Montana · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Sweetgrass Hills
BLM found a wildlife resource and a cultural value here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place 13 rights of way inside the line today, and ten grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 7,599 acres and was designated September 21, 2015, in the HiLine RMP (2015). 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
13 rights of way sit inside the line. BLM files 13 under non-energy facilities.
- HIGHLINE COMMUNICATIONS3rights of way
- BNSF RAILWAY COMPANY1right of way
- NORTHERN MONTANA COMMUNICATIONS1right of way
- CLFS INC1right of way
- BRESNAN COMMUNICATIONS1right of way
- TOOLE COUNTY OF1right of way
- MT DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION1right of way
- EVENING POST INDUSTRIES INC1right of way
- EAST BUTTE TV CLUB INC1right of way
- MARIAS RIVER ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE INC1right of way
- MT ROYAL RPTR ASSN1right of way
Grazing allotments
10 grazing allotments cover part of this line. Their permittees aren't named here yet.
- Mount Royal5,456acres
- West Butte1,868acres
- Big Spring719acres
- Whitlash563acres
- Miners Coulee329acres
- McDermott Place201acres
- Devils Chimney200acres
- Sweetgrass Hills120acres
- HAY COULEE/GOLD BUTTE106acres
- Fey Lease40acres
The nearest areas
- Kevin RimMontana/Dakotas · 4,647 acres · 8 oil and gas leases, 10 rights of way, 5 grazing allotments covering part of it33miles
- Square ButteMontana/Dakotas · 797 acres · 2 grazing allotments covering part of it108miles
- Cow CreekMontana/Dakotas · 19,414 acres · 6 grazing allotments covering part of it128miles
- Woody IslandMontana/Dakotas · 32,871 acres · 1 right of way, 15 grazing allotments covering part of it133miles
- Sleeping GiantMontana/Dakotas · 11,679 acres · 1 right of way, 2 grazing allotments covering part of it139miles
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 Sweetgrass Hills. 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