Oregon · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Fir Groves
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 two grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 478 acres and was designated July 15, 2005, in the Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area RMP. 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.
- HARDIE SUMMER9,726acres
- HAMMOND FFR7,516acres
The nearest areas
- Rooster CombOregon/Washington · 683 acres · nothing placed inside7miles
- East Kiger PlateuOregon/Washington · 1,216 acres · 3 grazing allotments covering part of it8miles
- Little BlitzenOregon/Washington · 2,255 acres · nothing placed inside9miles
- South Fork Willow CreekOregon/Washington · 186 acres · nothing placed inside10miles
- Little Wildhorse LakeOregon/Washington · 241 acres · nothing placed inside11miles
More from BLM's Oregon/Washington office
Every area BLM's Oregon/Washington 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 Fir Groves. 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