| Contacts: | Shannon Borders, 970-240-5399 |
Bureau of Land Management’s Southwest Resource Advisory Council to Meet (02-22-12)
MONTROSE, Colo.—The Bureau of Land Management’s Southwest Resource Advisory Council will meet Wednesday, Mar. 7 and Thursday, Mar. 8 at the Holiday Inn Express, 1391 South Townsend Ave., in Montrose.
The meeting is open to the public and begins at 3:30 p.m. on Mar. 7 and at 8 a.m. on Mar. 8. The public comment period is scheduled during the statewide Resource Advisory Council meeting on Tuesday, Mar. 6 at 3:50 p.m. For more details about the statewide Resource Advisory Council meeting, go to http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/BLM_Information/newsroom/2012/blm_to_hold_joint.html.
Agenda topics for the Southwest Resource Advisory Council include:
• Land tenure transactions
• BLM’s economic contributions to Colorado
• Oil Shale Environmental Impact Statement
• District and Field Office Management Reports
The Southwest RAC is one of three advisory councils to BLM Colorado. Composed of 15 members appointed by the Secretary of the Interior, individuals serving in each RAC represent a broad range of public land interests, ranging from environmental to local government to commercial activity. For more information on Colorado RACs, go to http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/BLM_Resources/racs/swrac.html.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
2465 South Townsend Avenue Montrose, CO 81401