REA Background

REAs integrate "wall-to-wall" data on biodiversity and other key resources, such as representative vegetation, aquatic ecosystem types and sensitive species http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/more/climatechange/reas.html. They also document change agents, such as urban/industrial development, invasive species, fire/hydrologic regime alteration, and climate change, and their effects on key resources. Each REA develops spatially-explicit land use scenarios, including documentation of current conditions and forecasted conditions for 2025 and 2060. Evaluation of current land use scenarios emphasizes documentation of relative ecological integrity for key natural resources. Forecasted land use trends (e.g., renewable energy development patterns) are emphasized in the analysis of the 2025 scenario, and climate change effects are emphasized in the 2060 scenario. The REA produces an updated perspective on the location (current and likely future) of key resources and change agents, and provides a contextual synthesis for use in subsequent management plan revisions.

Climate change adaptation must form one key facet of BLM management plan revision, especially in regional landscapes of the arid southwest, where climate change effects are predicted to be severe over the coming decades. This proposed project will take full advantage of REA results now coming available to chart a pathway for integrating this contextual information into BLM planning decisions. It will also provide a vehicle for clarifying multi-jurisdictional strategies with BLMs partners as the REA data and analyses are conducted for the complete ecoregion extent.