Idaho · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Pennal Gulch
BLM found a natural system and a natural process here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place 2 rights of way inside the line today, and four grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 5,832 acres and was designated July 29, 1999, in the Challis RMP 1999. 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
2 rights of way sit inside the line. BLM files 2 under non-energy facilities.
- SALMON FIELD OFFICE1right of way
- Holder not listed by BLM1right of way
Grazing allotments
4 grazing allotments cover part of this line. Their permittees aren't named here yet.
- Allotment USFS-GRZ-10137.0105418,686acres
- Salmon River7,461acres
- Round Valley6,438acres
- Pennal Gulch4,020acres
The nearest areas
- Birch CreekIdaho · 8,648 acres · at least 4 mining claims BLM lists as Filed, 6 rights of way, 2 grazing allotments covering part of it10miles
- Malm Gulch/Germer Basin RNAIdaho · 2,409 acres · a grazing allotment covering part of it13miles
- Lone BirdIdaho · 9,970 acres · at least 3 active mining claims, 1 right of way, 3 grazing allotments covering part of it14miles
- Cronk's Canyon RNAIdaho · 371 acres · a grazing allotment covering part of it14miles
- Dry Gulch RNAIdaho · 539 acres · a grazing allotment covering part of it14miles
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 Pennal Gulch. 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