BLM Announces Internet Availability of Lands and Minerals Databases

Members of the public surfing the web for public land information now have renewed access to three popular lands and minerals databases that provide essential information to the public: GeoCommunicator, Legacy Rehost 2000 (LR2000) System reports, and public eForms. The first one to come back online, GeoCommunicator, was available in November 2005, followed by LR2000 and public eForms in February 2006. These three public applications administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) were temporarily shut down due to ongoing litigation relating to cyber security.

“The recent disruption of our Internet system does not diminish the BLM’s commitment to delivering information about our agency’s activities in a timely manner,” said Lynn Rust, Deputy State Director for Energy, Lands and Minerals.

The LR2000 System (http://www.blm.gov/lr2000/)
· The LR2000 contains applicant and land use data on leases, permits, contracts, agreements, unpatented mining claims, and other use authorizations issued or recorded by the BLM. Use authorizations pertain to oil and gas, coal, sand, gravel, grazing, communication sites, and rights-of-way.

GeoCommunicator (http://www.geocommunicator.gov)
· The Geocommunicator is an interactive map viewer that permits users to search and display LR2000 records including: oil and gas, geothermal, solid mineral and coal leases, mining claims, stipulations and conveyances, as well as download and dynamically map Public Land Survey System (PLSS) data. Users can also view grazing allotment and pasture boundaries on this site.

Public eForms (www.blm.gov/blmforms)
· This web-based forms application provides customers in private and government sectors with BLM, Department of Interior, and various other forms that are easy to use in both printed and, where possible, electronic format.
· Each eForm can be filled out and submitted electronically, saving customers the cost of postage and handling and/or travel expenses associated with filing a paper copy in a Field or State Office.
· Customers can also track the status of eForms online.

The BLM, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, manages more land - 261 million surface acres - than any other Federal agency. Most of this public land is located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The Bureau, which has a workforce of about 9,000 employees, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the Nation. The BLM preserves open space by managing the public lands for multiple uses, including outdoor recreation, livestock grazing and mining, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on the public lands.

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