2015 State of the National Conservation Lands: A Third Assessment

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1 2015 State of the National Conservation Lands: A Third Assessment

2 The mission of the National Conservation Lands is to conserve, protect, and restore these nationally significant landscapes that are recognized for their outstanding cultural, ecological, and scientific values. Table of Contents - Introduction to State of the National Conservation Lands: A Third Assessment 4 - The National Conservation Lands: Then and Now 7 - Map of the National Conservation Lands 10 - Status of Recommendations from the Second Assessment (2010) 12 - Issues Examined Leadership, Empowerment and Accountability 14 Planning for Resource Conservation 16 Protecting Wild and Primitive Character 19 Visitor Management and Law Enforcement 21 Natural Resource Monitoring 24 Ecosystem and Species Health 26 Cultural Resource Management 28 - Conclusions and Recommendations 30 2 State of the National Conservation Lands: A Third Assessment Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area (OR), Bob Wick

3 A Statement from Jamie Williams, President of The Wilderness Society As we celebrated the 50 year anniversary of the Wilderness Act last year and approach the 100 year anniversary of the National Park Service next year, we reflect on what it means to preserve our natural and cultural heritage. We reflect on the remarkable vision it took to set aside a small piece of America to allow us to learn from and marvel at our magnificent and inspiring national landscapes. We are grateful for the bipartisan efforts of so many members of Congress and the administration to channel the will of the nation to continue to protect our shared natural and cultural resources through designations and investments in conservation management marks the 15 year anniversary of the establishment of the National Landscape Conservation System. In this report, we look back on the relatively short history of the National Conservation Lands, and we also look to the future to ask what will need to occur for the Bureau of Land Management s original vision of conservation to be fully realized? In the coming decades, lands stewarded by the Bureau of Land Management, and owned by us all, will face increased pressure from energy development, mineral extraction, recreation and other stressors to our lands and waters. Of course, all of this will be compounded by the very real impacts of global climate change. In light of these challenges, we ask the Bureau of Land Management for a true commitment to conservation. We are calling on this important federal agency to face these challenges head-on by managing natural and cultural resources at a landscape-scale, rather than islands of land or individual cultural sites. We expect the Bureau to embrace its conservation mission throughout its work, not just for the units of the National Conservation Lands. We are calling on Congress and the administration to provide adequate funding so that the Bureau can do its job. We are also calling on Congress and the administration to continue to expand the National Conservation Lands to include all of the important and spectacular lands and waters managed by the Bureau of Land Management by creating and expanding Wilderness Areas, National Monuments, National Conservation Areas, Wild and Scenic Rivers, National Scenic and Historic Trails and other designations to complete the system. Though there is still work to be done, this report shows that the agency has made progress on managing for conservation in the 15 years since the creation of the National Conservation Lands. The improvements we recognize today have taken bold action on behalf of the agency. This trend must continue for the Bureau of Land Management to achieve its mission to conserve, protect, and restore these nationally significant landscapes that are recognized for their outstanding cultural, ecological, and scientific values. 3

4 The National Conservation Lands: A New Conservation Legacy for an Old School Agency Once thought of as the lands no one else wanted and given away for settlement, mining, grazing, or other uses, lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have historically not been allocated for conservation purposes. Conservation started to come into the picture for BLM in the late 1960s with the passage of several key environmental and conservation laws, including the Wilderness Act, as well as BLM s first National Conservation Area on the King Range off the California coast in The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 gave BLM broad authority to allocate certain areas for conservation in the land use planning process, including areas of critical environmental concern, wilderness study areas and other designations that protect the natural, scenic and cultural resources that occur on BLM-managed lands. In 2000, Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt established the National Landscape Conservation System to create a national program of BLM s protective designations that would provide the entire agency with a conservation ethic and a model for conservation management. The concept was that these lands would be managed at the landscape-level and would take the broader ecosystem or cultural context into account when planning and managing within their borders. This makes sense as BLM is the largest public land holder that provides the fabric for most of the lands in the West. In 2005, The Wilderness Society started to take an in-depth look at how BLM was doing with this new experiment. The First Assessment found inconsistent management across the system, insufficient protective management, incomplete data and inventories, an overall lack of transparency and a serious lack of funding. The Second Assessment in 2010 found the system to be improving overall but still How are the National Conservation Lands faring? concerning regarding funding levels and inconsistent management. We attribute these findings mostly to the fact that the system was not given proper attention and BLM received almost no direction for how to manage the newest network of conservation lands during its first decade. In 2009, Congress passed legislation to make the system permanent and upgrading the Director of the system to be on par with other resource uses managed by the BLM. In 2010, the Secretary of the Interior issued Secretarial Order 3308 providing the agency with more direction and consistency. The next year, BLM released a 15-year strategy for the system and then several policy manuals for how the various Conservation Lands and overall system should be managed. Among other things, the guidance requires BLM to prioritize conservation over other uses, collaboratively manage lands as part of the larger landscape, raise awareness of the value of the Conservation Lands, offer visitors self-directed experiences, integrate science into management of the Conservation Lands, and build upon BLM s commitment to conservation. This new vision and direction for the National Conservation Lands is being implemented and time will tell if the agency gets it right. Despite a rocky start and being continually challenged and stretched thin, we believe the BLM is on the right path to make the grand experiment that is the National Conservation Lands work. ISSUE EXAMINED Leadership, Empowerment and Accountability D B B- Planning for Resource Conservation - B B Protecting Wild and Primitive Character C B B Visitor Management and Law Enforcement D D+ B- Natural Resource Monitoring C C+ B- Ecosystem and Species Health - - C- Cultural Resource Management D C C+ 4 State of the National Conservation Lands: A Third Assessment

5 Browns Canyon National Monument (CO), Mason Cummings. Key Findings of the Third Assessment OVERALL, BLM is improving public access to unit maps and area information and is becoming more consistent, starting with Monuments and National Conservation Areas. STAFFING SHORTAGES remain a serious problem, which is inhibiting BLM s ability to meet the conservation needs of the units while also balancing increasing visitation. Most areas still lack full-time employees entirely dedicated to managing one unit within the System. BLM IS ACTIVELY conducting five-year assessments of individual management plans within the National Conservation Lands, and BLM has begun to do more extensive reviews with stakeholder engagement for a few of the units. OVERALL, the National Conservation Lands lack adequate on-site law enforcement personnel necessary to help prevent vandalism and misuse; many officers are allocating less than 50 percent of their time to the monuments and national conservation areas within the National Conservation Lands. ALMOST ALL units are monitoring some or all of the special status species identified in each unit s objects and values, but monitoring occurs with varying degrees of frequency across the units. IN RESPONSE TO BLM S financial constraints, almost all units are interacting and collaborating with outside sources for help conducting school education programs, running visitor centers, monitoring unit ecosystems and species, etc. 5

