behavior, such as using quarantine, closure, or relocation of a particular activity to 

reduce weed spread, selective timing and choice of 

stock for grazing, containing livestock after they have 

grazed in a weed infested area, revegetation seed mix 

choices for rehabilitating new soil disturbances, land 

use choices, and public outreach methods. 

CUMULATIVE IMPACT: The impact on the environment that results from the incremental impact of the 

action when added to other past, present, or reasonably 

foreseeable future actions regardless of what agency 

(Federal or non-Federal) or person undertakes such 

other actions. Cumulative impacts can result from individually minor but collectively significant actions taking place over a period of time. 

-D-

“DE FACTO” WITHDRAWAL: An action that closes 

lands through a means other than formal withdrawal, 

e.g. application, classification, land use planning decision. 

DECIDUOUS: Pertaining to plants that shed all their 

leaves every year in a certain season. 

DECISION AREA: Within the Butte Field Office Planning Area, BLM administers about 302,000 acres of 

public land surface and 656,000 acres of federal mineral estate. All public land managed by the BLM within 

the Planning Area is referred to as the Decision Area. 

DECOMMISSIONED ROAD: Route is closed and rehabilitated to eliminate resource impacts (for example, to 

eliminate erosion or to restore a riparian area if route is 

located within a riparian area) and is no longer useable 

for public or administrative uses. 

DEEP SOILS: Soils that are 40 to 60 inches deep to 

bedrock. 

DENNING HABITAT: Habitat used during parturition 

and rearing of young until they are mobile. The common component appears to be large amounts of coarse 

woody debris, either down logs or root wads. Coarse 

woody debris provides escape and thermal cover for 

kittens. Denning habitat may be found either in older 

mature forest of conifer or mixed conifer/deciduous 

types, or in regenerating stands (>20 years since disturbance). Denning habitat must be located within daily 

travel distance of foraging habitat (typical maximum 

daily distance for females is 3-6 miles). 

DESIGNATED ROADS AND TRAILS: Specific roads and 

trails where some type of motorized vehicle use is allowed either seasonally or year-long. 

DESIRED FUTURE CONDITION: Outcomes representing 

the long-term vision of BLM with regard to the resources managed in the Butte Field Office on BLM 

land. 

DEVELOPED RECREATION: Recreation that requires 

facilities and might result in concentrated use of an 

area; for example, a campground. 

DISPERSED RECREATION: Recreation activities of an 

unstructured type which are not confined to specific 

locations such as recreation sites. Example of these 

activities may be hunting, fishing, off-road vehicle use, 

hiking, and sightseeing. 

DISTURBANCE: Events that alter the structure, composition, or function of terrestrial or aquatic habitats. Natural disturbances include drought, floods, wind, fires, 

wildlife grazing, and insects and pathogens. Humancaused disturbances include actions such as timber 

harvest, fire, livestock grazing, road construction, and 

the introduction of exotic species. 

DISTRIBUTION LINE: An electric power line operating 

at a voltage of less than 69 kilovolts. 

DIVERSITY: The relative abundance of wildlife species, plant species, communities, habitats, or habitat 

features per unit of area. 

DRAINAGE: The removal of excess water from land by 

surface or subsurface flow. 

DRILLING: The operation of boring a hole in the earth, 

usually for the purpose of finding and removing subsurface formation fluids such as oil and gas. 

-EEASEMENT: A right afforded a person or agency to 

make limited use of another’s real property for access 

or other purposes. 

ECOLOGICAL FUNCTION: The process through which 

the constituent living and nonliving elements of ecosystems change and interact, including biogeochemical 

processes and succession. 

ECONOMICS: The study of allocation of limited resources, goods, and services among competing uses. 

ECOSYSTEM: A complete, interacting system of living 

organisms and the land and water that make up their 

environment; the home places of all living things, including humans. 

ELIGIBILITY (FOR WILD AND SCENIC RIVERS): A 

river is eligible for inclusion in the National Wild and 

Scenic River System if it is free flowing and has at least 

one river-related value that is considered outstandingly 

remarkable. 

ELK MANAGEMENT UNIT: Designated by Montana 

Fish Wildlife and Parks, establishes statewide elk 

management population objectives and divides 

Montana’s elk habitat into 35 management units, each 

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Glossary 

with its own elk management objectives and elk 

population targets. 

EMERGENT VEGETATION: Aquatic plant species that 

are rooted in wetlands but extend above the water’s 

surface. 

ENCROACH: Plant succession in the absence of disturbance, in areas the plant type is not desired. Often associated with vegetative type conversion such as conifer 

colonization of grass or shrub meadows. 

ENDANGERED SPECIES: Any plant or animal species 

which is in danger of extinction throughout all or a 

significant portion of its range. 

ENTRY: An application to acquire title to public lands. 

ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT: A concise public 

document that analyzes the environmental impacts of a 

proposed federal action and provides sufficient evidence to determine the level of significance of the impacts. 

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT: A detailed 

written statement required by the National Environmental Policy Act when an agency proposes a major 

federal action significantly affecting the quality of the 

human environment. 

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: Refers to the fair treatment 

and meaningful involvement of people of all races, 

cultures and incomes with respect to the development, 

implementation and enforcement of environmental 

laws, regulations, programs and policies. Fair treatment 

means that no group of people, including racial, ethnic, 

or socioeconomic group should bear a disproportionate 

share of the negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, municipal, and commercial 

operations or the execution of federal state, local and 

tribal programs and policies. 

Ephemeral area: Watershed land area that delivers 

surface water flow during spring runoff, rain and snow 

storms to intermittent and perennial streams. 

EROSION: The wearing away of the land surface by 

running water, wind, ice, or other geological agents. 

EXCEPTION (OIL AND GAS): A one-time exemption to 

a lease stipulation. Exceptions are determined on a 

case-by-case basis. 

EXCHANGE: A trading of public lands (surface and/or 

subsurface estates) that usually do not have high public 

value, for lands in other ownerships that do have value 

for public use, management, and enjoyment. The exchange may be for the benefit of other federal agencies 

as well as for BLM. 

EXCLUSION AREAS: Areas with sensitive resource 

values where rights-of-way would be prohibited. 

EXPLORATION: The work of investigating a mineral 

deposit to determine by geological surveys, geophysical 

surveys, geochemical surveys, boreholes, pits, and 

underground workings if it is feasible to mine. 

EXTENSIVE RECREATION MANAGEMENT AREA: 

Areas where significant recreation opportunities and 

problems are limited and explicit recreation management is not required. Minimal management actions 

related to the Bureau’s stewardship responsibilities are 

adequate in these areas. 

-FFACULTATIVE (FAC): Plant species equally likely to 

occur in wetlands, riparian areas or non-wetlands (estimated probability 34%-66%). 

FACULTATIVE WETLAND (FACW): Plant species that 

usually occur in wetlands or riparian areas (estimated 

probability 67%-99%), but occasionally found in nonwetlands or uplands. 

FEDERAL LAND POLICY AND MANAGEMENT ACT OF 

1976: Public Law 94-579. October 21, 1976, often 

referred to as the BLM’ s “Organic Act,” which provides the majority of the BLM’s legislated authority, 

direction, policy, and basic management guidance. 

FEDERAL POWER PROJECT RESERVATION: A reservation of public lands for use in a project developed 

under the jurisdiction of the Federal Power Commission. 

FEDERAL REGISTER: A daily publication that reports 

Presidential and Federal Agency documents. 

FIRE CONDITION CLASS: Categorizes and describes 

vegetation composition and structure conditions that 

currently exist inside the Fire Regime Groups. Three 

classes serve as generalized wildfire risk rankings based 

on coarse-scale data. The risk components from unwanted wildland fire increases from lowest riskCondition Class I, to highest-Condition Class 3. 

FIRE FREQUENCY: How often fire burns a given area; 

often expressed in terms of fire return intervals. For 

example, a site might burn over every 5 to 15 years. 

FIRE INTENSITY: Expression used to describe the 

power of wildland fires. More commonly described as 

the rate of energy released per unit length of the fire 

front. 

FIRE MANAGEMENT PLAN: A strategic plan that defines a program to manage wildland and prescribed 

fires and documents the fire management program in 

the approved land use plan; the plan is supplemented by 

operational procedures such as preparedness plans, 

preplanned dispatch plans, prescribed fire plans, and 

prevention plans. 

FIRE MANAGEMENT ZONE: Administrative unit for 

wildland fire suppression, for the execution of all logistical, aviation, and support activities within this geographical area. 

684 Butte Draft RMP/EIS 
Glossary 

FIRE PREPAREDNESS: Activities that lead to a safe, 

efficient, and cost-effective fire management program 

in support of land and resource management objectives 

through appropriate planning and coordination. 

FIRE REGIMES: periodicity and pattern of naturally 

occurring fires in a particular area or vegetative type, 

described in terms of frequency, biological severity, 

and aerial extent. 

FIRE SEVERITY: A qualitative measure of the fire’s 

immediate effects on the ecosystem. Relates to the 

extent of morality and survival of plant and animal lifeboth above and below ground and to loss of organic 

matter. 

FISHERY: Habitat that supports the propagation and 

maintenance of fish. 

FLOOD PLAIN: The relatively flat area or lowlands 

adjoining a body of standing or flowing water which 

has been or might be covered by floodwater. 

FLUVIAL: Pertaining to streams or produced by stream 

action. 

FORAGE: All browse and herbaceous foods available 

to grazing animals, which may be grazed or harvested 

for feeding. 

FORAGE RESERVE ALLOTMENT (GRAZING): A unit of 

public land that will not have term grazing permits 

issued. Such an allotment would only be grazed on a 

temporary nonrenewable basis. The use of these allotments would be to provide temporary grazing to rest 

other areas following wildfire, habitat treatments, or to 

allow for more rapid attainment of rangeland health. 

The allotment must be of sufficient size to be managed 

as a discrete unit. Resource Reserve Allotments should 

be distributed throughout the planning area. 

FORB: An herbaceous plant that is not a grass, sedge, 

or rush. 

FOREST HEALTH: The perceived condition of a forest 

derived from concerns about such factors as its age, 

structure, composition, function, vigor, presence, or 

unusual levels of insects and disease, and resilience to 

disturbance. 

FOREST HEALTH TREATMENTS: Treatments that restore forest ecosystems or stands to a condition that 

sustains their complexity, function and/or productivity 

while providing for human needs. 

FOREST LAND: Land that is now, or has the potential 

of being, at least 10 percent stocked by forest trees 

(based on crown closure) or 16.7 percent stocked 

(based on tree stocking). 

FORMATION: A body of rock identified by lithic characteristics and stratigraphic position; it is prevailingly, 

but not necessarily tabular, and is mappable at the 

earth’s surface or traceable in the subsurface. 

Fossil: Mineralized or petrified form from a past geologic age, especially from previously living things. 

FRAGMENTATION: The splitting or isolating of patches 

of similar habitat. Habitat can be fragmented by natural 

events or development activities. 

FREE-FLOWING RIVER: Existing or flowing in a natural condition without impoundment, diversion, straightening, rip-rapping, or other modification of the waterway. 

FUEL LOADING: The weight of fuels in a given area, 

usually expressed in tons per acre, pounds per acre, or 

kilograms per square meter. 

FUEL MANAGEMENT: Manipulation or reduction of 

fuels to meet forest protection and management objectives while preserving and enhancing environmental 

quality. 

FUEL TREATMENT: The rearrangement or disposal of 

fuels to reduce the fire hazard. 

FUEL TYPE: An identifiable association of fuel elements of a distinctive plant species, form, size, arrangement, or other characteristics that will cause a 

predictable rate of fire spread or difficulty of control 

under specified weather conditions. 

-GGAME SPECIES: Any species of wildlife or fish for 

which seasons and bag limits have been prescribed, and 

which are normally harvested by hunters, trappers, and 

fisherman under State or federal laws, codes, and regulations. 

GENERAL ORDERS OF WITHDRAWALS: Executive 

Orders No. 6910 of November 26, 1934, and No. 6964 

of February 5, 1935, which withdrew for classification 

all vacant public lands in the 11 western states and 

certain other public land states. 

GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS): A system of computer hardware, software, data, people and 

applications that capture, store, edit, analyze and 

graphically display a potentially wide array of geospatial information. 

GEOPHYSICAL EXPLORATION: The use of geophysical 

instruments and methods to determine subsurface conditions by analyzing such properties as specific gravity, 

electrical conductivity, or magnetic susceptibility. 

GOAL: A broad statement of a desired outcome. Goals 

are usually not quantifiable and may not have established time frames for achievement. 

GRAZING SYSTEM: The manipulation of livestock 

grazing to accomplish a desired result. 

GROUNDWATER: Water contained in pore spaces of 

consolidated and unconsolidated surface material. 

GUIDELINES: Actions or management practices that 

may be used to achieve desired outcomes, sometimes 

Butte Draft RMP/EIS 685 
Glossary 

expressed as best management practices. Guidelines 

may be identified during the land use planning process, 

but they are not considered a land use plan decision 

unless the plan specifies that they are mandatory. 

-HHABITAT: A specific set of physical conditions that 

surround a species, group of species, or a large community. In wildlife management, the major constituents of 

habitat are considered to be food, water, cover, and 

living space. The complete suite of biotic and abiotic 

components of the environment where an animal lives. 

HABITAT CONNECTIVITY: Vegetative cover in sufficient quantity and arrangement to allow for the movement of wildlife. 

HABITAT DIVERSITY: The variation in types, sizes, 

and shapes of landscape elements or vegetation types. 

HABITAT TYPE: A site classification of all land areas 

potentially capable of producing similar plant communities at the climax phase of succession. 

HAZARDOUS FUEL: Excessive live or dead wildland 

fuel accumulations that increase the potential for uncharacteristically intense wildland fire and decrease the 

capability to protect life, property, and natural resources. 

HEALTHY FOREST INITIATIVE OF 2002: Presidential 

direction to the Departments of Agriculture and the 

Interior to improve regulatory processes and management efficiency in reducing the threat of destructive 

wildfires while upholding environmental standards and 

encouraging early public input during review and planning processes. The initiative is based on sound science 

and helps care for forests and rangelands, reduce the 

risk of catastrophic fire to communities, help save the 

lives of firefighters and citizens, and protect threatened 

and endangered species. 

HEAVY METAL: Any of the metals that react readily 

with dithizone, including zinc, copper, cobalt, lead, 

bismuth, gold, cadmium, iron, manganese, nickel, tantalum, tellurium, platinum, and silver. 

HERBACEOUS: Pertaining to or characteristic of an 

herb (fleshy-stem plant) as distinguished from the 

woody tissue of shrubs and trees. 

HIGH OR MAJOR: An effect is severe; there would be 

a highly noticeable, long-term or permanent measurable 

change. 

HISTORIC: Period wherein nonnative cultural activities 

took place, based primarily upon European roots, having no origin in the traditional Native American culture(s). 

HISTORIC PROPERTY OR HISTORIC RESOURCE: “any 

prehistoric or historic district, site, building, structure, 

or object included in, or eligible for inclusion in, the 

National Register. The term includes, for purposes of 

these regulations, artifacts, records, and remains that are 

related to and located within such properties. The term 

‘eligible for inclusion in the National Register’ includes 

both properties formally determined as such by the 

Secretary of the Interior and all other properties that 

meet National Register listing criteria” {quoted from 36 

CFR 900.2(e)}. 

HOME RANGE: The area in which an animal travels in 

the scope of natural activities. 

HORIZON (SOIL): A layer of soil or soil material 

roughly parallel to the land surface and differing from 

adjoining genetically related layers in physical, chemical, and biological properties or characteristics, such as 

color, structure, and texture. 

HUMMOCK: A low, rounded hill, knoll, hillock; a tract 

of wooded land higher than a nearby swamp or marsh. 

HYDROLOGIC CONDITION: The current state of the 

processes controlling the yield, timing, and quality of 

water in a watershed. Each physical and biologic process that regulates or influences stream flow and groundwater character has a range of variability associated 

with the rate or magnitude of energy and mass exchange. At any point in time, each of these processes 

can be defined by their current rate or magnitude relative to the range of variability associated with each 

process. Integration of all processes at one time represents hydrologic condition. 

HYDROLOGIC UNIT CODE (HUC): A coding system 

developed by the U.S. Geological Survey to map geographic boundaries of watersheds by size. 

HYDROPHYTIC: Water-loving; ability to grow in water 

or saturated soils. 

-IIGNEOUS ROCK: Rock, such as granite and basalt, 

which has solidified from a molten or partially molten 

state. 

IMPACT: A modification of the existing environment 

caused by an action (such as construction or operation 

of facilities). 

