USFS Revises Land Management Plan for Comanche & Cimarron National Grasslands

By Andee Leininger

Published: Feb. 13, 2026

COLORADO — In October of 2023, the US Forest Service (USFS) began their revision process of the Land Management Plan for the Comanche National Grasslands in southeast Colorado, and the Cimarron National Grasslands in southwest Kansas.

Currently, both grasslands, in addition to the Pike and San Isabel National Forests, are all managed under one plan that was approved in 1984. The National Forest System Land Management planning rule from (2012 Planning Rule). This planning rule is being used to guide the process for a new land management plan solely for the Comanche and Cimarron National Grasslands (CCNG).

There are three stages in the plan revision process: Assessment, Plan Development/Amendment/Revision, and Monitoring. The plan for the CCNG just completed the assessment phase with the end of the 6-week comment period.

According to the Regional Forester’s Identification Process for determining SCC, the species must be native, known to occur in the plan area and must meet the 4 Indicators of Conservation Concern. In order to be “known to occur” in the plan area, the document states the species must be “…established or becoming established during the time of plan development.” However, more than half of the species listed on the list of SCC were last known to occur in the plan area before the time of plan development, with some of the last known occurrences in the 1970’s and 1990’s.

For example, Bigelow’s bluegrass was claimed to have been found in Picketwire Canyon in 1997, but that is the only occurrence of that species within recent recordkeeping memory. Yet, the Draft Assessment still claims that is enough for the species to be “known to occur” in the plan area. The draft assessment identifies 52 plant and 17 wildlife species as SCC, and claims that 14 species are either directly endangered by, or the habitat is endangered by, grazing, overgrazing, grazing intensity and livestock farming and ranching.

Incorrect and misleading information is rife within the document, including statements such as “The expansion of agriculture and urbanization across the Great Plains and the areas surrounding and within the Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands area have resulted in pollution, hydrologic disturbance, and physical modification of streams.”

No urbanization has occurred within the grasslands, and the only “agriculture” on the Timpas Unit of the Comanche is grazing.

The USFS is also recommending the section of the Purgatoire River within the plan area be designated a Wild & Scenic River because they claim it contains the outstanding values of “geology, history & culture, fish and wildlife”. Even after admitting there are naturally toxic levels of manganese, selenium and arsenic, which they admit in Appendix C to be a threat to the habitat of fish.

None of the permittees in the plan area were contacted prior to the draft assessment being written. There were multiple representatives from Non-Governmental Organizations and Non-profit entities which attended the webinars held during August and September and advocated for the removal of grazing from the grasslands.

The next phase of the planning process, plan development/amendment/revision, will begin once the government shutdown ends. Visit the USFS website here for more information.