6 Strengths and Limitations of the Third Assessment California Coastal National Monument (CA), Mason Cummings. Interpreting the Grades Just as we have done in the two previous reports, we have provided letter grades for each issue and area examined. In some circumstances, there was insufficient data to provide a grade for individual units under certain issue areas. In all cases, however, the grades reflect a number of different variables, and consider data gaps as well. We urge the discussion and consideration of these grades in the context of the indicators. Consistent with both the First and Second Assessments, we have attempted to ask objective questions in order to get objective answers to allow for consistent grading. We then analyzed this data using both objective and subjective criteria to reach our final grade. Finally, the recommendations found in this Third Assessment should form the basis for discussion and implementation going forward. We encourage the reader to look at the grades as a snapshot in time, and to focus on the recommendations, which we feel will support the conservation, protection, and restoration of the National Landscape Conservation System for years to come. In basic terms, the grades follow the classroom approach where A reflects an above average performance and conversely a D or F grade signifies either inadequate or failing efforts. More specifically, an A in leadership, empowerment and accountability is a reflection of whether an area has a manager, a manager with line authority over subordinates, and a seat on the State Director s management team. This grade is not, however, a reflection of the quality of the sitting manager of a particular unit. Similarly, a D or F rating in visitor management and law enforcement, for example, does not mean that an area lacks law enforcement all together or cannot provide for a valuable visitor experience. Instead, this grade reflects a unit s poor prioritization of visitor services and/or inadequate access to information and educational programs. It is important to note that these grades are often a direct reflection of the agency s financial and staff constraints, plus the degree of support that units receive from the BLM headquarters and Department of the Interior leadership in Washington, D.C. Accordingly, grades should not be interpreted as a reflection about the quality of work by specific National Conservation Land managers or other BLM staff. Under the National Landscape Conservation System, BLM manages millions of acres of National Monuments, National Conservation Areas, Wilderness, Wilderness Study Areas, Historic Trails, and Wild and Scenic Rivers. While all these area designations fall within the System, we focused on BLM managed National Monuments and National Conservation Areas. Since these lands lack consistent governing statutes - such as the Wilderness Act or the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act management decisions and actions are made on an individual basis and largely at the discretion of the agency. As a result, the success of the System as a whole is heavily dependent on BLM s ability to adequately manage areas where it has the greatest degree of discretion and authority to make careful and detail-oriented decisions. There are hundreds of indicators of stewardship and condition that we could have used for this assessment. Ultimately, we chose approximately 50 indicators based on input from a broad coalition of experts. We relied on information that is readily available to both BLM managers and the public, rather than using information gained through intensive field research or a Freedom of Information Act request. Undoubtedly, there is additional information and data that could influence our conclusions, so we encourage readers to view the assigned grades for each area as estimates. However, we are confident that our assessment of the stewardship and condition of the National Conservation Lands are, as a whole, accurate, and believe that small changes to individual area scores would be unlikely to significantly alter our larger conclusions. In preparing for the Third Assessment, we were able to draw on lessons learned from both prior assessments. We relied on the questions used in the Second Assessment, which we believed accurately reflect the responsibilities of the BLM. We also included those questions that reflect changes made by the Obama Administration. We are confident that the data as represented in this Third Assessment is a fair examination and snapshot of how well the agency is managing these lands for the American people. 6 State of the National Conservation Lands: A Third Assessment

7 The National Conservation Lands: Then and Now A look at the priority overarching issues and how they have played out since the Second Assessment in Rio Grande del Norte National Monument (NM), Bob Wick. Expanding the System The National Conservation Lands continue to grow! Since our Second Assessment in 2010, there have been over 1.6 million acres added to the System. All of these have come through Presidential Proclamation after a long dry spell in Congress for passing conservation legislation, which continues to this day. The additions to the National Conservation Lands include: Fort Ord National Monument: 14,651 acres. Est. April 20, 2012 Rio Grande del Norte National Monument: 242,555 acres. Est. March 25, 2013 San Juan Islands National Monuments: 970 acres. Est. March 25, 2013 The California Coastal National Monument was expanded to include the Point Arena-Stornetta Area: 1,665 acres. Est. March 11, 2014 Organ Mountains Desert Peaks National Monument: 496,330 acres. Est. May 14, 2014 Browns Canyon National Monument: 21,586 acres, with around 10,000 acres managed by BLM and the remainder managed by the Forest Service. Est. February 19, 2015 Basin and Range National Monument: 704,000 acres. Est. July 10, 2015 Berryessa-Snow Mountain National Monument: 330,780 acres, with 133,566 managed by BLM and the remainder managed by the Forest Service. Est. July 10, 2015 Continued on page 8 7

8 Basin and Range National Monument (NV), Bob Wick. New Policy Direction The National Landscape Conservation System has seen a dramatic spike in the amount of system-wide guidance in the past five years. Just one month after the release of our 2010 Assessment, Secretary of the Interior Salazar issued Secretarial Order This Order gave the Bureau its first national direction for more consistent management of the system. The next year, BLM released the 15-Year Strategy for the National Conservation Lands. The Strategy builds off of the Secretarial Order and sets four goals for the next 15 years, including: Ensuring the Conservation, Protection, and Restoration of Conservation Lands Values. Collaboratively Managing the Conservation Lands as Part of the Larger Landscape. Raising Awareness of the Value and Benefits of the BLM Conservation Lands. Building upon BLM s Commitment to Conservation. Every BLM State Office that had units of the National Conservation Lands developed stepped-down statewide strategies for the implementation of the Strategy. In addition, in order to ensure that the guidance in the Act establishing the System, Secretarial Order 3308 and 15-Year Strategy for the Conservation Lands was solidified into agency policy for the foreseeable future, BLM released new or updated manuals for the Conservation Lands in New manuals were issued for management of the Conservation Lands generally, for National Monuments and NCAs, and for National Scenic and Historic Trails. Updated manuals were issued for Wilderness Areas, WSAs, Wild and Scenic Rivers, and lands with wilderness characteristics. Branding the System The National Conservation Lands are undergoing a facelift to standardize the look and feel of the system and provide increased access to mapping and other information for the public to discover the crown jewels of BLM-managed lands. This is an important initiative since over 20 million people now live within 25 miles of BLM-managed public lands with many of these being current or future designations of the National Conservation Lands. In the past 5 years, BLM has created a new logo for the System that will appear on all documents and signage relevant to the National Conservation Lands. Also part of the branding process, BLM is placing signs with the same look and feel at the major entrances to units and is rolling out vintage style posters of various units of the National Conservation Lands to better familiarize the public with the system. The Bureau is also undergoing a process to update its websites for National Monuments and NCAs with current recreational mapping information in a standardized format to provide more information to the public when they are planning a visit the Conservation Lands. 8 State of the National Conservation Lands: A Third Assessment

9 Funding Since the inception of the National Conservation Lands it has been an ongoing challenge to ensure that the BLM receives adequate funding to carry out the mission of the System. However, this challenge is not unique to the BLM or the National Conservation Lands. Currently, the entire federal budget is constrained by mandatory spending limits known as sequestration, which further exacerbate BLM s financial situation. This controversial spending policy, enacted in 2011, contributed, to a federal government shutdown in 2013 that lasted 15 days and placed the operation of our public lands in the national spotlight. Under this policy, as much as $685 million of federal budget allocations for wildlife and public lands programs were to be withheld from distribution. The National Conservation Lands now account for over 12 percent of the land the BLM manages. Unfortunately, in 2015 they received less than 6 percent of total BLM funding, which equates to $2.13 per acre. For perspective, the National Park System consistently receives over $30 per acre in federal funding. Fiscal Year 2011 marked the high point of funding for the National Conservation Lands, at $66.3 million. In 2015, the National Conservation Lands received $64.1 million. While still inadequate, for BLM to manage the National Conservation Lands in 2015 under its 2011 budget, the agency would have to receive $70.4 million to account for inflation. This modest increase of $6.3 million, or $0.21 per acre, would allow BLM to meet more of its planning needs, carry out a more comprehensive implementation of those plans, and provide for a more enjoyable visitor experience, while actively conserving, protecting and restoring natural and cultural resources. Instead, continual budget cuts undermine the BLM s ability to hire sufficient rangers, archaeologists, historians, and coordinators for volunteer and partnership programs. In turn, lack of staff makes it difficult to identify and maintain trails, close roads and enforce travel restrictions, restore habitat, apprehend vandals, interpret resources, and stabilize fragile cultural sites. NATIONAL CONSERVATION LANDS FUNDING FISCAL YEAR FISCAL YEAR 2015 $72,000,000 $70,000,000 $68,000,000 $66,000,000 $64,000,000 $62,000,000 $60,000,000 $58,000,000 $56,000,000 $54,000, Actual Funding Inflation Adjusted Funding San Juan Islands National Monument (WA), Mark Stevens 9