IMPACTS (OR EFFECTS): Environmental consequences 

(the scientific and analytical basis for comparison of 

alternatives) as a result of a proposed action. Effects 

may be either direct, which are caused by the action and 

occur at the same time and place, or indirect, which are 

caused by the action and are later in time or farther 

removed in distance, but are still reasonably foreseeable, or cumulative. 

IMPLEMENTATION DECISIONS: Decisions that take 

action to implement land use plan decisions. They are 

generally appealable to Interior Board of Land Appeals. 

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN: A site-specific plan written 

to implement decisions made in a land use plan. An 

implementation plans usually selects and applies best 

686 Butte Draft RMP/EIS 
Glossary 

management practices to meet land use plan objectives. 

Implementation plans include both activity plans and 

project plans. 

INDIAN TRIBE: Any Indian group in the conterminous 

United States that the Secretary of the Interior recognizes as possessing tribal status. 

INDICATOR (SPECIES): A species of animal or plant 

whose presence is a fairly certain indication of a particular set of environmental conditions. Indicator species serve to show the effects of development actions 

on the environment. 

INDIRECT EFFECTS: Secondary effects that occur in 

locations other that the initial action or later in time. 

INFILTRATION: The downward entry of water into the 

soil or other material. 

INITIAL (FIRE) ATTACK: An aggressive fire suppression action consistent with firefighter and public safety 

and values to be protected. 

INTEGRATED WEED MANAGEMENT (IWM): This is a 

decision support system involving deliberate selection, 

integration, and implementation of effective weed management tactics. It utilizes cost/benefit analysis and 

takes into consideration public interests and social, 

economical, and ecological impacts in the decision 

making process. 

INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM: A group of individuals 

with different training, representing the physical sciences, social sciences, and environmental design arts, 

assembled to solve a problem or perform a task. The 

members of the team proceed to a solution with frequent interaction so that each discipline may provide 

insights to any stage of the problem and disciplines may 

combine to provide new solutions. The number and 

disciplines of the members preparing the plan vary with 

circumstances. A member may represent one or more 

discipline or Bureau program interest. 

INTERIM MANAGEMENT POLICY: Policy that guides 

management of the BLM’s Wilderness Study Areas. 

The policy balances the various uses of Wilderness 

Study Areas with the requirement to protect the lands 

wilderness values. 

INTERIOR BOARD OF LAND APPEALS: The Department of the Interior, Office of Hearings and Appeals 

board that acts for the Secretary of the Interior in responding to appeals of decisions on the use and disposition of public lands and resources. Because the Interior 

Board of Land Appeals acts for and on behalf of the 

Secretary of the Interior, its decisions usually represent 

the Department’s final decision but are subject to the 

courts. 

INTERMITTENT STREAM: A stream which occasionally is dry or reduced to pool stage. Often the water 

drainage connection from ephemeral areas to perennial 

streams. 

INVASIVE PLANTS: Plants which are invasive species. 

INVASIVE SPECIES: Organisms that have been introduced into an environment where they did not evolve. 

Executive Order 13112 focuses on organism whose 

presence is likely to cause economic harm, environmental harm, or harms to human health. 

INVERSION: The state of the atmosphere in which a 

layer of cool air is trapped near the earth’s surface by 

an overlying layer of warm air so that the lower layer 

cannot rise. Serious air pollution problems may result 

from air pollutants being emitted into the limited mixing depth below the inversion. 

IRREVERSIBLE COMMITMENT OF RESOURCES: Result 

from the use or destruction of a specific resource that 

cannot be replaced within a reasonable time frame. 

IRRETRIEVABLE COMMITMENT OF RESOURCES: 

Result from actions in which resources are considered 

permanently lost. 

-JJURISDICTION: The legal right to control or regulate 

use of a transportation facility. Jurisdiction requires 

authority, but not necessarily ownership. 

-K-

-LLAND CLASSIFICATION: A process for determining the 

suitability of public lands for certain types of disposal 

or lease under the public land laws or for retention 

under multiple use management. 

LAND USE ALLOCATION: The identification in a land 

use plan of the activities and foreseeable development 

that are allowed, restricted, or excluded for all or part of 

the planning area, based on desired future conditions. 

LAND USE PLAN: A set of decisions that establish management direction for land within an administrative 

area, as prescribed under the planning provisions of 

FLPMA; an assimilation of land-use-plan-level decisions developed through the planning process, regardless of the scale at which the decisions were developed. 

LEASABLE MINERALS: Those minerals or materials 

designated as leasable under the Mineral Leasing Act of 

1920. They include coal, phosphate, asphalt, sulphur, 

potassium, and sodium minerals, and oil, gas, and geothermal. 

LEASE: (1) A legal document that conveys to an operator the right to drill for oil and gas; (2) the tract of land, 

on which a lease has been obtained, where producing 

wells and production equipment are located. 

LEASE (OCCUPANCY): A usually long-term authorization to possess and use public lands for a fixed period 

of time (43 CFR 2910) 

LEASE STIPULATION (OIL AND GAS): Conditions of 

lease issuance that provide protection for other resource 

Butte Draft RMP/EIS 687 
Glossary 

values or land uses by establishing authority for substantial delay or site changes or the denial of operations 

within the terms of the lease contract. The authorized 

officer has the authority to relocate, control timing, and 

impose other mitigation measures under Section 6 of 

the Standard Lease Form. Lease stipulations clarify the 

Bureau’s intent to protect know resources or resource 

values. 

LESSEE: A person or entity holding record title in a 

lease issued by the United States (see 43 CFR 3160.0­

5). 

LESSEE (GRAZING): Holder of a valid lease that authorizes grazing use of the public lands outside the 

grazing district. 

LEK: An assembly area where birds, especially sage 

grouse, carry on display and courtship behavior. 

LIMITED AREAS OR TRAILS: Designated areas or trails 

where the use of off-road vehicles is subject to restrictions, such as limiting the number or types or vehicles 

allowed, dates and times of use (seasonal restrictions), 

limiting use to existing roads and trails, or limiting use 

to designated roads and trails. Under the designated 

roads and trails designation, use would be allowed only 

on roads and trails that are signed for use. Combinations of restrictions are possible, such as limiting use to 

certain types of vehicles during certain times of the 

year. 

LINKAGE: Route that permits movement of individual 

plants (by dispersal) and animals from a habitat type to 

another similar habitat type. 

LITTER: The uppermost layer of organic debris on the 

soil surface, essentially the freshly fallen or slightly 

decomposed vegetal material. 

LOAMY: Intermediate in texture and properties between fine- and course-textured soils. 

LOCATABLE MINERALS: Minerals subject to exploration, development, and disposal by staking mining 

claims as authorized by the Mining Law of 1872, as 

amended. This includes deposits of gold, silver, and 

other uncommon minerals not subject to lease or sale. 

LODE MINING: Mining of a mineral deposit in solid 

rock. 

LONG TERM: Effects lasting more than 10 years. 

LOW OR MINOR: An effect is slight but detectable; 

there would be a small change. 

LYNX HABITAT: Lynx occur in mesic coniferous forest 

that have cold, snowy winters and provide a prey base 

of snowshoe hare. In the Rocky Mountains primary 

vegetation that contributes to lynx habitat is lodgepole 

pine, subalpine fir, and Englemann spruce. Secondary 

vegetation that, when interspersed within subalpine 

forests, may also contribute to lynx habitat, includes 

cool, moist Douglas-fir, grand fir, western larch, and 

aspen forest. Dry forest types (ponderosa pine, climax 

lodgepole pine) do not provide lynx habitat. Primary 

elevations for lynx habitat are between 1500-2000 m. 

(4,920 – 6,560 ft.) elevation zones in the northern 

Rockies. 

-MMANAGEMENT DECISION: A decision made by the 

BLM to manage public lands. Management decisions 

include both land use plan decisions and implementation decisions. 

MANAGEMENT FRAMEWORK PLAN: Planning decision document prepared before the effective date of the 

regulations implementing the land use planning provisions of the FLPMA, which establishes, for a given area 

of land, land-use allocations, coordination guidelines 

for multiple-use, and objectives to be achieved for each 

class of land use or protection. 

MANAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES: A component of the 

analysis of the management situation; actions or management directions that could be taken to resolve issues 

or management concerns. 

MEDIUM OR MODERATE: An effect is readily apparent; there would be a measurable change than could 

result in a small but permanent change. 

MID-TERM: Effects lasting 5 to 10 years. 

MILL: A plant in which ore is treated for the recovery 

of valuable minerals or valuable minerals are concentrated into a smaller bulk for shipping to a smelter or 

other reduction works. 

