Montana · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Meeteetse Spires
BLM found a scenic value, a natural process and a natural hazard 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 1,523 acres and was designated September 21, 2015, in the Billings and Pompeys Pillar NM RMP (2015). In the plan's name, NM stands for National Monument and RMP 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 other energy facilities.
- USFS (CUSTER-GALLATIN NATIONAL FOREST)1right of way
Grazing allotments
3 grazing allotments cover part of this line. Their permittees aren't named here yet.
- Grove Creek25,282acres
- Bischoff24,681acres
- Bear Creek14,035acres
The nearest areas
- Grove CreekMontana/Dakotas · 8,252 acres · 3 rights of way, 3 grazing allotments covering part of it4miles
- Weatherman DrawMontana/Dakotas · 12,282 acres · 2 rights of way, 5 grazing allotments covering part of it20miles
- Clark's Fork Canyon ACECWyoming · 4,714 acres · 6 grazing allotments covering part of it20miles
- Bridger FossilMontana/Dakotas · 577 acres · 4 grazing allotments covering part of it22miles
- Paleocene, Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) ACECWyoming · 14,927 acres · 2 oil and gas leases, 1 right of way, 9 grazing allotments covering part of it33miles
More from BLM's Montana/Dakotas office
Every area BLM's Montana/Dakotas 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 Meeteetse Spires. 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