10 N W E S 10 State of the National Conservation Lands: A Third Assessment

11 Bureau of Land Management NATIONAL LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION SYSTEM The National Conservation Lands contain 876 units and around 30 million acres BLM managed lands, including: 23 National Monuments: 6,439,498 acres 21 National Conservation Areas and similar designations: 4,107,683 acres 222 Wilderness Areas: 8,736,113 acres 523 Wilderness Study Areas: 12,719,494 acres 69 Wild & Scenic Rivers: 2,423 miles 18 National Scenic and National Historic Trails: 5,761 miles National Monument National Conservation Area Cooperative Managment and Protection Area Outstanding Natural Area National Scenic Trail National Historic Trail Wild & Scenic River BLM Wilderness BLM Wilderness Study Area BLM Administrated Land - Not Part of the National Conservation Lands * Potomac Heritage Trail & Jupiter Inlet ONA National Conservaiton Lands not displayed on the map 11

12 Status of Recommendations from the Second Assessment (2010) In our 2010 Assessment, The Wilderness Society provided near-term, top tier recommendations for moving the planning and management of the National Landscape Conservation System into the 21st century. The following table evaluates the status of each of those recommendations Mandate that units existing at the time that IM and were issued will undergo an inventory process of the specific objects and values that they were created to protect and that future actions and NEPA analyses must describe how these objects and values will be prioritized over other uses. Additional funding for this task should be requested by the agency. Provide clear direction to designate and protect lands with wilderness characteristics and areas of critical environmental concern (ACECs) with new manuals and other guidance issued by the Director of BLM. While not in the Conservation Lands, these designations have led to numerous designations and should be afforded strong protective management through administrative determinations. Issue a clarification to the National Landscape Conservation System Science Strategy (IM ) to set a deadline for every unit to have its Science Plan (as required by Appendix A of the Strategy) completed with specific targets and deadlines for implementation. NEPA alternatives analyzed for proposed actions within the Conservation System should fall within a range of protection and enhancement consistent with the unit s designation through a new instruction memorandum from the Director of the BLM. BLM issued Manual 6100 which requires the agency to inventory and monitor the values for which [National Conservation Lands] were designated and states that NEPA analyses of proposed actions within [National Conservation Lands] will disclose the effects of each alternative on the values for which the area was designated. BLM issued Manuals 6310 and 6320, which speak to the inventory and management responsibilities of the agency with regard to lands with wilderness characteristics. BLM is beginning to implement these Manuals, which has not always been consistent. The agency should also issue guidance on interim management of lands with wilderness characteristics in between land use planning efforts. BLM is in the process of updating its ACEC Manual. No clarification on timing for completion has been issued. So far, only Gunnison Gorge NCA, McInnis Canyons NCA and Vemilion Cliffs National Monument have finished their science strategies. A standard template has been released for the other units to follow in drafting their individual strategies. BLM does not yet have guidance requiring all action alternatives considered under NEPA to prioritize conservation of values for which each unit was established. Mandate that there be a notice to anyone on the NEPA list and a 30-day comment period on any project with an environmental assessment pursuant to NEPA that (1) may impact objects or values as described in legislation or proclamations, or (2) may impact lands with wilderness characteristics. The FONSI/DR would not be signed until there has been adequate consideration of and a response to public comments. BLM does not yet have guidance mandating that there be notice and a 30-day comment period on projects that may impact objects or values or lands with wilderness characteristics. 12 State of the National Conservation Lands: A Third Assessment

13 Establish FACA advisory committees for every Monument or NCA. The primary purpose and membership of each committee should mirror the establishing proclamation or legislation for each unit. BLM has not yet established an advisory committee for every Monument and NCA with the primary purpose for the protection and conservation of objects and values of that unit. Apply the information gathered through rapid ecoregional assessments and incorporate the recommendations of the LCCs into land use plan amendments to address climate change impacts to units. Specific units should also be directed to come up with landscape-level adaptation management strategies. BLM issued guidance (IM ) on incorporating landscape assessments into land use planning and project-level decision-making processes, and BLM s 15-year Strategy for the National Conservation Lands states that BLM should use landscape-level assessments, like the Rapid Ecoregional Assessments, to identify important areas for conservation within the landscape. Implementation of the guidance and utilization of landscape-level assessments has been slow. Ensure that there is a manager for each Monument,NCA and similar designations, including state-wide National Historic and Scenic Trail managers. There can be one manager in the case of something like two NCAs in one field office, but not a field manager being the manager of the unit in addition to his or her duties as field manager. In addition, this restructuring should rank each manager for individual units at the same level as the field manager. BLM has slid backwards since the last assessment by having more managers sharing responsibilities with the field office and less of a focus on the National Conservation Lands. Issue guidance on the specific roles and duties of the Management Advisory Team (MAT). This should require state strategies for conservation management of units and regular reports on the progress of implementing those strategies. Other roles include providing lessons learned, sharing best practices on a regular basis, setting up meetings to get feedback from stakeholders,staff and MACs/RACs on management issues. BLM has issued state strategies for the National Conservation Lands in each western state. The Management Advisory Team continues to be largely inactive in reviewing the implementation of policies and guidance for the Conservation Lands. Make the National Conservation Lands more accessible to the public by updating the website, completing and making available detailed maps for each unit, and creating a National Conservation Lands Passport program for the public to receive stamps for visiting units. BLM is making big strides on this recommendation by starting with updating the recreational maps for all National Monuments and NCAs on the websites for each unit. 13

14 Leadership, Empowerment and Accountability Overall Grade: B- While the 2010 Assessment found a marked improvement in leadership from the 2005 Assessment, we are disappointed to report that BLM is not showing progress towards more leadership for the National Conservation Lands. The biggest problem identified in this category was the lack of fully dedicated managers for each unit. Due mostly to budget cuts, many managers now split their duties between the National Conservation Lands, and the district and field offices. There also continues to be a lack of unit managers represented on leadership teams. Despite these setbacks, reporting and public access to data continue to improve system-wide. It is critical for the BLM to prioritize leadership and empowerment for the National Conservation Lands in order to carry out its conservation mission. Why measure Leadership, Empowerment and Accountability? Strong leadership and accountability are critical to ensure the National Landscape Conservation System is meeting its conservation mandate. Managerial presence, empowerment, and stature play a key role in meeting this conservation mandate, which distinguishes these 30 million acres from the rest of the land the agency manages where broader multiple-use management is the norm. Moreover, annual reporting is an important part of effective management and allows the public to be better advocates for these special places by improving their understanding of the challenges and opportunities in managing them. Strengths and/or limitations of the data Most of the answers to our questions were provided by unit managers and staff in Some data were collected from Annual Manager s Reports. What indicators did we use? Managerial Presence: Whether the unit has a full-time manager. Managerial Empowerment: Whether the manager has line authority. Headwaters Forest Reserve (CA), Bob Wick Managerial Stature: Whether the manager is on the BLM State Director s management team. Annual Reporting: Whether managers prepared and allowed public access to narrative and financial reports on the Monument s or NCA s activities and accomplishments. What did we find? Overall, managers are being stretched thin and are not able to fully focus on the needs of the units of the National Conservation Lands. El Malpais NCA still does not have a dedicated manager. Similarly, the Cascade- Siskiyou National Monument only has one person operating as both the field manager and monument manager, but only spending around 10 percent of time on the monument. There are more managers having to share duties with field offices, diverting attention away from the unit. This is the current trend due chiefly to budget shortfalls. 14 State of the National Conservation Lands: A Third Assessment

