BLM Updates Mitigation Policy to Ensure Sustained Prosperity of America’s Public Lands

(WASHINGTON, D.C. – December 23, 2016) The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) today announced an update of its mitigation policy, setting stronger and more consistent standards for offsetting impacts on America’s public lands.

The following is a statement by Eric Holst, associate vice president of working lands at Environmental Defense Fund:

“Effective mitigation is a cornerstone of effective conservation. Nowhere is this more pertinent than in the sagebrush country, where the Interior Department and Bureau of Land Management have closely linked the success of an iconic rangeland bird – the greater sage-grouse – to mitigation programs. Done well, mitigation programs result in a net increase in quality habitat for species facing the threat of extinction. Fortunately, the states and BLM have been working together to include effective mitigation in their sage-grouse planning.

“The mitigation handbook released today is a huge step towards ensuring success for the greater sage-grouse, and for all wildlife and wild places on America’s public lands. The revised policy creates stronger and more consistent standards for offsetting impacts on public lands, supporting advanced, landscape-scale and innovative market-based approaches that maximize mitigation dollars and enhance wildlife habitat. It is an essential blueprint to avoid further declines for species like the sage-grouse, and to head off the regulatory restrictions that further wildlife and habitat losses would trigger.

“We are making significant progress in the way we manage our nation’s natural resources and this revised policy creates a path for change that will benefit our economy and natural environment.”

— Eric Holst, associate vice president, Environmental Defense Fund