Montana · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Ringing Rocks
BLM found a natural system here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place no claim, lease or right of way inside the line today, and four grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 161 acres and was designated April 20, 2009, in the Butte RMP (2009). 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 4 grazing allotments below aren't marked.Grazing allotments
4 grazing allotments cover part of this line. Their permittees aren't named here yet.
- Allotment USFS-GRZ-10259.01034918,988acres
- Ringing Rocks6,173acres
- Big Pipestone Creek5,076acres
- F.S. South Pony651acres
The nearest areas
- Humbug SpiresMontana/Dakotas · 8,374 acres · 2 rights of way, 5 grazing allotments covering part of it24miles
- Elkhorn MountainsMontana/Dakotas · 53,434 acres · at least 466 active mining claims and 3 more BLM lists as Filed, 24 rights of way, 49 grazing allotments covering part of it33miles
- Block MountainMontana/Dakotas · 8,631 acres · 1 right of way, 5 grazing allotments covering part of it38miles
- Beaverhead RockMontana/Dakotas · 124 acres · a grazing allotment covering part of it40miles
- Virginia City Historic DistrictMontana/Dakotas · 513 acres · at least 4 active mining claims, 1 right of way, 3 grazing allotments covering part of it48miles
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 Ringing Rocks. 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