15 Most of the units surveyed give the unit manager line authority over staff. There are still a few units, including Las Cienegas NCA, Santa Rosa and San Jacinto National Monument and Steens Mountain CMPA that give the authority to someone other than the unit manager, such as the field or district manager. The Red Cliffs NCA manager who also shares responsibilities for the Beaver Dam Wash NCA is listed as the line manager on paper but is not technically recognized as the line manager by the BLM Utah State Office policies and must rely on the field manager to delegate that authority. Since the last report, we have seen many improvements in accountability through annual Manager s Reports, which now provide more detail on planning, management, staffing and on-the-ground projects. The Fiscal Year 2012 Manager s Reports were especially thorough across the system. However, there is still room for improvement; more detailed information on how spending occurs on each unit will help the public understand where BLM prioritizes its limited capacity. Also, publically posting the reports on the BLM s website in a timely manner allows for greater transparency and better partnerships. UNIT NAME Agua Fria NM D B+ B+ Canyons of the Ancients NM B B+ B+ Carrizo Plain NM C B+ B+ Cascade-Siskiyou NM F D+ D+ El Malpais NCA F D F Grand Canyon-Parashant NM D B+ C Grand Staircase-Escalante NM B B+ B+ Gunnison Gorge NCA D C C Headwaters Forest Reserve D B+ C Las Cienegas NCA D B D Red Rock Canyon NCA D B B- Santa Rosa and San Jacinto NM C A A Snake River Birds of Prey NCA C B+ B+ Steens CMPA F D+ C Upper Missouri River Breaks NM D B+ B+ Prehistoric Trackways NM NA NA D Red Cliffs NCA NA NA C OVERALL D B B- Canyons of the Ancients National Monument (CO), Bob Wick. Best Practices While the National Conservation Lands have slipped a little in the leadership category due to shortages in resources, there are several units that are still prioritizing leadership and empowerment. For example, the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey NCA has a full-time manager dedicated to the unit with line authority over staff and who also sits on the State Director s management team. The same is true for the Canyons of the Ancients and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. Several units have posted the most current Manager s Report on the units website in an easy to find location. This includes El Malpais NCA, Red Cliffs NCA, Las Cienegas NCA, and the Prehistoric Trackways, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Grand Canyon-Parashant and Agua Fria National Monuments. It is important for the public to be able to access this information in a simple way to better understand how the system is being managed and to hold the agency accountable. Recommendations 1. Each National Monument and NCA should have a full-time manager dedicated to the conservation, protection and restoration of the National Conservation Lands. 2. The unit manager should have line authority over staff working in the unit. 3. BLM should provide more detailed information on how unit spending occurs. 4. All Manager s Reports should be posted annually, online and in one central location in a timely manner after completion. 15

16 Planning for Resource Conservation Overall Grade: B Most of the surveyed units had completed RMPs and travel plans in time to be scored for the Second Assessment in For this assessment, we focused both on the content of the plans as well as the implementation and review of those plans. Importantly, since the 2010 Assessment, several new policies and guidance have been issued to help the agency better prioritize conservation, science and partnerships through its planning efforts. What is most important is that BLM incorporate these policies into its planning and management by prioritizing conservation over all other uses, inventorying the objects and values that the unit was established to protect and creating the minimum transportation route network necessary to protect and conserve those objects and values. Why measure Planning for Resource Conservation? The future condition and direction of the National Conservation Lands depends on the long-term, Resource Management Plans (RMPs) prepared for each unit. The RMP serves as the blueprint for BLM s decision-making on behalf of the National Conservation Lands for years. It also clarifies for the public what activities are permissible and establishes enforceable rules. Further, management activities for wildlife habitat restoration, road closures, and species monitoring are also determined in these documents. As a result, their implementation gives the public a means of tracking the agency s use of staff and budget resources, and its overall stewardship toward achieving agency objectives. To assess BLM s conservation planning efforts for National Conservation Lands, the indicators we chose are really building blocks that move a unit toward the potential for an RMP that protects an NCA s or Monument s objects and values. As a result, we weighted the indicators measuring resource protection more heavily, recognizing the importance of protecting the values for which these units were designated in the first place. Strengths and/or limitations of the data Much of the data for questions regarding RMPs and Travel Management Plans were publically available. Additional data were collected during summer 2015 from the questionnaires sent directly to unit managers and staff. 16 State of the National Conservation Lands: A Third Assessment What indicators did we use? Age of RMP: Existence of a current (less than 15 years old) RMP for each unit. RMP Implementation Assessment: Whether a timely five-year assessment of how the RMP is being implemented was performed. Transportation Plan Quality: Existence of a plan for each unit that delineates routes for motorized and mechanized travel; whether the plan includes a closure schedule for illegal, extraneous, or damaging routes. Wild and Scenic River (WSR) Assessment: Percent of rivers assessed for eligibility. Implementation of Policies: Including Secretarial Order 3308 and the various policy manuals for the National Conservation Lands that have been issued since the Second Assessment in 2010 and what BLM is doing to implement these important policies. Inventory of Resources: Whether the units completed a formal inventory of values and objects found in the enabling proclamation or legislation. What did we find? Overall, the units are doing a slightly better than average job at planning for conservation. New policy guidance issued after the 2010 Assessment is helping to clarify that BLM must prioritize conservation on the National Conservation Lands through planning and management efforts. This is also being reiterated through the federal courts. For example, a recent court decision struck down a BLM planning decision allowing recreational target shooting throughout the Sonoran Desert National Monument where BLM determined the use was harming monument objects of interest. There are a few units that are still waiting on certain aspects of their plan to be completed. For example, the travel plan for the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument has suffered from delay after delay. Although the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument completed a conservation-oriented RMP in 2000, the Monument is still relying on plans from three decades ago to address livestock grazing while it works to update those decisions. Timely reviews of plans ensure they are consistent with current policies and are a critical piece of planning and management. BLM is required to review its plans every

17 five years and make adjustments as necessary. While most of the units are complying with this requirement, there are a few that are falling behind, including the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains and Cascade-Siskiyou National Monuments. BLM should ensure that these reviews are occurring on time, and, as a best practice, BLM should be soliciting public input on how the plan is or is not working towards the goals of each unit. Travel planning has occurred on the majority of units. Some plans, such as the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument RMP, apply a legal definition of a road with schedules for road closures that are being implemented on the ground. As in previous years, travel plans do not always apply the same definition of road in planning. The Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument created a route network that describes some user-created, 4x4, unmaintained and, in some cases, hard to find trails as roads. This does not provide a userfriendly experience for visitors and is contrary to the intent of the authorities establishing the units. Similarly, until recently invalidated by a federal court, the Steens Mountain CMPA had a category of routes called Obscure Routes that allowed for motorized access where trails were located on maps but were, according to the travel plan, difficult or impossible to locate on the ground. UNIT NAME Agua Fria NM - B A- Canyons of the Ancients NM - A A+ Carrizo Plain NM - A A Cascade-Siskiyou NM - C- D El Malpais NCA - B B- Grand Canyon-Parashant NM - F F Grand Staircase-Escalante NM - A B Gunnison Gorge NCA - B+ A Headwaters Forest Reserve - A A Las Cienegas NCA - B A Red Rock Canyon NCA - B A Santa Rosa and San Jacinto NM - B+ B+ Snake River Birds of Prey NCA - B- B+ Steens CMPA - D B Upper Missouri River Breaks NM - F D Prehistoric Trackways NM NA NA C Red Cliffs NCA NA NA - OVERALL - B B Notes: - signifies that insufficient data are available to give a grade or the area was not yet designated, so the information is unavailable. Gunnison Gorge NCA (CO), Bob Wick. The score for the Prehistoric Trackways National Monument plan was based on the proposed plan, which will be finalized soon. A draft RMP was released for the Red Cliffs NCA in July 2015 and is looking promising, but was not scored for this assessment. Best Practices Policy guidance issued since the last assessment in 2010 is helping to create more conservationoriented and consistent plans throughout the National Conservation Lands. The Canyons of the Ancients National Monument is going back through its plan and assessing its implementation to ensure that management is consistent Secretarial Order 3308, Policy Manuals and the 15-Year Strategy for the National Conservation Lands. Likewise, certain areas, such as the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and the Gunnison Gorge NCA, are doing extensive reviews of the RMPs and implementation, which involves gathering input from stakeholders and adjusting management appropriately. Recommendations 1. BLM should continue to provide more intensive reviews of RMPs and travel plans that involve gathering stakeholder feedback and evaluating consistency of plans with current policy guidance. 2. BLM should prioritize completing plans for the National Conservation Lands that are either outof-date and/or need to respond to contemporary management issues. 3. BLM should provide national guidance on travel planning for the National Conservation Lands which defines the minimum route network necessary for protection and conservation of the objects and values. 17

18 18 State of the National Conservation Lands: A Third Assessment Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (UT), Bob Wick.

