Oregon · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Jordan Craters
BLM found a wildlife resource, a cultural value, a scenic value, a natural process and a historic value here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place no claim, lease or right of way inside the line today, and five grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 31,356 acres and was designated September 1, 2002, in the Southeastern Oregon 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 5 grazing allotments below aren't marked.Grazing allotments
5 grazing allotments cover part of this line. Their permittees aren't named here yet.
- WEST COW CREEK137,813acres
- LODGE17,584acres
- MCCAIN SPRINGS10,705acres
- OLIVER5,701acres
- SCHNABLE CREEK5,097acres
The nearest areas
- Mahogany RidgeOregon/Washington · 682 acres · 2 grazing allotments covering part of it12miles
- Spring MountainOregon/Washington · 995 acres · a grazing allotment covering part of it14miles
- Leslie GulchOregon/Washington · 11,683 acres · 2 rights of way, a grazing allotment covering part of it15miles
- Coal Mine BasinOregon/Washington · 756 acres · 3 grazing allotments covering part of it19miles
- Coal Mine Basin RNAIdaho · 2,397 acres · at least 40 mining claims BLM lists as Filed, 4 grazing allotments covering part of it20miles
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 Jordan Craters. 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