MINE: An opening or excavation in the earth for extracting minerals. 

MINERAL: Any solid or fluid inorganic substance that 

can be extracted from the earth for profit. 

MINERAL ENTRY: The filing of a claim on public land 

to obtain the right to any minerals it may contain. 

MINERAL ESTATE: The ownership of minerals, including rights necessary for access, exploration, development, mining, ore dressing, and transportation operations. 

MINERAL MATERIALS: Materials such as common 

varieties of sand, stone, gravel, pumice, pumicite, and 

clay, that are not obtainable under the mining or leasing 

laws but that can be acquired under the Mineral Materials Act of 1947, as amended. 

MINERAL WITHDRAWAL: A formal order that withholds federal lands and minerals from entry under the 

Mining Law of 1872 and closes the area to mineral 

location (staking mining claims) and development. 

MINIMIZE: To reduce the adverse impact of an operation to the lowest practical level. 

MINING CLAIM: A parcel of land that a miner takes 

and holds for mining purposes, having acquired the 

688 Butte Draft RMP/EIS 
Glossary 

right of possession by complying with the Mining Law 

and local laws and rules. A single mining claim may 

contain as many adjoining locations as the locator may 

make or buy. There are four categories of mining 

claims: lode, placer, millsite, and tunnel site. 

MINING DISTRICT: An area, usually designated by 

name, with described or understood boundaries, where 

minerals are found and mined under rules prescribed by 

the miners, consistent with the Mining Law of 1872. 

MITIGATION MEASURES: Methods or procedures that 

reduce or lessen the impacts of an action. 

MONITORING PLAN: The process of tracking the implementation of land use plan decisions and collecting 

and assessing data/information necessary to evaluate 

the effectiveness of land use planning decisions. 

MODIFICATION: A change in a Plan of Operations that 

requires some level of review by BLM because it exceeds what was described in the approved Plan of Operations. 

MODIFICATION (OIL AND GAS): A change to the provision of a lease stipulation either temporarily or for the 

term of the lease. 

MONITORING PLAN: the process of tracking the implementation of land use plan decisions. 

MULTIPLE USE: The management of the public lands 

and their various resource values so that they are utilized in the combination that will best meet the present 

and future needs of the American people; making the 

most judicious use of the lands for some or all of these 

resources or related services over areas large enough to 

provide sufficient latitude for periodic adjustments in 

use to conform to changing needs and conditions; the 

use of some lands for less than all of the resources; a 

combination of balanced and diverse resource uses that 

takes into account the long term needs of future generations for renewable and nonrenewable resources, including but not limited to, recreation, range, timber, 

minerals, watershed, wildlife and fish, and natural scenic, scientific and historical values; and harmonious and 

coordinated management of the various resources without permanent impairment of the productivity of the 

lands and the quality of the environment with consideration being given to the relative values of the resources and not necessarily to the combination of uses 

that will give the greatest economic return or greatest 

unit output. 

-NNATIONAL AMBIENT AIR QUALITY STANDARDS: The 

allowable concentrations of air pollutants in the ambient (public outdoor) air. National ambient air quality 

standards are based on the air quality criteria and divided into primary standards (allowing an adequate 

margin of safety to protect the public health) and secondary standards (allowing an adequate margin of 

safety to protect the public welfare). Welfare is defined 

as including (but not limited to) effects on soils, water, 

crops, vegetation, human-made materials, animals, 

wildlife, weather, visibility, climate, and hazards to 

transportation, as well as effects on economic values 

and on personal comfort and well-being. 

NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT (NEPA) OF 

1969: An Act that encourages productive and enjoyable harmony between man and his environment and 

promotes efforts to prevent or eliminate damage to the 

environment and biosphere and stimulate the health and 

welfare of man; enriches the understanding or the ecological systems and natural resources important to the 

Nation, and establishes the Council on Environmental 

Quality. 

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES: A register of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects, 

significant in American history, architecture, archaeology and culture, established by the “Historic Preservation Act” of 1966 and maintained by the Secretary of 

the Interior. 

NATIONAL WILD AND SCENIC RIVERS SYSTEM: A 

system of nationally designated rivers and their immediate environments that have outstanding scenic, recreational, geologic, fish and wildlife, historic, cultural, and 

other similar values and are preserved in a free-flowing 

condition. The system consists of three types of 

streams: (1) recreation—rivers or sections of rivers that 

are readily accessible by road or railroad and that may 

have some development along their shorelines and may 

have undergone some impoundments or diversion in the 

past, (2) scenic—rivers or sections of rivers free of 

impoundments with shorelines or watersheds still 

largely undeveloped but accessible in places by roads, 

and (3) wild—rivers or sections of rivers free of impoundments and generally inaccessible except by trails, 

with watersheds or shorelines essentially primitive and 

waters unpolluted. 

NEGLIGIBLE: An effect at the lower level of detection; 

there would be no measurable change. Effects may not 

be readily noticeable. 

NEUTRAL: An effect that is neither beneficial nor 

adverse to a specific resource or resource use. 

NO SURFACE OCCUPANCY: A fluid minerals leasing 

constraint that prohibits occupancy or disturbance on all 

or part of the lease surface to protect special values or 

uses. Lessees may exploit the fluid mineral resources 

under the leases restricted by this constraint through use 

of directional drilling from sites outside the area. 

NOXIOUS WEEDS: A plant species designated by Federal or State law as generally possessing one or more of 

the following characteristics: aggressive and difficult to 

manage; parasitic; a carrier or host of serious insects or 

disease; or nonnative, new, or not common to the 

United States. 

Butte Draft RMP/EIS 689 
Glossary 

NUTRIENT CYCLING: The circulation of chemical 

elements such as nitrogen, oxygen, carbon, and phosphorus in specific pathways from the abiotic (not involving or produced by organisms) portions of the 

environment into organic substances in plants and animals and then back into abiotic forms. 

-OOBJECTIVE: A description of a desired condition for a 

resource. Objectives can be quantified and measured 

and, where possible, have established time frames for 

achievement. 

OBLIGATE: Essential, necessary, unable to exist in any 

other state, mode, or relationship. 

OBLIGATE WETLAND (OBL): Plant species that occur 

almost always (estimated probability >99%) under 

natural conditions in wetlands or riparian zones. 

OFF-HIGHWAY VEHICLE (OHV): Any motorized 

vehicle capable of, or designed for, travel on or immediately over land, water, or other natural terrain, excluding: (1) Any nonamphibious registered motorboat; (2) 

Any military, fire, emergency, or law enforcement 

vehicle while being used for emergency purposes; (3) 

Any vehicle whose use is expressly authorized by the 

authorized officer, or otherwise officially approved; (4) 

Vehicles in official use; and (5) Any combat or combat 

support vehicle when used in times of national defense 

emergencies. 

OLD FOREST STRUCTURE: Physical forest or woodland 

characteristics that contribute to the structure, composition or function of forested stands for a particular forest 

type. These characteristics include large and old tree 

components, accumulations of dead wood components 

such as standing snags and/or downed logs, occurrence 

of climax plant species or seral trees with a common 

decadent attributes such as broken or deformed tops and 

rotten boles, wide variation in tree age classes and 

stocking levels, and multiple canopy layers. 

OLD-GROWTH: Forested stands in late successional 

stages of development meeting the main characteristics 

or old forest structures that are described by the forest 

type for the East-side Montana Zone in Old-Growth 

Forest Types of the Northern Region (Green, 19921

) 

Open: Generally denotes that an area is available for a 

particular use or uses. Refer to specific program definitions found in law, regulations, or policy guidance for 

application to individual programs. 

OPEN ROAD: Open year-round to public and administrative uses. 

OPEN ROAD WITH RESTRICTIONS: Open to public and 

administrative uses with seasonal and/or vehicle type 

limitations. 

OPENING ORDER: Returning land to the operation of 

some or all of the public land laws. It is normally done 

at the same time as revocation.....opens lands to the 

operation or partial operation of the public land laws. 

An opening order may be a part of the revocation order 

and need not be a separate document. 

OPERATOR: Any person who has taken formal responsibility for the operations conducted on the leased 

lands. 

ORE: A mineral deposit of high enough quality to be 

mined at a profit. 

OUTSTANDINGLY REMARKABLE (RIVER) VALUES: 

Values among those listed in Section 1(b) of the Wild 

and Scenic Rivers Act are “scenic, recreational, geological, fish and wildlife, historical, cultural, or other 

similar values. . . .” Other similar values which may be 

considered include botanical, hydrological, paleontological, or scientific. Professional judgment is used to 

determine whether values exist to an outstandingly 

remarkable degree. 

