The Bureau of Land Management has quietly implemented a policy change that could greatly expand its ability to conserve thousands of acres of some of the most pristine federal lands under its care.
Specifically, BLM revived a long-dormant policy that the bureau says allows it to apply the highest levels of protections to parcels identified as having “wilderness characteristics,” essentially allowing it to restrict most human activities on large swaths of land.
The revived policy gives the agency “flexibility” to designate mostly remote, roadless rangelands as wilderness study areas (WSAs). The designation is key, as these areas are managed as if Congress had already placed them into the National Wilderness Preservation System, meaning they are afforded the highest levels of protection and are generally off-limits to human activities except hiking, canoeing, and some hunting and fishing.
BLM has used the revised policy, which until last month had not been used in more than 20 years, to designate four new wilderness study areas covering a total of 13,000 acres in two recently approved land-use plan updates in California and Colorado. And it is proposing to designate more than 20 wilderness study areas covering 42,547 acres as part of a proposed land-use plan update for an area in southern Oregon.
