Identifying planning issues and developing planning criteria are the first steps in narrowing the scope of the RMP revision. Planning issues and planning criteria provide the framework within which the BLM makes RMP decisions (actions determined and established in the Approved RMP). For example, the BLM received nominations (issues) for Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs) during the scoping process for the Bighorn Basin RMP Revision Project. These issues fall within one of the planning criteria (see the Planning Criteria section), the need to identify and analyze areas potentially suitable for ACEC designation. The Bighorn Basin RMP Revision Project will decide whether the BLM will designate any ACECs in the Planning Area. In this example, the land use planning decision is referred to as a special designation.

BLM RMPs provide guidance for land use planning decisions according to the following categories: physical, biological, and heritage resources; resource uses; and special designations. In the context of these categories, the planning team develops management strategies designed to provide viable options for addressing planning issues. Management strategies provide the building blocks upon which the BLM develops general management scenarios and, eventually, the more detailed resource management alternatives. Resource management alternatives reflect a reasonable range of management options that fall within planning criteria, law, and BLM policy limits. The following sections describe the planning issues and planning criteria the BLM used to revise the existing plans.