19 Protecting Wild and Primitive Character Overall Grade: B The National Conservation Lands contain many wild areas that make them spectacular, and worth protecting. Management of units should also support a healthy interaction between natural places and human activities. BLM should limit disruptive land uses that diminish the natural setting of these places, and emphasize simple recreation activities like camping and hiking. To fulfill its mission for National Conservation Lands, BLM must create plans and programs that retain the character, including wildness, of the units. Since the 2010 Assessment, BLM has received new direction for managing and protecting wildlands as mandated by the agency s organic act in Guidance released in 2012 directs BLM to document and consider protections for all places that are natural in appearance and have exceptional value for primitive recreation, including areas outside of Wilderness Areas and Wilderness Study Areas. Lands with wilderness characteristics provide important wildlife habitat and unconfined exploration and solitude. It is critical that the agency embraces this guidance as well as use other methods, like restrictions on motorized use, to protect the National Conservation Lands. We have found in this assessment that protections for wild and primitive areas are largely inconsistent. Why measure Protecting Wild and Primitive Character? BLM has a number of tools in its toolbox to protect wild places, and to make sure visitors have opportunities to retreat to primitive and unconfined settings. Land use plans and on-the-ground management together help protect the wildest parts of our conservation landscapes. In this light, it is important that BLM not only makes plans that commit to conservation, but also follows through with work done by BLM field staff. Monitoring human impact, like roads and energy infrastructure, is a good way of holding management accountable, and keeping wild landscapes at the forefront of the National Conservation Lands. Strengths and/or limitations of the data Much of the data was readily available in RMPs. Some of the information, particularly road mileage and closure status, was estimated by BLM staff. What indicators did we use? Inventoried Lands with Wilderness Characteristics: Percentage of the area that has been evaluated for naturalness, opportunities for primitive recreation, and solitude in accordance with BLM s guidance. Special Management of Lands with Wilderness Characteristics: Whether the area has special management attention to protect wild and primitive character. Roads Closures: Percentage of roads that have been identified for closure in land use plans. Roads versus Primitive Roads: Percentage of routes that are maintained for continual use (roads) and percentage of routes that are not maintained, and are used by four-wheel drive vehicles (primitive roads). Implementing Closures: Percentage of motorized routes designated for closures that have actually been closed, restored, or enforced for closure. Visual Resource Management: Percentage of area that is designated as a VRM Class I or II, which directs management for retaining natural appearance in these places. What did we find? The BLM guidance released in 2012 directs BLM to keep an updated inventory of all lands that meet the criteria for wilderness character, regardless of location. Accordingly, there needs to be an improvement in, at least, seven of the units, including Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument where comprehensive inventories have not been completed. Where BLM has updated its inventory for units, it often comes with good protections for lands with wilderness characteristics. Canyons of the Ancients National Monument is an example of successful implementation identifying and protectively managing all 30,000 acres of land that qualify as having wilderness characteristics. In the Las Cienegas NCA in New Mexico, innovative management was developed by creating special zones that differentiate primitive backcountry areas and provide extra protections in those areas. Continued on page 20 19

20 Protecting wild and primitive character, continued UNIT NAME Agua Fria NM - A- A Canyons of the Ancients NM - A A Carrizo Plain NM - A A Cascade-Siskiyou NM C C+ C El Malpais NCA B B+ B Grand Canyon-Parashant NM - D- C Grand Staircase-Escalante NM A B B Gunnison Gorge NCA C B B Headwaters Forest Reserve B A A Las Cienegas NCA C B C Red Rock Canyon NCA B B C Santa Rosa and San Jacinto NM B A- A- Snake River Birds of Prey NCA - C C Steens CMPA D F C Upper Missouri River Breaks NM - F F Prehistoric Trackways NM NA NA C Red Cliffs NCA NA NA B OVERALL C B B Notes: - signifies that insufficient data are available to give a grade or the area was not yet designated, so the information is unavailable. Land use and travel plans identify roads for closure based on considerations like resource impact, maintenance issues, and lack of need. All of the units have roads identified for closure, although some certainly do better than others. Grand Canyon- Parashant National Monument closes only 12 percent of its extensive route network, whereas 32 percent are set for closure in the Gunnison Gorge NCA. A number of field managers noted that areas do not have an accurate and valid inventory of roads such as El Malpais NCA, Las Cienegas NCA, and Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument. This is a trend we found in 2010 as well, and which continues to be problematic for resource protection. Visual Resource Management (VRM) is an additional tool for protecting the natural appearance of an area. A strong majority of Conservation Lands are managed under Class I or II, which directs management to retain scenic qualities. Eighty-five percent of the land in the Steens Mountain CMPA are managed in a way that protects its outstanding scenic qualities. This trend across land use plans for National Conservation Lands shows an important commitment to retaining visual resources. 20 State of the National Conservation Lands: A Third Assessment Best Practices Agua Fria National Monument has done an excellent job at protecting wild and primitive landscapes in the area through the implementation of travel management strategies. In its Travel Management Plan completed in 2010, it set forth a notable framework to permanently close and rehabilitate almost half of the routes in the area. As of 2015, every single one of the routes identified for closure had been closed with signage or barriers. There are currently 51 miles of roads being rehabilitated following closures, and an additional 12 miles have been closed due to resource concerns. The route information provided by Agua Fria National Monument indicates a strong commitment to conservation and the implementation of its planning decisions. Recommendations: 1. Each area should keep an updated inventory of lands with wilderness characteristics for the entire landscape, including lands outside Wilderness and Wilderness Study Areas. 2. Special management for lands with wilderness characteristics should be developed to retain the primitive and wild character of these places. 3. BLM should consistently track road status and closures. 4. BLM should issue policy guidance to emphasize natural soundscapes and access to nonmotorized opportunities of the National Conservation Lands. 5. BLM should establish an initiative and issue policy guidance to help protect areas where dark night skies are an important resource. Agua Fria National Monument (AZ), Bob Wick.

21 Visitor Management and Law Enforcement Overall Grade: B- Browns Canyon National Monument (CO), Arkansas Valley Digital Imaging. Every year, millions of people venture into National Conservation Lands. These areas are pressed to develop proactive measures that encourage responsible activity. Unfortunately, BLM continues to operate with limited resources and underfunded budgets to effectively manage visitors. As was the case in the 2010 Second Assessment, law enforcement has generally suffered under these conditions, with many areas receiving only a small portion of an officer s time. While presence of law enforcement is still inadequate, we have seen improvements and greater emphasis put on management that provide visitors with a more fulfilling and informed experience. Why measure Visitor Management and Law Enforcement? The growing popularity of National Conservation Lands is cause for excitement, but there are also concerns. On the one hand, more Americans are getting out onto our public lands and embracing our natural heritage. On the other, increased visitation without proper management can put more pressure on sensitive areas. Circulating clear information, both on-the-ground and remotely, helps ensure safe and responsible experiences. Information like maps and permitting procedures for recreational opportunities should be accessible to the average visitor. Areas should also commit to enhancing visitor stewardship practices. This can be done through interpretation specialists and education programs, which provide meaningful experiences for the public. Strengths and/or limitations of the data There is not one consistently used method to track law enforcement presence in units. Data collection varies by unit. Assessments on maps and permits are subjective. What indicators did we use? Law Enforcement: Presence and time allocation of law enforcement in the unit Maps and Permits: Readily-available and userfriendly maps that inform responsible use Continued on page 22 21

