The U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced an approved resource management plan for property under the purview of the Four Rivers Field Office. The plan includes changes to management of nearly 200,000 acres of surface and mineral estate managed by the Bureau of Land Management, according to an Aug. 18 news release.

“We are pleased to announce the Record of Decision for the Four Rivers Resource Management Plan,” BLM Boise District Manager Tanya Thrift said in the release. “This plan will balance the tremendous demand to use public lands with the conservation of these lands and resources into the future. We appreciate the involvement of Tribal nations, federal, state and local government partners, stakeholders and the public in crafting the final plan.”

The Four Rivers Field Office Approved Resource Management Plan is meant to guide management of “approximately 783,160 surface acres and 1,173,170 acres of mineral estate, including split estate, in Ada, Adams, Boise, Camas, Canyon, Elmore, Gem, Owyhee, Payette, Valley and Washington counties administered by the BLM,” the report says. It comes after the Bureau of Land Management proposed changes in allocations and management directions for fluid mineral leasing and development from those in the proposed RMP/Final EIS, and the notice of significant change was published on May 8, 2023, according to the approved plan.

The reason for the update, which replaces the 1988 Cascade Resource Management Plan, the 1983 Kuna Management Framework Plan and the portion of the 1987 Jarbidge Resource Management Plan encompassing BLM-managed public lands within the Four Rivers Field Office jurisdiction, was that the update would separate management of oil and gas from geothermal resources and prioritize BLM resources where there is high potential for oil and gas, the release said. 

The plan also "designates the new 120,000-acre Bennett Hills Backcountry Conservation Area (BCA), the first BCA in Idaho, to promote high quality, wildlife-dependent recreation activities while supporting the BLM’s multiple-use and sustained yield mission. The BLM estimates this plan could generate more than 700 jobs annually across the recreation, agriculture and energy industries," the release reported.

The Four Rivers Field Office is located in Boise, Idaho, and the staff are responsible for management of approximately 1.3 million acres of public lands, available for multiple uses, including trail and river recreation, livestock grazing, protection of endangered and rare plants and animals. The 190-mil Ridge to Rivers Trail System is part of this acreage, according to the Bureau of Land Management.

The conservation of the Bennett Hills area has drawn cheers from sportsmen and women, according to the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership.

“When successfully implemented by the BLM, the Bennett Hills BCA will be managed to protect and enhance public access to world-class hunting; conserve intact wildlife habitat, including crucial big game winter range and migratory habitats for six distinct mule deer, elk and pronghorn herds; prioritize management practices that restore habitat and control noxious weeds (i.e. treat cheat grass, control conifer encroachment and allow water developments),” the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership.