Wyoming · Area of Critical Environmental Concern
Greater Sand Dunes ACEC
BLM found a wildlife resource, a cultural value, a scenic value and a historic value here, and its plan calls for special management. BLM's records place 1 oil and gas lease inside the line today, and four grazing allotments cover part of it. It covers 26,753 acres and was designated December 22, 2024, in the Rock Springs 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
Rock Springs RMP amendment names this area among the ACECs it covers. BLM's notice of October 2, 2025 says:
The BLM will re-evaluate the existing designations for ACECs, SRMAs, and the NHT corridor to assess whether special management is needed to protect sensitive resource values and whether mineral development can be allowed in certain circumstances.BLM, Notice of Intent To Amend the Resource Management Plan for the Rock Springs Field Office, Wyoming, 90 FR 47815, Oct. 2, 2025, FR Doc. 2025-19198, read Oct 18, 2026
Notice of intent October 2, 2025. Scoping comments closed November 3, 2025. 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.
The line
Ground: USGS The National Map, topographic tiles. Boundaries: BLM's own, read Oct 20, 2026. The lease and 4 grazing allotments below aren't marked.The oil and gas leases
1 active oil and gas lease sits inside the line. 1 of it took effect before the area was designated on December 22, 2024.
- Holder not listed by BLM1lease
Grazing allotments
4 grazing allotments cover part of this line. Their permittees aren't named here yet.
- Rock Springs2,185,958acres
- Pacific Creek197,415acres
- Sands110,430acres
- Fourth of July24,548acres
The nearest areas
- White Mountain Petroglyphs ACECWyoming · 22 acres · a grazing allotment covering part of it10miles
- Steamboat Mountain ACECWyoming · 439,123 acres · 39 oil and gas leases, 32 rights of way, 14 grazing allotments covering part of it12miles
- Natural Corrals ACECWyoming · 1,107 acres · a grazing allotment covering part of it20miles
- Oregon Buttes ACECWyoming · 3,441 acres · 2 grazing allotments covering part of it23miles
- Pinnacles ACECWyoming · 1,344 acres · a grazing allotment covering part of it24miles
Next to it
Steamboat Mountain Area of Critical Environmental Concern touches the line.
More from BLM's Wyoming office
Every area BLM's Wyoming 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 Greater Sand Dunes ACEC. 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