22 Visitor Management and Law Enforcement, continued Posted Permitting Requirements: Readily available information about recreation permits Visitor Kiosks and Signage: Provision of information via kiosks and signs Visitor Infrastructure: Whether there is visitor infrastructure, and if it exists outside the unit Education/Outreach Capacity: Education staff and existence of a public education/outreach program What did we find? Inadequate law enforcement is a challenge for National Conservation Lands. Across the system, there is a lack of funding for the programs necessary to ensure visitors are acting in a responsible and lowimpact manner. The 2010 Assessment found that law enforcement spends only a portion of its time within a conservation area. This trend continues today and while it may be a logical approach in a few places, most of the Conservation Lands are of significant size to warrant at least one, full-time staffer. UNIT NAME Agua Fria NM C B A- Canyons of the Ancients NM C C+ A Carrizo Plain NM C C+ C+ Cascade-Siskiyou NM C B B- El Malpais NCA C C+ B Grand Canyon-Parashant NM C C+ C+ Grand Staircase-Escalante NM B B B Gunnison Gorge NCA C C B Headwaters Forest Reserve B B+ B+ Las Cienegas NCA B B+ B+ Red Rock Canyon NCA C C B Santa Rosa and San Jacinto NM C C C Snake River Birds of Prey NCA C C B- Steens CMPA D D D Upper Missouri River Breaks NM D D+ D+ Prehistoric Trackways NM NA NA F Red Cliffs NCA NA NA B OVERALL D D+ B- The agency has come a long way on signage since our First Assessment. Almost all of the units now have signs at points of entry, boundaries, and Wilderness areas; something the assessed units lacked when we first looked at the extent of signage. In fact, updating signs has become a renewed priority for the Conservation Lands. Areas like El Malpais NCA and Gunnison Gorge NCA have indicated that they are undergoing additional branding initiatives. These efforts are the beginning of BLM s agency-wide push to rebrand Conservation Lands, and we might also add that these signs look great. As BLM modernizes the look and feel of NCAs and National Monuments, continued emphasis should be placed on purposeful signage to inform the public of allowable uses, boundaries, and sensitive resources. To help drive tourism around the gateway communities of the National Conservation Lands, it is important that visitor centers are located outside the unit. Three-fourths of the units have visitor centers located off-site, which is a great trend across the system. Red Rocks NCA even has an impressive LEED-Certified building. We are also seeing visitor services formed between multiple groups like in the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey NCA where an assistance agreement with the World Center for Birds of Prey provides support and outreach for the NCA. The National Conservation Lands are making improvements to its digital presence. Almost all of the units now have permitting information, such as hunting restrictions and designated camping areas, available on their websites. All units except Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument have online maps, which show access points, trailheads, and information about staying safe and being responsible. Maps of the Gunnison Gorge NCA are even included in a mobile app focused on local tourism. Education programs can be a major highlight for areas in the National Conservation Lands. The Steens Mountain CMPA, Red Cliffs NCA, and Prehistoric Trackways National Monument have yet to create formal education plans, but almost all of the areas have education programs and staff conducting interpretation programs. Partnerships have proven to be effective in places like Gunnison Gorge NCA, where it has partnered with local groups to pilot citizen science programs and resource monitoring. 22 State of the National Conservation Lands: A Third Assessment

23 Best Practices Over the years, Las Cienegas NCA has become a model of using partnerships to provide high-quality and long-term education and conservation programs. BLM partners with the Empire Ranch Foundation to organize volunteers, engage conservation projects, and develop educational programs that protect, restore and sustain the Empire Ranch historical buildings and landscape as an outstanding western heritage education center. Such a mission embodies the spirit of the National Conservation Lands, and its programs are a telling sign of its mission. It includes Wild about Grasslands a youth ecology and ranching heritage program, and Youth in Wilderness a cultural and natural resource program for American Indian youth. It comes as no surprise that the Las Cienegas NCA published a paper in 2013 on lessons learned from its 15 years of impressive collaboration and commitment to public stakeholders. Recommendations 1. BLM should increase the budget for law enforcement across the National Landscape Conservation System. 2. BLM should build off of recent improvements in digital information by making websites and maps more clear and consistent for recreational users system-wide. Red Rock Canyon NCA (NV), BLM. 23

24 Natural Resource Monitoring Overall Grade: B What indicators did we use? Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument (MT), Bob Wick. Since the Second Assessment in 2010, BLM has largely maintained its natural resource data collection and monitoring methods with limited improvement. Although BLM is inventorying data on invasive species, riparian area health, and special status species on these units, about half the areas continue to lag behind and need stronger researching and monitoring strategies to adequately track natural resource progress and problems. BLM s shortage of baseline and monitoring data will negatively impact land management both in the short- and long-terms. Why measure Natural Resource Monitoring? To adequately manage natural resources, the BLM must know what resources are within the National Conservation Lands. Without baseline information and ongoing data collection, BLM is incapable of assessing changes to an area s landscapes, flora and fauna health, riparian conditions, water quality, and other critical indicators. As a consequence, the agency also cannot adequately adjust or adapt management to changing conditions within a particular unit. Therefore, developing a reliable baseline and implementing a consistent monitoring system is essential. Strengths and/or limitations of the data Most of the answers to our questions were provided by unit managers and staff in Some data were collected from Annual Manager s Reports and BLM materials available online. Many of the numbers provided were estimates. Invasives Monitoring: Scope and frequency of monitoring. Rangeland and Upland Monitoring: Monitoring of conditions and the use of these data for management. Wildlife and Plant Monitoring: Monitoring of special status species and compilation/synthesis of the data. Riparian Area Monitoring: Frequency of monitoring for proper functioning condition and whether plans address problem areas. Resource Monitoring: Whether impacts to values and objects of the unit were observed. What did we find? Overall, the units assessed have maintained an average commitment to data collection and inventory. These areas still lack sufficient baseline data, which will negatively impact monitoring and adaptive management decisions. As the effects of climate change rise and impacts to species and natural habitats expand, it is imperative that BLM has a comprehensive data set for National Conservation Lands. BLM continues to monitor sensitive wildlife and plant species within all units surveyed, and most areas are doing so at least annually. In the Carrizo Plain National Monument, however, BLM is monitoring some species either quarterly or seasonally. In doing so, BLM has identified population declines, which would not be possible without its consistent baseline data. A reoccurring monitoring problem across BLM offices is the shortage of funding and human resources, which is why some areas, like the Prehistoric Trackways NCA, El Malpais NCA and the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument, rely heavily on volunteer support. Fortunately, invasive species monitoring within the National Conservation Lands has improved since the First and Second Assessments. The Cascade- Siskiyou National Monument has applied its formal noxious weed strategy as described in its RMP, and the unit is now using inventory data to help apply treatments to some of its most infected places, such as the Box O and Soda Mountain areas. Many areas, such as the El Malpais National Conservation Area, still do not have formal invasive/noxious species monitoring programs. As a result, there is no invasives baseline data and infestations are only inventoried on a case-by-case basis in these areas. 24 State of the National Conservation Lands: A Third Assessment

25 UNIT NAME Agua Fria NM C B B Canyons of the Ancients NM C B B Carrizo Plain NM C B B Cascade-Siskiyou NM - C C El Malpais NCA B - C Grand Canyon-Parashant NM D C C Grand Staircase-Escalante NM C C+ B Gunnison Gorge NCA B B+ B Headwaters Forest Reserve B B+ B+ Las Cienegas NCA B B+ B Red Rock Canyon NCA D C C Santa Rosa and San Jacinto NM - C D Snake River Birds of Prey NCA B B B Steens CMPA D C B Upper Missouri River Breaks NM C C C Prehistoric Trackways NM - - C Red Cliffs NCA - - C OVERALL C C+ B- Notes: - signifies that insufficient data are available to give a grade or the area was not yet designated, so the information is unavailable. Best Practices While most units are monitoring and reporting on special status species at some level, the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey NCA has been collecting data on the Golden Eagle for 30 years annually. As a result, raptors in this NCA are well monitored and believed to be in fair, but stable, condition. Invasive species inventory and monitoring is inconsistent across the National Conservation Lands, but efforts in the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument are worth recognizing. Here, BLM has completed a full invasives inventory consistent with its resource management plan. As a result, invasives treatments are already in place and BLM is directing efforts to its top treatment areas. While BLM still needs to improve coordination with the specialists assisting with these efforts, its initiative is a step in the right direction. Recommendations 1. BLM needs to provide complete baseline inventory data for each unit of the National Conservation Lands, which should include data on invasive and special status species, particularly those listed as objects and values of the unit. 2. BLM should make all inventory and monitoring data available to the public by providing a clear compilation and brief analysis of the data and the agency s anticipated response. Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument (CA), Bob Wick. 25 Carrizo Plain National Monument (CA), Kevin McNeal.

