Idaho Wildlife Partnerships
In Idaho, BLM is tasked with managing wildlife habitat on 12 million acres, which would not be possible without strong partnerships among federal and state, universities, private citizens and non-profit organizations. These partnerships are crucial for successfully restoring and conserving habitat, protecting wildlife, conducting research, coordinating volunteer work, implementing conservation plans, land exchanges and wildland fire protection. Today, this cooperation is the path that will lead to conservation success stories and help put Idaho at the forefront of innovative, state-of-the-art wildlife management.
Featured Partners
Idaho State Agencies
- Idaho Department of Fish and Game: IDFG partners with Idaho BLM on a wide range of wildlife projects throughout the state. Currently, greater sage-grouse conservation implementation is a high priority. Ongoing projects include greater sage-grouse telemetry, bat surveys, amphibian surveys, and migratory bird studies. The BLM also supports IDFG’s Volunteers for Habitat Restoration which is a cooperative effort to improve upland and riparian wildlife habitat in Southern Idaho.
- Idaho Governor’s Office of Species Conservation: OSC is engaged with Idaho BLM on a variety of wildlife policy issues, including sage-grouse conservation, planning, adaptive management, and mitigation.
Federal Agencies
- Natural Resources Conservation Service: NRCS partners with many federal agencies including the BLM on wildlife conservation planning, habitat improvement, and restoration on public and private lands. One of the most important umbrella partnerships is the NRCS Sage-grouse Initiative (SGI) program.
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Idaho Office: USFWS and Idaho BLM join together to accomplish many important conservation objectives. Recent priority species include sage-grouse, bighorn sheep, golden eagles and other raptors, southern and northern Idaho ground squirrels, yellow-billed cuckoo and other migratory birds.
- U.S. Geological Survey – Snake River Field Station: USG and Idaho BLM collaborate on ecological research and monitoring. Important work includes fire ecology, invasive species management, and avian ecology. The results of this science contribute greatly to wildlife resource management on BLM lands.
- U.S. Forest Service: National forests in Idaho and Idaho BLM collaborate on wildlife studies, conservation projects and planning. For example, the Snake River Partnership is a nationally recognized land conservation project that has protected approximately 26,500 acres of land along the South Fork, Henrys Fork and Main Snake Rivers in southeastern Idaho.
Universities, Colleges
- Boise State University – Department of Biological Sciences
- Idaho State University – Department of Biological Sciences
- University of Idaho – Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources
Research partnerships with Idaho public universities are an integral component of Idaho BLM wildlife program. The collaboration has produced state-of-the-art research of several wildlife species and their habitat. Seminal works include studies of sagebrush ecology, raptor biology, avian migration, sage-grouse, ungulates, pygmy rabbits, reptiles and amphibians.
Non-profit Partnerships
BLM partners with several non-profit organizations engaged in habitat restoration, monitoring and wildlife conservation. These organizations include: