Oregon · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Sterling Mine Ditch
BLM found a natural system 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 two grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 143 acres and was designated August 5, 2016, in the Southwestern 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.
Plan in motion
Northwestern and Coastal Oregon and Southwestern Oregon RMP revision names this area among the ACECs it covers. BLM's notice of February 19, 2026 says:
The BLM will reevaluate these designated ACECs for consideration in the Draft RMP/EIS.BLM, Notice of Intent To Revise Resource Management Plans for Northwestern and Coastal Oregon and Southwestern Oregon, 91 FR 8017, Feb. 19, 2026, FR Doc. 2026-03290, read Oct 18, 2026
Notice of intent February 19, 2026. Scoping comments closed March 23, 2026. We found no later notice for it in the Federal Register when we read it on October 18, 2026. The plan on BLM's ePlanning, project DOI-BLM-ORWA-0000-2026-0001-RMP-EIS.
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.
- STERLING CREEK36,651acres
- TUNNEL RIDGE2,246acres
The nearest areas
- DakubetedeOregon/Washington · 1,782 acres · 2 grazing allotments covering part of it2miles
- Holton CreekOregon/Washington · 421 acres · a grazing allotment covering part of it5miles
- Pipe ForkOregon/Washington · 517 acres · nothing placed inside18miles
- Grayback GladesOregon/Washington · 1,019 acres · nothing placed inside20miles
- Table RocksOregon/Washington · 2,103 acres · 1 right of way, a grazing allotment covering part of it21miles
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 Sterling Mine Ditch. 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