26 Ecosystem and Species Health Overall Grade: B In 2005 and 2010, we could not provide a fair assessment of this category due to large data gaps. Fortunately, for the Third Assessment, the National Conservation Lands were able to supply substantially more information to our questions, allowing us to analyze current ecosystem and species health in most units. In general, areas are tracking at least some special status species regularly, and all units are challenged by invasive species. BLM offices are also steadily tracking land/rangeland health and riparian health where applicable. Despite progress, the National Conservation Lands still require greater inventory, monitoring and implementation efforts to successfully conserve, protect, and restore units ecosystems. Why measure Ecosystem and Species Health? One of the chief responsibilities of the National Landscape Conservation System is to safeguard species and habitats. This challenge grows as areas become more pressured by invasive species, roads and the impacts of climate change. One of the main concerns about ecosystem health is the degree to which many of these areas are fragmented by roads. The consequences of such fragmentation are well known; it spreads invasive species, damages watersheds and riparian areas, changes wildlife habitat, among other things. BLM must take practical steps to protect entire ecosystems and ensure that the diversity within individual units is well protected. Strengths and/or limitations of the data Special Status Species: Trends in federally listed threatened and endangered species. What did we find? In discussions with managers, we learned that almost all areas surveyed are not completely meeting agency standards for rangeland health. Only El Malpais National Conservation Area was said to be meeting 100 percent of the standards. The Agua Fria National Monument and Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument have continued to maintain percent of their lands in compliance with the standards, while the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area has unfortunately declined substantially. Now, only 44 percent of land within the Gunnison Gorge NCA passed the standards. Conversely, Grand Canyon- Parashant National Monument has showed significant improvement reporting only 38 percent meeting standards in 2010 to almost full compliance in All units surveyed continue to struggle with invasive species infestations. Most of the units still lack adequate human resources and financial backing to conduct full unit inventories and apply adequate treatments. As a result, there is a considerable lack of data available to indicate how much treatment BLM is doing to eradicate invasive and noxious weeds on the National Conservation Lands. Of those we can evaluate, the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument is showing the best performance, having treated over 67 percent of infected lands in FY13. Oftentimes estimates or only partial answers were provided to our questions. GIS data and associated metadata were inconsistent across units and often entirely unavailable or not yet analyzed. What indicators did we use? Fragmentation: Percent of land more than 1/4, 1/2, 1 and 2 miles from a road or route. Land Health/Rangeland Health: Percent of nonriparian land in compliance with standards. Extent of Invasives: Area affected and acreage treated annually. Riparian Health: Percent of wetland miles in Proper Functioning Condition. 26 State of the National Conservation Lands: A Third Assessment Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument (MT), Bob Wick.

27 Units are also struggling to find measurable improvements to area waterbodies. Only two areas the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument and the Las Cienegas NCA have 80 percent or more of their waterbodies at Proper Functioning Condition (PFC). It was also disappointing to see the Gunnison Gorge NCA fall from a 98 percent PFC level in 2010 to only 38 percent in It is also alarming that Agua Fria National Monument s waterways in PFC have dropped in both the last two assessments, going from 100 percent in 2005 to 81 percent in 2010, and only 41 percent in In both 2005 and 2010, there was little data available on special status species. While tracking has improved across the National Conservation Lands, it remains limited. El Malpais NCA is responsible for eight special status species, but the NCA still lacks monitoring data. In the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument, BLM is only tracking trends for peninsular bighorn sheep even though the area is also home to several key species, such as the endangered desert tortoise, the southwestern willow flycatcher, and least Bell s vireo. Inconsistent and scattered wildlife monitoring fails to provide adequate species and habitat data to fully understand current trends and inform decision making. UNIT NAME Agua Fria NM - - B+ Canyons of the Ancients NM - - D Carrizo Plain NM - - C- Cascade-Siskiyou NM - - C El Malpais NCA - - B Grand Canyon-Parashant NM - - D Grand Staircase-Escalante NM - - D Gunnison Gorge NCA - - B Headwaters Forest Reserve Las Cienegas NCA - - C Red Rock Canyon NCA Santa Rosa and San Jacinto NM Snake River Birds of Prey NCA - - D Steens CMPA Upper Missouri River Breaks NM - - D Prehistoric Trackways NM - - D Red Cliffs NCA - - D OVERALL - - C- Notes: - signifies that insufficient data are available to give a grade or the area was not yet designated, so the information is unavailable. Best Practices Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument (OR), Bob Wick. In 2014, BLM made progress in monitoring and evaluating the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument s special status species. Its rare and endemic plants are believed in fair, but stable, condition, and BLM s noxious weed eradication strategy is helping reduce invasives impacts on these species. BLM has also increased land acquisitions in its old growth habitat areas and incentivized voluntary relinquishments of grazing permits, which have helped retire cattle grazing almost entirely from the Monument. Recommendations 1. Analyze fragmentation caused by travel networks in each unit. These assessments are necessary for all units and are already passed due. Further, this data is important for understanding the pressures and impacts of human infrastructure on local wildlife. 2. Continue to reclaim roads and grazing lands to help restore the land and improve habitat connectivity. Increase measures to improve rangeland health standards where grazing is still permitted. 3. Protect riparian area health by completing all Proper Function Condition inventories and take steps to fix those areas that do not meet the standards. 4. Track and monitor changes and patterns in special status species populations. 27

