Idaho · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Downey Watershed
BLM found a natural system here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place 1 right of way inside the line today, and three grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 1,856 acres and was designated July 10, 2012, in the Pocatello RMP 2012. In the plan's name, RMP stands for resource management plan.
One of the 1,120 places the Bureau of Land Management has designated an Area of Critical Environmental Concern. This page shows its line, what BLM found there and what sits inside it.
The line
The rights of way
1 right of way sits inside the line. BLM files 1 under non-energy facilities.
- LOUISIANA-PACIFIC1right of way
Grazing allotments
3 grazing allotments cover part of this line. Their permittees aren't named here yet.
- Left Hand Fork Marsh Creek29,873acres
- Ninemile2,864acres
- Yago Creek1,348acres
The nearest areas
- Petticoat Peak RNAIdaho · 403 acres · a grazing allotment covering part of it13miles
- Robbers Roost Creek RNAIdaho · 400 acres · a grazing allotment covering part of it18miles
- Indian RocksIdaho · 3,577 acres · 2 rights of way, a grazing allotment covering part of it18miles
- Cheatbeck Canyon RNAIdaho · 100 acres · 1 right of way, 2 grazing allotments covering part of it20miles
- Oneida Narrows RNAIdaho · 615 acres · 3 grazing allotments covering part of it22miles
More from BLM's Idaho office
Every area BLM's Idaho office holdsThe proposed rule
A proposed rule, RIN 1004-AF53, would change how BLM drafts every land use plan, and how it designates ACECs like Downey Watershed. The comment window hasn't opened: the proposed rule wasn't in the Federal Register at our last check. The Watch sends one email the day it prints.
The rule's abstract
The purpose of this rulemaking is to establish in regulations an updated process for the approval of the development, revision, amendment, and maintenance of land use plans, as provided for by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, for public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Additionally, this rulemaking will provide clarification of the process the BLM uses for designating Areas of Critical Environmental Concern.Unified Agenda entry for RIN 1004-AF53, Publication ID 2026, reginfo.gov (OMB OIRA), read Oct 18, 2026