North Dakota Field Office
| Contacts: | Mark Jacobsen 406-233-2831 |
Dakotas Resource Advisory Council to Meet in Dickinson
The Bureau of Land Management’s Dakotas Resource Advisory Council will be meeting in Dickinson, on Sept. 2, 2009, at the Days Inn, Grand Dakota Lodge located at 532 15th Street West.
The meeting is open to the public. A formal public comment period has been set for 1:00 p.m. for anyone wishing to bring issues to the attention of the RAC. The council will hear updates to ongoing resource management planning efforts for both states and will assist in evaluating areas of ecological importance.
The 15-member council advises the Secretary of the Interior, through the BLM, on a variety of issues associated with public land management in the Dakotas. The Federal Land Policy and Management Act directs the Secretary of the Interior to involve the public in the planning and management of public lands administered by the BLM. The RAC is an effective partner in helping resolve public lands issues that affect residents in North and South Dakota.
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.
North Dakota Field Office 99 23rd Avenue West, Suite A Dickinson, ND 58601