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Last updated: 04/04/03

BLM Extends Public Comment Period on Land-Use Planning Guidance Proposal

The Bureau of Land Management announced today that it is extending for 30 days the public comment period on its proposed new manual and handbook guidance for land-use planning. The comment period, originally scheduled to end on July 10, will now close on August 9. The BLM announced the extension in a notice published in today's Federal Register.

The 30-day extension will give all interested parties more time to submit their comments while enabling the BLM to finalize its guidance in the current fiscal year. The Bureau's land managers will then be able to use the guidance in carrying out numerous planning efforts in the new fiscal year that begins October 1.

The proposed manual and handbook guidance, which relates to the BLM's preparation and updating of its land-use plans, would encourage greater public participation throughout the planning process. The BLM's proposal would also make it easier for land managers to update and amend land-use plans as necessitated by new information (such as the listing of a threatened or endangered species) or because of changing conditions and trends that affect vegetation, soil, water, and other resources. The proposed guidance, which emphasizes the BLM's need to work collaboratively with communities located near public lands, would also promote planning across land-ownership and administrative boundaries.

Under Federal law, the BLM prepares land-use plans that serve as the basis for all activities - including livestock grazing, energy and mineral development, recreation, and natural resource protection - that occur on BLM-managed lands. The proposed guidance updates a land-use planning manual that the BLM prepared in the 1980s, shortly after the BLM published its planning regulations in 1983.

The proposed guidance is accessible from the BLM's Internet Home Page at www.blm.gov. Copies of the proposed guidance are also available from any BLM State or Field Office or from the BLM's Planning, Assessment, and Community Support staff in Washington, D.C., at 202-452-5110. Written requests for copies should be directed to the BLM's Planning, Assessment, and Community Support Group, 1849 C Street, N.W., MS 1050 LS, Washington, D.C. 20240-0001. Comments on the draft land-use planning manual and handbook must be received by August 9. Written comments should be submitted to Ted Milesnick, Planning, Assessment, and Community Support Group, at the same address. Comments may also be sent electronically to wo.210@blm.gov. Further information is available from Ted Milesnick (202-452-7727), Ann Aldrich (202-452-7722), or Paul Politzer (202-452-0349).

The BLM, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, manages more land - 264 million surface acres - than any other Federal agency. Most of this public land is located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The Bureau, with a budget of $1.4 billion and a workforce of some 8,700 full-time permanent employees, also administers more than 560 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 found on the public lands.

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