United States 

Department of

Agriculture

Fire Management and

Greater Sage-grouse Conservation

Fire represents one of the most immediate

threats to greater sage-grouse (GRSG) habitat. 

Annual invasive grasses are prone to frequent, 

recurring wildland fire, which further 

exacerbates the conversion of habitat to annual 

invasive grasses.

Recognizing the nature and extent of this 

threat, the land management plan amendments

include specific guidance to fight the spread of

cheatgrass and other invasive species, position

wildland fire management resources for more

effective rangeland fire response, and accelerate 

the restoration of fire-impacted landscapes to

native grasses and sagebrush. Photo couresy of Austin Catlin/USFWS

Fire Management Direction and

Guidance - Land Management Plan Amendments

Priority habitat management areas (PHMAs), general habitat management areas (GHMAs), and sagebrush 

focal areas (SFAs) have been identified as some of the highest natural resource values to be protected 

(behind protection of public safety and property). By increasing the priority emphasis on fires in GRSG 

habitat, fire managers and agency administrators will be able to shift fire resources to these areas during 

ongoing fire incidents and periods of high fire danger when the threat of new lightning or human caused 

fires is highwhich should reduce the potential size of future range land fires.

Fuels treatments will continue to be an important part of our efforts to reduce the potential for large and 

uncharacteristic wild fires. In PHMAs, GHMAs, and SFAs, treatments will be designed to maintain, restore, 

or enhance greater sage-grouse habitat.

• The use of prescribed fire as a tool for restoration and fuels reduction projects will be modified or 

restricted on approximately 1.2 million acres of the wildland urban interface (adjacent to private 

structures) in the Intermountain Region.

• Prescribed fire will not be a tool that will be available for use in 12” or less precipitation zones unless

it is for pile burning or to facilitate restoration of GRSG habitat. It appears the east central mountain

Forest Service 

Intermountain Region 

324 25th Street

Ogden, UT 84401

www.fs.usda.gov/r4

@usfs_r4 on twitter
United States 

Department of

Agriculture

islands of National Forest System land in Nevada would be most affected by this guidance.

Protection of GRSG habitat will be a priority for fuels treatment, which will likely change the location, 

size, and shape of treatment areas in GRSG habitat.

• Fuel treatment planning will consider the land management plan amendment direction and guidance, 

which will likely increase the complexity and time needed for projects. It is possible that some needed 

fuels treatments will not be feasible.

Fire suppression activities can have an adverse impact on GRSG habitat. The direction and guidance in the

land management plan amendments is designed to decrease the adverse effects of fire suppression with 

the goal of striking a balance between doing enough to stop the fire and not too much, which would likely 

result in excessive damage to GRSG habitat. Specific direction and guidance in the land management plan 

amendment focuses on:

• Temporary fire facilities (fire camps, spike camps, helibases)

• Cross-country vehicle travel

• Clean vehicles to reduce the spread of invasive plant species

• Use of retardant and mechanized equipment only if it will minimize the impact to habitat

• Protect unburned islands of habitat

• Utilize strategies and tactics that minimize the loss of habitat

Fire and Invasives Assessment Team (FIAT)

FIAT is an interagency approach developed by managers and scientists to identify, protect, and restore

sagebrush communities. It includes a step-wise process by which habitat conservation, restoration, and

rehabilitation is applied to specific areas deemed important to these populations.

Strategies to prevent, suppress, and restore fire-impacted landscapes will be identified by the Fire and

Invasives Assessments for all GRSG management habitat areas in the Great Basin region. The Assessments

will provide a list of findings, recommendations, and considerations to protect, maintain, and enhance 

GRSG habitat. The Assessments will also include a spatially consistent, repeatable landscape prioritization

process to capture resistance to invasive annual grasses and resilience to disturbance principles. T he

Assessments will compare the importance of GRSG habitat relative to the level or magnitude of the threat 

for fire operations, fuels management, invasive species, conifer encroachment, and restoration and 

Burned Areas Emergency Rehabilitation. FIAT assessments will be completed on 11 National Forest 

System units in the Intermountain Region.

Forest Service

Intermountain Region

324 25th Street

Ogden, UT 84401

www.fs.usda.gov/r4

@usfs_r4 on twiller