OVERSTORY: The layer of foliage in a forest canopy, 

often the uppermost layer(s) consisting of the crowns of 

trees or shrubs. 

-PPALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCES (FOSSILS): The 

physical remains of plants and animals preserved in 

soils and sedimentary rock formations. Paleontological 

resources are important for understanding past environments, environmental change, and the evolution of 

life. 

PALEONTOLOGY: A science dealing with the life 

forms of past geological periods as known from fossil 

remains. 

PARENT MATERIAL (SOIL): The unconsolidated more 

or less chemically weathered mineral or organic matter 

from which the upper level of the soil profile has developed. 

PATENT: The instrument by which the Federal Government conveys title to the public lands. 

PERENNIAL STREAM: A natural course that confines 

and conducts water that flows continuously during all 

seasons of the year. 

PERMIT: A short-term (generally under 3 years), revocable authorization to use public lands for specific 

purposes. BLM issues permits under 43 CFR 2910. 

PERMITTED USE: The forage allocated by, or under the 

guidance of, an applicable land use plan for livestock 

grazing in an allotment under a permit or lease. Expressed in AUMs. 

PERMITTEE: Holder of a valid permit that authorizes 

certain uses of the public lands (e.g., for grazing). 

PERMITTEE (GRAZING): Holder of a valid permit that 

authorizes grazing use of the public lands within the 

grazing district. 

690 Butte Draft RMP/EIS 
Glossary 

PETROGLYPH: A figure, design, or indentation carved, 

abraded, or pecked into a rock. 

PHYSICAL WEED TREATMENT: These are treatments 

which use manual labor, mechanical equipment, or fire, 

such as hand-pulling, mowing or tilling, and prescribed 

burning. 

PICTOGRAPH: A figure or design painted onto a rock. 

PLACER: An alluvial deposit of sand and gravel containing valuable minerals such as gold. 

PLACER MINING: A method of mining in which the 

overburden is removed to expose gold-bearing gravel 

deposits beneath. The gravel is then sluiced to separate 

the gold. 

PLAN: A document that contains a set of comprehensive, long range decisions concerning the use and management of Bureau administered resources in a specific 

geographic area. 

PLANNED SALE QUANTITY (PSQ): The allowable 

forest harvest level that can be maintained without 

decline over the long term, if the schedule of harvests 

and regeneration are followed. PSQ is an estimate of 

potential production rather than a specific level of forest 

product volume that would be offered every decade. 

PLANNING AREA: A geographical area for which land 

use and resource management plans are developed and 

maintained. The Butte Field Office Planning Area is the 

boundary of the Butte Field Office and includes all of 

Lewis and Clark, Jefferson, Broadwater, Deer Lodge, 

Silver Bow, Gallatin, and Park Counties; and the northern portion of Beaverhead County. 

PLANNING CRITERIA: The standards, rules, and other 

factors developed by managers and interdisciplinary 

teams for their use in forming judgments about decision 

making, analysis, and data collection during planning. 

Planning criteria streamline and simplify the resource 

management planning actions. 

PLANNING DECISION (LAND USE PLAN DECISION): 

establishes desired outcomes and actions needed to 

achieve them. Decisions are reached using the BLM 

planning process. When they are presented to the public 

as proposed decisions, they can be protested to the 

BLM Director. They are not appealable to Interior 

Board of Land Appeals. 

POPULATION: Within a species, a distinct group of 

individuals that tend to mate only with members of the 

group. Because of generations of inbreeding, members 

of a population tend to have similar genetic characteristics. 

POTENTIAL NATURAL VEGETATION: The vegetation 

that would become established if all successional sequences were completed without interferences by man 

under the present environmental conditions. 

POWER SITE CLASSIFICATION: A classification made 

by the Federal Power Commission that is a segregation 

against the operation of the public land laws for lands 

that are needed or have potential for power projects and 

associated transmission lines. Lands classified to benefit transmission lines are open to the operation of the 

public land laws subject to their use for transmission 

lines. 

POWER SITE RESERVE: A reservation of public lands 

that have potential value for power development. 

PRECAMBRIAN: Pertaining to the earliest era of geological history, extending from 4.5 billion to 540 million years ago and encompassing 7/8 of the earth’s 

history. Just before the end of the Precambrian, complex multicellular organisms, including animals, 

evolved. 

PRECIOUS METAL: A general term for gold, silver, or 

any of the minerals of the platinum group. 

PRE-COMMERCIAL THINNING: A thinning that does 

not yield trees of commercial value, usually designed to 

reduce stocking in order to concentrate growth on the 

more desirable trees or to meet desired vegetation 

and/or fuel loading conditions. 

PREHISTORIC: Refers to the period wherein Native 

American cultural activities took place which were not 

yet influenced by contact with historic nonnative culture(s). 

PRESCRIBED FIRE: The introduction of fire to an area 

under regulated conditions for specific management 

purposes. 

PRESCRIPTION LIVESTOCK GRAZING (GRAZING): 

Grazing use authorized on land designated or not designated for livestock grazing designed to accomplish a 

specific purpose. For example, authorizing sheep and 

goats to graze a piece of land as a biological control 

agent to treat noxious weeds. Prescription grazing 

would normally be authorized on a temporary nonrenewable basis. 

PREVENTION OF SIGNIFICANT DETERIORATION: A 

regulatory program based not on the absolute levels of 

pollution allowable in the atmosphere but on the 

amount by which a legally defined baseline condition 

will be allowed to deteriorate in a given area. Under 

this program, geographic areas are divided into three 

classes, each allowing different increases in nitrogen 

dioxide, particulate matter, and sulfur dioxide concentrations. 

PREY BASE: Populations and types of prey species 

available to predators. 

PRIMITIVE AND UNCONFINED RECREATION: Nonmotorized, non-mechanized and undeveloped types of 

recreational activities. 

Butte Draft RMP/EIS 691 
Glossary 

PRIORITY HABITATS: Priority habitats would include 

habitat for all special status species as well as riparian 

areas, dry savannah forest, special habitats including 

caves, cliffs, snags, and down woody material, sagebrush, bitterbrush communities and mountain mahogany communities. 

PRIORITY SPECIES: Priority species are those wildlife, 

fish or plant species that the BLM has determined to be 

unique or significant based on at least one of the 

following factors: density, diversity, population size, 

public interest, remnant character, or age. 

PRIVATE EXCHANGE: A land exchange between the 

federal Government and any landowner other than a 

state. 

PROJECT PLAN: A type of implementation plan. A 

project plan typically addresses individual projects or 

several related projects. Examples of project plans 

include prescribed burn plans, trail plans, and recreation 

site plans. 

PROJECT AREA (MINERALS): The area of land upon 

which an operator conducts mining operations, including the area needed for building or maintaining of 

roads, transmission lines, pipelines, or other means of 

access. 

PROJECT AREA (VEGETATION): An area of land 

within some type of management activity would occur 

and encompasses a region defined by logical boundaries such as: watersheds, ridges, highways, or ownership blocks of BLM lands. The project area can be both 

the analysis area and a starting point to determine 

where treatments or activities should occur, and includes the area needed for supporting structures and 

activities such as roads, transmission lines, or pipelines. 

PROPER FUNCTIONING CONDITION (PFC): Ecosystems are in PFC when they function within their historic range of variability. 

PROPOSED ACTION: A project or set of activities that a 

federal agency intends to implement, as defined in 

NEPA regulations. 

PROPOSED PLANNING SCENARIO: Using comments 

received during the initial scoping period, the BLM 

interdisciplinary team developed the “Proposed Planning Scenario”, to describe possible management prescriptions and goals for individual programs. 

PROTEST: Application for review by a higher administrative level. 

PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT: Any process designed to 

broaden the information base upon which agency decisions are made by informing the public about BLM 

activities, plans, and decisions to encourage public 

understanding about the participation in the planning 

processes which lead to final decision-making. 

PUBLIC LAND: Land or interest in land owned by the 

United States and administered by the Secretary of the 

Interior through the BLM, except lands located on the 

Outer Continental Shelf, and land held for the benefit of 

Indians, Aleuts, and Eskimos. 

PUBLIC LAND LAWS: A body of laws that regulates the 

administration of the public lands and the resources 

thereon. 