28 Cultural Resource Managment Overall Grade: C+ Strengths and/or limitations of the data Cebolla Wilderness in the El Malpais NCA (NM), Bob Wick. The National Conservation Lands are home to some of the country s most unique and significant cultural and historic resources. Unfortunately, these prehistoric structures and sites, rock art, and areas of cultural importance are vulnerable and in jeopardy from years of inattention and neglect. Many of these areas have already been subjected to damage from vandalism, looting, erosion, illegal off-road vehicle use, grazing, and development. In 2010, we identified the lack of cultural and historic resource inventory and monitoring as a real cause for concern. Sadly, little has changed in To conserve these irreplaceable cultural resources, BLM needs to complete its inventory work within all National Conservation Lands. Currently, BLM only surveys a small portion of land annually and few areas employ a full-time cultural resource specialists. As a result, stewardship programs are relied on heavily. Why measure Cultural Resource Management? The National Conservation Lands contain significant cultural resources that range from prehistoric Native American pueblos to remains of 19th century Western migrations. Thousands of cultural sites have been found within these units, but they represent just a fraction of what potentially exists. In establishing the National Conservation Lands, Congress identified BLM s responsibility to protect not only ecological resources, but also historic and cultural resources found within the System. Without regular assessment and steady management, it is impossible to know if BLM is meeting its cultural stewardship responsibilities. BLM managers and staff provided information in phone interviews, and we also drew data from current Manager s Reports, individual Resource Management Plans and Environmental Impacts Statements. While the data is a mix of concrete inventory and informed estimates, both provided greater understanding of the status and shortcomings of cultural resource management across the National Conservation Lands. What indicators did we use? Total Cultural Inventories: Percent of area ever inventoried for cultural resources. Proactive Annual Inventories: Number of acres inventoried for cultural resources in the last year. Cultural Staff Capacity: BLM archeologist time devoted to historic and cultural resources. Site Stewardship Programs: Existence of partnerships with volunteers to monitor sites through a program or friends group. What did we find? The majority of cultural inventories are carried out according to BLM s obligations under the National Historical Preservation Act. BLM is required to assess impacts to cultural resources in areas where development, such as roads, recreation areas and power lines, are proposed, and to conduct inventories, especially in high priority areas. Fortunately, some areas have embraced their responsibilities and are inventorying beyond a project-by-project basis. For example, the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument reports to have inventoried between Section 110 acres of public land annually. Similarly, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is showing proactive management, and is conducting approximately 1400 acres of Section 110 inventory annually. The Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, which contains the highest known density of archaeological sites in the nation, reported only 240 acres of new Section 110 inventory in However, BLM expects to inventory as much as 4,500 acres next fiscal year, which will raise the total inventoried area of the Monument to 20 percent. Shortcomings in BLM s inventory are directly tied to the agency s financial constraints, staffing shortages, 28 State of the National Conservation Lands: A Third Assessment

29 and an increase in responding to inventory needs as projects are proposed rather than taking a proactive approach to inventorying duties. BLM has not been able to conduct any cultural resource inventories in the Headwaters Forest Reserve over the last five years. Similarly, the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto National Monument has been limited to case-by-case inventories due to a lack of trained staff and financial resources. From 2004 to 2013, the Steens Mountain CMPA also failed to conduct any proactive inventories. In 2014, BLM showed signs of progress in Steens Mountain CMPA where it inventoried at least 500 acres and has plans to complete similar amounts on an annual basis. BLM s lack of funding inevitably leads to a shortage of human resources. As illustrated above, financial constraints have been especially impactful in the Steens Mountain CMPA. Local managers candidly describe their situation as having to unfortunately do less with less. Based on our findings, the only areas with full-time cultural resource specialists on site to conduct inventories and monitoring are the Canyon of the Ancients, Grand Canyon-Parashant, and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. UNIT NAME Agua Fria NM C B B- Canyons of the Ancients NM A A A Carrizo Plain NM B B B Cascade-Siskiyou NM D C+ C- El Malpais NCA D D C Grand Canyon-Parashant NM D C B+ Grand Staircase-Escalante NM C C+ B+ Gunnison Gorge NCA D D+ D Headwaters Forest Reserve C C+ B Las Cienegas NCA D C+ B+ Red Rock Canyon NCA Santa Rosa and San Jacinto NM C C C Snake River Birds of Prey NCA D D C Steens CMPA F C C Upper Missouri River Breaks NM F C+ C+ Prehistoric Trackways NM Red Cliffs NCA - - C OVERALL D C C+ Notes: - signifies that insufficient data are available to give a grade or the area was not yet designated, so the information is unavailable. To compensate for resource limitations, BLM relies heavily on formal partnerships and volunteer programs to conduct inventories, monitor, and run educational programs. Some National Conservation Lands have formal partnerships with universities and local Friends groups to help with inventorying and monitoring activities. Although the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey NCA lacks a formal partnership or volunteer program, it does engage with individual groups, institutions and visitors to help monitor sites and conduct cultural interpretations. For example, the Idaho Army National Guard has helped survey approximately 88,514 Section 110 acres of the NCA since Some of the National Conservation Lands show improvement for cultural resource monitoring, but there is still considerable work to be done. BLM has only scratched the surface, when considering the full extent of cultural and historic resource inventory. Without more thorough and committed resources dedicated to cultural resources, adequate management planning and site monitoring cannot proceed, thereby jeopardizing thousands of acres of unidentified irreplaceable artifacts and historic sites. Best Practices There is a wealth of information available on the archaeological history of the Agua Fria National Monument, but the quantity has made it difficult to get an accurate count of specific cultural sites in the Monument. As a result, BLM is currently trying to complete a more accurate and comprehensive inventory, working closely with Archaeology Southwest and Friends of Agua Fria National Monument to collect and organize the local data into a single geodatabase. The Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument has an agreement with Montana State University to coordinate the Montana Site Stewardship Program, and also with Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota to document and monitor paleontological localities within the Monument. Recommendations 1. DOI should prioritize cultural resource inventories in its annual budgetary requests to meet its obligations under the National Historic Preservation Act and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act.. This could include allocating more funding toward field staff and hiring a fulltime cultural resource specialist for each unit of the National Conservation Lands. 2. BLM should adopt and expand its stewardship programs with interested parties to increase cultural resource inventory, tracking and monitoring. 29

30 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS System-wide policy guidance, branding of the System and a significant expansion of the National Conservation Lands over the last five years are beginning to show advancements in planning, protecting wild lands, visitor management, and natural resource monitoring. Adequate funding for the System remains a major issue and is having a direct impact on leadership, law enforcement, ecosystem health, and cultural resource management. Overall, we are still seeing a need for the agency to embrace its commitment to conservation through landscape-level collaborative planning and management, and the National Conservation Lands should provide the leadership for this across the Bureau. In addition to the specific recommendations under each issue explored above, the following are The Wilderness Society s top ten recommendations to improve the National Conservation Lands over the next five years: 30 Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey NCA (ID), Bob Wick.

31 Cottonwood Canyon Wilderness in the Red Cliffs NCA (UT), Bob Wick. 1. Provide clear direction to prioritize the designation and protection of important areas for conservation through land use planning, such as wildlife migration corridors and areas of critical environmental concern (ACECs), and with manual updates and other guidance issued, including through BLM s Planning 2.0 initiative. While not in the National Conservation Lands, these designations help to identify where additional National Conservation Lands are needed and should be afforded strong protective management through administrative determinations. 2. BLM should commit to intensive reviews of two RMPs and travel plans per year with stakeholder involvement, as it has done for the Grand Staircase- Escalante National Monument and Gunnison Gorge NCA, to ensure compliance with national policy guidance. 3. DOI should prioritize cultural resource inventories in its annual budgetary requests to meet its Section 106 and 110 obligations under NHPA and inventory obligations under FLPMA. 4. Ensure that there is a manager for each Monument and NCA and similar designations, including state-wide National Historic and Scenic Trail managers. There can be one manager in the case of something like two NCAs in one field office, but not a field manager being the manager of the unit, in addition to his or her duties as field manager. In addition, this restructuring should rank each manager for individual units at the same level as the field manager, and the Monument or NCA manager should be focused completely on the management of that unit. 5. BLM should provide national guidance on travel planning that is specific to the National Conservation Lands, and which defines how to identify and designate the minimum route network necessary for enjoyment of the objects and values to be protected. Guidance should also require evaluation of fragmentation from roads in each unit. 6. Issue policy guidance to emphasize natural soundscapes and access to non-motorized opportunities of the National Conservation Lands. 7. Establish an initiative and issue policy guidance to help protect areas where dark night skies are an important resource. 8. Issue a clarification to the National Landscape Conservation System Science Strategy (IM ) to set a deadline for every unit to have its Science Plan (as required by Appendix A of the Strategy) completed with specific targets and deadlines for implementation. 9. NEPA alternatives analyzed for proposed actions within the National Conservation Lands should fall within a range of protection and enhancement consistent with the unit s designation through a new instruction memorandum from the Director of the BLM. 10. Issue strong direction on analyzing the impacts of climate change and managing lands and waters for resiliency and adaptation. This guidance should specifically direct that the National Conservation Lands Program and individual units lead the agency s efforts to evaluate and respond to climate change at the landscape-level. 31