Idaho · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
The Badlands RNA
BLM found a natural system and a wildlife resource here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place no claim, lease or right of way inside the line today, and two grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 1,835 acres and was designated December 30, 1999, in the Owyhee 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
Ground: USGS The National Map, topographic tiles. Boundaries: BLM's own, read Oct 20, 2026. The 2 grazing allotments below aren't marked.Grazing allotments
2 grazing allotments cover part of this line. Their permittees aren't named here yet.
- Nickel Creek71,847acres
- Castlehead/Lambert46,108acres
The nearest areas
- Owyhee River Bighorn Sheep Habitat AreaIdaho · 143,911 acres · at least 1 active mining claim, 3 rights of way, 10 grazing allotments covering part of it10miles
- Owyhee River Bighorn Sheep Habitat AreaIdaho · 57,138 acres · at least 21 active mining claims, 4 grazing allotments covering part of it13miles
- The Tules RNAIdaho · 114 acres · a grazing allotment covering part of it16miles
- Pleasant Valley Table RNAIdaho · 1,469 acres · 2 grazing allotments covering part of it16miles
- North Fork Juniper Woodland ONAIdaho · 4,412 acres · 3 grazing allotments covering part of it18miles
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 The Badlands RNA. 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