PUBLIC LAND ORDER (PLO): Creating, continuing, 

modifying, or revoking a withdrawal or reservation that 

has been issued by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant 

to his delegations of authority. 

PUBLIC PURPOSE: A use in which the public has an 

interest, affecting its safety, health, morale, and welfare, 

but not including use for habitation, cultivation, trade, 

or manufacturing. 

PUBLIC VALUE: An asset held by, service performed 

for, or benefit accruing to the people at large. 

-QQUARRY: An open or surface working, usually for the 

extraction of stone, slate, limestone, etc. 

QUARRY SITE: Place where minerals occur which 

were a source of raw material for prehistoric/historic 

industries. 

-RRANGELAND: Land used for grazing by livestock and 

big game animals on which vegetation is dominated by 

grasses, grass-like plants, forbs, or shrubs. 

RAPTOR: Bird of prey with sharp talons and strongly 

curved beaks such as hawks, owls, vultures, and eagles. 

REACH: A segment of stream. 

REASONABLY FORESEEABLE DEVELOPMENT 

SCENARIO: The prediction of the type and amount of 

oil and gas activity that would occur in a given area. 

The prediction is based on geologic factors, past history 

of drilling, projected demand for oil and gas, and industry interest. 

RECLAMATION: The process of converting disturbed 

land to its former use or other productive uses. 

RECLAMATION PROJECT: A water development and 

irrigation project of the Bureau of Reclamation. 

RECLAMATION WITHDRAWALS: 

• First Form: A reclamation withdrawal of public 

lands that are or may be needed for the building 

and maintaining a reclamation project. 

• Second Form: A reclamation withdrawal of public 

lands susceptible to irrigation form a reclamation 

project. 

692 Butte Draft RMP/EIS 
Glossary 

• The distinction between the first and second forms 

of withdrawals has been eliminated, and all such 

withdrawals are called reclamation withdrawals. 

RECORD OF DECISION: A document signed by a responsible official recording a decision that was preceded by the preparing of an environmental impact 

statement. 

RECREATION AND PUBLIC PURPOSES (R&PP) ACT, 

THE ACT OF JUNE 14, 1926, AS AMENDED (43 U.S.C. 

869, 869-4).: A federal statute that allows the disposal 

of public lands to any state, local, federal, or political 

instrumentality or nonprofit organization for any recreation or public purpose, at the discretion of the authorized officer. 

RECREATION OPPORTUNITY SPECTRUM (ROS): A 

framework for stratifying and defining classes of outdoor recreation environments, activities, and experience 

opportunities. The settings, activities, and opportunities 

for obtaining experiences are arranged along a continuum or spectrum divided into six classes-primitive, 

semi-primitive non-motorized, semi-primitive motorized, roaded natural, rural and urban. 

RELICT: A remnant or fragment of the vegetation of an 

area that remains from a former period when the vegetation was more widely distributed. 

RELINQUISHED ALLOTMENT (GRAZING): An allotment 

where an existing permittee or lessee gives up his or her 

permit or lease causing the allotment to become 

unleased. 

RESEARCH NATURAL AREA: An area that illustrates or 

typifies for research or educational purposes, the important forest and range types in each field office, as well 

as other plant communities that have special or unique 

characteristics of scientific interest and importance. 

RESERVATION: A "setting aside", or dedication of 

lands for the federal government for a specific public 

purpose. "Reserved" land is not necessarily withdrawn. 

A permanent withdrawal dedicated to a specific public 

purpose 

RESERVES (MINERAL): Known mineral deposits that 

are recoverable under present conditions but are as yet 

undeveloped. 

RESERVOIR (OIL AND GAS): A naturally occurring, 

underground container of oil and gas, usually formed 

by deformation of strata and changes in porosity. 

RESOURCE ADVISORY COUNCIL: A council established by the Secretary of the Interior to provide advice 

or recommendations to BLM management. 

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN: A land use plan as 

prescribed by the Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act which establishes, for a given area of land, land-use 

allocations, coordination guidelines for multiple-use, 

objectives and actions to be achieved. 

RESOURCE RESERVE ALLOTMENT: A unit of public 

land that will not have term grazing permits issued. 

Such an allotment would only be grazed on a temporary 

nonrenewable basis. The use of these allotments would 

be to provide temporary grazing to rest other areas 

following wildfire, habitat treatments, or to allow for 

more rapid attainment of rangeland health. The allotment must be of sufficient size to be managed as a 

discrete unit. Resource Reserve Allotments should be 

distributed throughout the planning area. 

REVISION: The process of completely rewriting the 

land use plan due to changes in the planning area affecting major portions of the plan or the entire plan. 

REVOCATION: The action that cancels a withdrawal but 

does not necessarily "open" the lands to application or 

entry. 

RIGHT-OF-WAY: A permit or an easement which authorizes the use of public lands for certain specified 

purposes, commonly for pipelines, roads, telephone 

lines, electric lines, reservoirs, etc.; also, the lands covered by such an easement or permit. 

RIGHT-OF-WAY CORRIDOR: A parcel of land that has 

been identified by law, Secretarial order, through a land 

use plan or by other management decision as being the 

preferred location for existing and future right-of-way 

grants and suitable to accommodate one type of rightof-way or one or more rights-of-way which are similar, 

identical or compatible. 

RIPARIAN AREA: A form of wetland transition between permanently saturated wetlands and upland areas. Riparian areas exhibit vegetation or physical characteristics that reflect the influence of permanent surface or subsurface water. Typical riparian areas include 

lands along, adjacent to, or contiguous with perennially 

and intermittently flowing rivers and streams, glacial 

potholes, and the shores of lakes and reservoirs with 

stable water levels. Excluded are ephemeral areas or 

washes that lack vegetation and dependent on free water in the soil. 

RIVER DESIGNATion: The process whereby rivers are 

added to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System 

by an act of Congress or by administrative action of the 

Secretary of the Interior with regard to state-designated 

rivers under Section 2(a)(ii) of the Wild and Scenic 

Rivers Act. 

ROAD DENSITY: Number of miles of open road per 

square mile. 

ROADLESS: Refers to the absence of roads which have 

been improved and maintained by mechanical means to 

insure relatively regular and continuous use. A way 

maintained solely by the passage of vehicles does not 

constitute a road. 

ROCK ART: Petroglyphs or pictographs. 

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Glossary 

RUNOFF: The water that flows on the land surface 

from an area in response to rainfall or snowmelt. 

-SSALABLE MINERALS: Common variety minerals on 

the public lands, such as sand and gravel, which are 

used mainly for construction and are disposed of by 

sales or special permits to local governments. 

SALMONID: Any fish of the Salmonidae family, including salmon and trout. 

SCALE: Refers to the geographic area and data resolution under examination in an assessment or planning 

effort. 

SCENIC QUALITY: The degree of harmony, contrast 

and variety within a landscape. 

SCENIC RIVER: A river or section of a river that is free 

of impoundments and whose shorelines are largely 

undeveloped but accessible in places by roads. 

SCOPING: The process of identifying the range of 

issues, management concerns, preliminary alternatives, 

and other components of an environmental impact 

statement or land-use planning document. It involves 

both internal and public viewpoints. 

SEASONAL RESTRICTION: A fluid minerals leasing 

constraint that prohibits surface use during specified 

time periods to protect identified resource values. The 

constraint does not apply to the operation and maintenance of production facilities unless analysis demonstrates that such constraints are needed and that less 

stringent, project- specific constraints would be insufficient. 

SECTION 7 CONSULTATION: The requirement of Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act that all federal 

agencies consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service if a proposed action might affect a federally listed species or its 

critical habitat. 

SECTION 106 COMPLIANCE: The requirement of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act that 

any project funded, licensed, permitted, or assisted by 

the Federal Government be reviewed for impacts to 

significant historic properties and that the State Historic 

Preservation Officer and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation be allowed to comment on a project. 

SECURITY HABITAT: refers to the protection inherent 

in any situation that allows elk to remain in a defined 

area despite an increase in stress or disturbance associated with hunting or other human activities. 

SEDIMENT: Soil, rock particles and organic or other 

debris carried from one place to another by wind, water 

or gravity. 

SEDIMENTARY ROCK: Rock resulting from consolidation of loose sediment that has accumulated in layers. 

SEDIMENTATION: The process or action of depositing 

sediment. 

SEGREGATION: Any action such as a withdrawal or 

allowed application (exchange) that suspends the operation of the general public land laws; removing lands 

from the operation of part or all the public land mineral 

laws. 

SENSITIVE SPECIES: Species designated by the State 

Director, usually in cooperation with the State agency 

responsible for managing the species and State Natural 

heritage programs, as sensitive. They are those species 

that: (1) could become endangered in or extirpated from 

a State, or within a significant portion of its distribution; (2) are under status review by the FWS and/or 

NMFS; (3) are undergoing significant current or predicted downward trends in habitat capability that would 

reduce a species’ existing distribution; (4) are undergoing significant current or predicted downward trends in 

population or density such that federal listed, proposed, 

candidate, or State listed status may become necessary; 

(5) typically have small and widely dispersed populations; (6) inhabit ecological refugia or other specialized 

or unique habitats; or (7) are State listed but which may 

be better conserved through application of BLM sensitive species status.. 

SERAL: A temporal and intermediate condition pertaining to the successional stages of biotic communities. 

SHAFT: A vertical or inclined opening to an underground mine. 

SHALLOW SOILS: Soils that are less than 20 inches to 

bedrock. 

SHORT TERM: Effects lasting less than 5 years. 

SHRUB: A low, woody plant, usually with several 

stems, that may provide food and/or cover for animals. 

SIGNIFICANT: An effect that is analyzed in the context 

of the proposed action to determine the degree or magnitude of importance of the effect, either beneficial or 

adverse. The degree of significance can be related to 

other actions with individually insignificant but 

cumulatively significant impacts. 

SLASH: Forest residues such as branches, bark, tops, 

cull logs, broken or uprooted trees, and/or stumps that 

can be left on the ground or in piles after logging, vegetative or fuels treatments, or land use activities such as 

road construction. 

SLOPE: The degree of deviation of a surface from the 

horizontal. 

SOIL COMPACTION: A layer of dense soil caused by 

repeated impacts on or disturbances of the soil surface. 

Compaction becomes a problem when it begins to limit 

plant growth, water infiltration, or nutrient cycling 

processes. 

694 Butte Draft RMP/EIS 
Glossary 

SOIL PRODUCTIVITY: The capacity of a soil to produce a plant or sequence of plants under a system of 

management. 

SOIL TEXTURE: The relative proportions of the three 

size groups of soil grains (sand, silt, and clay) in a mass 

of soil. 

SOLITUDE: (1) the state of being alone or remote from 

others; isolation; (2) a lonely or secluded place. 

SOURCE WATER PROTECTION PLAN: A management 

plan, usually developed by local communities, that 

addresses public water system concerns based on information contained within Source Water Delineation 

and Assessment Reports. 

SPECIAL RECREATION MANAGEMENT AREA: A public lands unit identified in land use plans to direct recreation funding and personnel to fulfill commitments 

made to provide specific, structured recreation opportunities. 

SPECIAL STATUS SPECIES: Includes proposed species, 

listed species, and candidate species under the ESA; 

State-listed species; and BLM State Director-designated 

sensitive species. 

SPECIES: A unit of classification of plants and animals 

consisting of the largest and most inclusive array of 

sexually reproducing and cross-fertilizing individuals, 

which share a common gene pool. 

SPECIES DIVERSITY: The number, different kinds of, 

and relative abundances of species present in a given 

area. 

STAND: A community of trees or other vegetation 

uniform in composition, constitution, spatial arrangement, or condition to be distinguishable from adjacent 

communities. 

STAND COMPOSITION: The proportion of each tree 

species in a stand expressed as a percentage of all trees, 

basal area or volume. 

STANDARD: A description of the physical and biological conditions or degree of function required for 

healthy, sustainable lands (e.g., land health standards). 

To be expressed as a desired outcome or goal. 

STATE EXCHANGE: A land exchange between the federal government and a state. 

STIPULATIONS: Requirements that are part of the 

terms of a mineral lease. Some stipulations are standard 

on all Federal leases. Other stipulations may be applied 

to the lease at the discretion of the surface management 

agency to protect valuable surface resources and uses. 

STRATEGIC PLAN: A plan that establishes the overall 

direction for the BLM. This plan is guided by the requirements of the Government Performance and Results 

Act of 1993, covers a 5-year period, and is updated 

every 3 years. It is consistent with FLPMA and other 

laws affecting the public lands. 

STREAM REACH: A specified length of a stream or 

channel. 

STRUCTURE (STREAM CHANNEL): Any object, usually 

large, in a stream channel that controls water movement. 

STRUCTURE (OF FOREST VEGETATION): The horizontal and vertical distribution of plants in a stand, including height, diameter, crown layers, and stems of trees, 

shrubs, herbaceous understory, snags and coarse woody 

debris. 

SUBSTRATE: The mineral or organic material that 

forms the bed of a stream; the base upon which an 

organism lives; the surface on which a plant or animal 

grows or is attached. 

SUCCESSION: The replacement in time of one plant 

community with another. The prior plant community 

(or successional stage) creates conditions that area 

favorable for the establishment of the next stage. 

SUITABILITY (FOR WILD AND SCENIC RIVERS): 

Evaluation of eligible rivers for inclusion into the national Wild and Scenic River System by Determining 

the best use of the river corridor and the best method to 

protect the outstandingly remarkable values within the 

river corridor. 

SUSTAINABILITY: The ability of an ecosystem to maintain ecological processes and functions, biological 

diversity, and productivity over time. 

SUSTAINED YIELD: Maintenance of an annual or regular periodic output of a renewable resource from public 

land consistent with the principles of multiple use. 

-TTAILINGS: The waste matter from ore after the extraction of economically recoverable metals and minerals. 

TAKE: As defined by the Endangered Species Act, “to 

harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, capture, 

or collect, or attempt to engage in any such conduct.” 

TERMS AND CONDITIONS: Measures contained in livestock grazing permits and leases, which are determined 

by the authorized officer to be appropriate to 

achieve management and resource condition objectives 

for the public lands and other lands administered by the 

BLM, and to ensure conformance with Fundamentals of 

rangeland health and Standards and guidelines for grazing administration. 

TERRESTRIAL SPECIES: Ground-dwelling plants and 

animals. 

THERMAL COVER: Vegetation or topography that 

prevents radiational heat loss, reduces wind chill during 

cold weather, and intercepts solar radiation during 

warm weather. 

Butte Draft RMP/EIS 695 
Glossary 

THREATENED SPECIES: Any plant or animal species 

defined under the Endangered Species Act as likely to 

become endangered within the foreseeable future 

throughout all or a significant portion of its range; listings are published in the Federal Register. 

TOOLS: Something that helps to accomplish the stated 

goal or action for a resource/resource use or program. 

Tools include: timing, duration of grazing, forage utilization, grazing rotation, deferment of grazing, stubble 

height, bank alteration, and structural features. 

TOTAL MAXIMUM DAILY LOAD: An estimate of the 

total quantity of pollutants (from all sources: point, 

nonpoint, and natural) that may be allowed into waters 

without exceeding applicable water quality criteria. 

TRADITIONAL LIFEWAY VALUES: Values that are 

important for maintaining a group’s traditional system 

of religious belief, cultural practice, or social interaction. A group’s shared traditional lifeway values are 

abstract, nonmaterial, ascribed ideas that cannot be 

discovered except through discussions with members of 

the group. These values may or may not be closely 

associated with definite locations. Traditional lifeway 

values sometimes imbue cultural resources with significance. They can be identified through consultation and 

considered through public participation during planning 

and environmental review. The BLM does not manage 

people’s values, beliefs, or social systems. 

TRAVEL MANAGEMENT AREAS: Polygons or delineated areas where a rational approach has been taken to 

classify areas open, closed, or limited, and have identified and/or designated network of roads, trails, ways, 

and other routes that provide for public access and 

travel across the planning area. All designed travel 

routes within travel management areas should have a 

clearly identified need and purpose as well as clearly 

defined activity types, modes of travel, and seasons or 

timeframes for allowable access or other limitations. 

TREATMENT AREA: The specific area of land where 

the actual management activity, such as timber harvest, 

prescribed burning, construction, or other activity 

would occur. One or more treatment areas can be included in a project area which usually includes adjacent 

and/or surrounding areas that are not treated, and multiple activities could occur within a single treatment area, 

concurrently or over time. 

-UUNAUTHORIZED USE: Any occupancy or use of the 

public lands or the resources of the United States without authorization. 

UNAVOIDABLE ADVERSE EFFECTS: Those that remain 

following the implementation of mitigation measures, 

and include effects for which there are no mitigation 

measures. 

UNDERSTORY: Vegetation (e.g., trees or shrubs) growing under the canopy formed by taller trees. 

