BLM Will Provide 30-Day Public Comment Period On Draft Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Management Strategy

The Bureau of Land Management

NEWS

The Bureau of Land Management will provide a 30-day public comment period after publishing a draft of its forthcoming national Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) management strategy, BLM Director Tom Fry announced today. The Bureau plans to issue its draft OHV management strategy by November 15; the public will have until mid-December to submit comments. The strategy under development is aimed at addressing OHV management and access-related issues while protecting environmentally sensitive areas on the public lands.

"This 30-day public comment period will give all interested groups and individuals a further opportunity to express their views on OHV and access issues," Fry said. "We welcome this additional input."

The BLM is currently analyzing OHV- and access-related public comments that the agency gathered through August 31. The Bureau received both written comments (including letters and electronic mail) and oral statements, the latter of which the BLM heard at 44 "listening" meetings held this summer throughout the West and in Washington, D.C. The Bureau is taking these comments into account as it writes its draft OHV management strategy. When finalized, the strategy will give local BLM land managers a framework for dealing with various OHV and public land access issues.

"We are extremely pleased with the public input we received through August," said Henri Bisson, the BLM's Assistant Director for Planning and Renewable Resources. Bisson, who has led the Bureau's efforts in developing the national strategy, added, "The 30-day comment period on our upcoming draft strategy will give people yet another opportunity to weigh in on OHV and access issues. We will carefully review these comments before finalizing the national strategy."

During the comment period, the BLM plans to conduct a satellite downlink, interactive broadcast with the agency's Resource Advisory Councils across the West. The public will be able to view the broadcast from the Bureau's State and Field Offices; the BLM will announce the date of the broadcast in the near future.

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 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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