Bureau of Land Management Issues Habitat Connectivity Instruction Memorandum

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Press Release


Nevada — On Tuesday, November 15, at 10:00AM, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced an Instruction Memorandum calling for increased collaboration between BLM state offices and state wildlife departments to include habitat connectivity in future wildlife management.

The BLM is already required under law to manage habitat with the goal of ensuring “self-sustaining populations and a natural abundance and diversity of wildlife,” but the internal processes for achieving this can be varied. Under this Instruction Memorandum, the BLM is instructing all of its state offices to work collaboratively with state fish and wildlife agencies and tribes to explicitly consider habitat connectivity as an important part of their wildlife management. Currently, connectivity between and within what the BLM determines are priority habitats are not explicitly considered under their legal requirement.

“The best science available shows the West, including Nevada, is losing 1.3 million acres of sagebrush habitat every year. The continuing fragmentation and disconnection of habitat is resulting in increasingly isolated animal populations that has led to the inability for wildlife to reach important winter and summer habitat.” said Russell Kuhlman, Executive Director of the Nevada Wildlife Federation. “We applaud the BLM for committing to work with the Nevada Department of Wildlife in our state to ensure that wildlife connectivity is an integral part of their wildlife management process.”

About Nevada Wildlife Federation: The Nevada Wildlife Federation is an affiliate of National Wildlife Federation and the oldest statewide conservation organization dedicated to sustaining Nevada’s wildlife through conservation and education.

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About Nevada Wildlife Federation: Nevada Wildlife Federation is a 501(c)3 and is the oldest statewide conservation organization dedicated to sustaining Nevada’s natural resources for wildlife through conservation, preservation, and education.