UNGULATES: Hoofed animals, including ruminants but 

also horses, tapirs, elephants, rhinoceroses, and swine. 

UNLEASED ALLOTMENTS (GRAZING): Areas of land 

designated and managed for livestock grazing which 

are currently not leased or permitted by a qualified 

applicant 

UNRESERVED PUBLIC LANDS: Public lands not covered 

by a reservation or a withdrawal except by the federal 

orders of withdrawal. 

UPLANDS: Lands at higher elevations than alluvial 

plains or low stream terraces; all lands outside the riparian-wetland and aquatic zones. 

USE AUTHORIZATION: Approval of a proposed use for 

land or resources on the prescribed form or document 

designated for such use; a document showing permission to use land or the resources thereon; a formalized 

grant pursuant to a request to use land or resources. 

USER DAY: Any calendar day, or portion thereof, for 

each individual accompanied or serviced by an operator 

or permittee on the public lands or related waters; synonymous with passenger day or participant day. 

UTILIZATION (RANGELAND): The proportion of the 

current year’s forage production that is consumed or 

destroyed by grazing animals. Utilization is usually 

expressed as a percentage. 

-VVACANT AVAILABLE LANDS (GRAZING): Areas of land 

designated for livestock grazing which are not segregated into allotments. These lands may be formed into 

allotments if a qualified applicant applies for a lease or 

permit. 

VACANT PUBLIC LANDS: Public lands that are unappropriated and unreserved and not within a withdrawal; 

lands that are not reserved except by the general orders 

of withdrawal. 

VALID EXISTING RIGHTS: Locatable mineral development rights that existed when the Federal Land Policy and Management Act was enacted on October 21, 

1976. Some areas are segregated from entry and location under the Mining Law to protect certain values or 

allow certain uses. Mining claims that existed as of the 

effective date of the segregation may still be valid if 

they can meet the test of discovery of a valuable mineral required under the Mining Law. Determining the 

validity of mining claims located in segregated lands 

requires BLM to conduct a validity examination and is 

called a “valid existing rights” determination. 

VEGETATION COMMUNITY: An assemblage of plant 

populations in a common spatial arrangement. 

VEGETATION MANIPULATION: Alteration of vegetation by using fire, plowing, cutting, powered mechanical, or other means. 

696 Butte Draft RMP/EIS 
Glossary 

VEGETATION TYPE: A plant community with distinguishable characteristics described by the dominant 

vegetation present. 

VERY DEEP SOILS: Soils that are greater than 60 inches 

deep to bedrock. 

VERY SHALLOW SOILS: Soils that are less than 10 

inches to bedrock. 

VIABLE: Capable of sustaining a healthy, productive, 

and reproducing population over a long period of time. 

VISUAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT CLASSES: Categories assigned to public lands based on scenic quality, 

sensitivity level, and distance zones. There are four 

classes. Each class has an objective which prescribes 

the amount of change allowed in the characteristic 

landscape. 

-WWAIVER (OIL AND GAS): A permanent exemption to a 

lease stipulation. 

WASTE ROCK: Barren rock at a mine or material that 

is too low in grade to be of economic value. 

WATER QUALITY: The chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water with respect to its suitability for a particular use. 

WATER QUALITY RESTORATION PLANS: A comprehensive plan developed in conjunction with Montana 

Department of Environmental Quality, local watershed 

groups, and numerous agencies and entities to address 

and establish water quality goals, Total Maximum 

Daily Loads, restoration strategies, and monitoring. 

WATER TABLE: The surface in a groundwater body 

where the water pressure is atmospheric. It is the level 

at which water stands in a well that penetrates the water 

body just far enough to hold standing water. 

WATERSHED: A geomorphic area of land and water 

within the confines of a drainage divide. The total area 

above a given point on a stream that contributes flow at 

that point. 

WATERSHED APPROACH: A framework to guide watershed management that: (1) uses watershed assessments to determine existing and reference conditions; 

(2) incorporates assessment results into resource management planning; and (3) fosters collaboration with all 

landowners in the watershed. The framework considers 

both ground and surface water flow within a hydrologically defined geographical area. 

WATERSHED ASSESSMENT: An analysis and interpretation of the physical and landscape characteristics of a 

watershed using scientific principles to describe watershed conditions as they affect water quality and aquatic 

resources. 

WEED MANAGEMENT AREA: These are distinguishable 

zones based on similar geography, weed problems, 

climate, or human-use patterns with agreements between landowners to cooperatively manage noxious 

weeds. 

WETLAND VEGETATION: The outer extent of the obligate and facultative wetland species that grows on land 

that is inundated or saturated by surface water or 

groundwater. 

WETLANDS: Areas that are inundated or saturated by 

surface or ground water often and long enough to support and under normal circumstances do support a 

prevalence of vegetation typically adapted for life in 

saturated soil conditions. 

WILD RIVER: Those rivers or sections of rivers that 

are free of impoundments and generally inaccessible 

except by trail, with watersheds or shorelines essentially primitive and waters unpolluted. These represent 

vestiges of primitive America. 

WILD, SCENIC OR RECREATIONAL RIVER: The three 

classes of what is traditionally referred to as a “Wild 

and Scenic River.” Designated river segments are 

classified as wild, scenic and/or recreational, but the 

segments cannot overlap. 

WILD AND SCENIC STUDY RIVER: Rivers identified in 

Section 5 of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act for study 

as potential additions to the National Wild and Scenic 

Rivers System. The rivers shall be studied under the 

provisions of Section 4 of the Wild and Scenic Rivers 

Act. 

WILDCAT, OR EXPLORATION, WELL: A well drilled 

in the area where there is no oil or gas production. 

WILDERNESS: A congressionally designated area of 

undeveloped federal land retaining its primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements or 

human habitation, that is protected and managed to 

preserve its natural conditions and that (1) generally 

appears to have been affected mainly by the forces of 

nature, with human imprints substantially unnoticeable; 

(2) has outstanding opportunities for solitude or a 

primitive and unconfined type of recreation; (3) has at 

least 5,000 acres or is large enough to make practical its 

preservation and use in an unimpaired condition; and 

(4) may also contain ecological, geological, or other 

features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historic 

value. 

WILDERNESS CHARACTERISTICS: Key characteristics 

of a wilderness listed in section 2(c) of the “Wilderness 

Act” of 1964 and used by BLM in its wilderness inventory. These characteristics include size, naturalness, 

outstanding opportunities for solitude, outstanding 

opportunities for primitive and unconfined type of 

recreation, and special features. 

WILDERNESS STUDY AREA: A designation made 

through the land use planning process of a roadless area 

Butte Draft RMP/EIS 697 
Glossary 

found to have wilderness characteristics as described in 

Section 2 (c) of the Wilderness Act of 1964 

WILDFIRE: An unplanned, unwanted wildland fire, 

including unauthorized human-caused fires, escaped 

prescribed fire projects, and all other wildland fires 

where the objective is to put the fire out. 

WILDLAND FIRE: Any nonstructure fire, other than 

prescribed fire, that occurs in the wildland. 

WILDLAND FIRE SITUATION ANALYSIS: A decisionmaking process that evaluates alternative management 

strategies against selected safety, environmental, social, 

economical, political, and resource management objectives as selection criteria. 

WILDLAND URBAN INTERFACE (WUI): The line, area, 

or zone, where structures and other human development 

meet or intermingle with undeveloped wildland or 

vegetative fuel. 

WILDLIFE CORRIDOR: Landscape elements that connect similar patches of habitat through an area with 

different characteristics. Wildlife corridors are also 

segments of land which create a link between critical 

habitats. For example, streamside vegetation may create 

a corridor of willows and hardwoods between meadows 

or through a forest. These linkage zones are where 

species migrate and intermingle ensuring genetic interchange and consequently long-term survival. 

WINTER RANGE: Range that is grazed during winter. 

WITHDRAWAL: Removal or withholding of public 

lands by statute or secretarial order, from the operation 

of some or all of the public land laws. 

WITHDRAWAL MODIFICATION: To make a change to 

an existing, indefinite withdrawal. 

WITHDRAWAL REVOCATION: The cancellation of a 

withdrawal 

WOODLAND: A forest community occupied primarily 

by noncommercial species such as juniper, mountain 

mahogany, or quaking aspen groves; all western juniper 

or limber pine are classified as woodlands, since juniper 

and limber pine are classified as noncommercial species. 

698 Butte Draft RMP/EIS