Last updated: 01/08/07

2000 News Releases

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• Most Are Satisfied with Visits to BLM-managed Public Lands According to National Survey According to a national survey, most residents of western states who visited public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management were satisfied with their experience. (12/22/00)

• BLM Publishes Proposed Rule To Recover Costs Of Processing Minerals-Related Documents The Bureau of Land Management today published in the Federal Register a proposed rule that would enable the BLM to recover more of its costs in processing minerals-related documents, such as applications for permits to conduct mining operations. The public now has 60 days – until February 13, 2001 – to comment on the proposed rule. (12/15/00)

• BLM Publishes Final Rule on Activities in Wilderness Areas The Bureau of Land Management today published a final rule that revises and updates management regulations relating to congressionally designated Wilderness Areas under BLM management. The final rule, which appears in today's Federal Register, applies to 5.5 million acres of BLM-managed Wilderness Areas in the continental United States. (12/14/00)

• BLM Publishes Draft National Off-Highway Vehicle Strategy, Opens 30-Day Public Comment Period The Bureau of Land Management today released a Draft National Off-Highway Vehicle Management Strategy that is intended to promote environmentally sound Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) use on BLM-managed public lands. The Draft Strategy, which reflects extensive public input, is now available for a 30-day public comment period that begins today and runs until January 3, 2001. (12/04/00)

• Sylvia Baca Named Acting Director of BLM Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt today announced that Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Land and Minerals Management, Sylvia V. Baca, will serve in a dual capacity as Assistant Secretary and Acting Director of the BLM. She succeeds Tom Fry, who retired from federal service November 24. The appointment is effective immediately. (11/27/00)

• BLM-led "National Public Lands Day Partnership" Selected to Receive Hammer Award A team comprised of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), eight other Federal agencies, and the National Environmental Education & Training Foundation has been selected to receive Vice President Al Gore's Hammer Award for the team's work in developing National Public Lands Day into a high-impact, nationwide celebration. (11/21/00)

• The Bureau of Land Management published a final rule that updates and strengthens the agency’s "3809" surface mining regulations The final rule, which takes effect January 20, 2001, will enable the agency to fulfill its duty under Federal law to prevent "unnecessary or undue degradation" of BLM lands from hardrock mining. The final rule appears in the Federal Register and follows closely a "Preferred Alternative" course of action, as set forth in a Final Environment Impact Statement. (11/21/00)

• BLM Announces New Date for Publication of Draft National Off-Highway Vehicle Strategy The BLM announced today that it plans to publish its Draft National Off-Highway Vehicle Strategy on November 30 rather than this week, as originally scheduled. The Draft Strategy, which the Bureau is still developing, is aimed at ensuring environmentally sound Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) use on BLM-managed public lands. (11/16/00)

• BLM Presents Fifth Annual Interpretation and Environmental Education Awards at Workshop The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recognized its interpreters and environmental educators Thursday, November 9, 2000, during a ceremony in Tucson, Arizona. (11/14/00)

• The President and Congress Protect Three New Natural Areas In the past two weeks, President Clinton has signed legislation safeguarding three ecologically sensitive areas of Federal land in Oregon, California, and Colorado. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will add these areas to its National Landscape Conservation System — a system of lands designated for their important scientific or historic characteristics. (11/02/00)

• BLM Director Tom Fry Announces Departure from Bureau Bureau of Land Management Director Tom Fry announced today that he will be departing from the agency later this month. Fry, who was been BLM Director since his confirmation by the U.S. Senate last May, is leaving to become President of the National Ocean Industries Association, an energy-related trade association in Washington, D.C. (11/01/00)

• BLM Publishes Final EIS on Forthcoming 3809 Regulations The Bureau of Land Management today published a final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the agency’s proposal to upgrade its “3809” surface mining regulations. The BLM plans to issue its final, revised regulations before the end of the year, but no earlier than 30 days after a notice of the EIS’s availability appears in the October 20 Federal Register. (10/16/00)

• BLM Receives More Funding for Wild Horse and Burro Program Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director Tom Fry announces that the Department of the Interior’s Fiscal Year 2001 appropriations includes an additional $9.6 million for the Agency’s Wild Horse and Burro Program. (10/13/00)

• BLM Director Lauds Congress, Administration for Agency’s Funding Increases in Interior Appropriations Bill Bureau of Land Management Director Tom Fry today praised Congress and the Administration for crafting a Fiscal Year 2001 Interior appropriations bill that increases funding for the BLM by more than 13 percent. Fry said the additional money “gives the BLM an unprecedented opportunity to demonstrate our stewardship capabilities in the fast-growing West. (10/12/00)

• New Web Site Provides Centralized Public Access to Land and Minerals Record Information from the BLM's LR2000 Data Base The BLM has established a web site from which the public may now access land and minerals information from the agency's LR2000 data base. This site provides a direct access to services that previously required a visit to an information access center at one of the BLM's regional offices. (9/29/00)

• BLM Will Provide 30-Day Public Comment Period On Draft Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Management Strategy 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. (9/25/00)

• BLM Hosts 50 National Public Lands Day Events On September 23, the BLM will host 50 project sites as a part of the 7th annual National Public Lands Day. The nationwide event is a day when families and groups of all ages volunteer to "give something back" to America's millions of acres of public lands. BLMs projects include a multitude of activities from building trails to planting trees to cleaning up lakeshores and streams. Public Lands Day Sites (9/21/00)

• Wild Horses and Burros Looking for Helpers The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is seeking help in finding new homes for thousands of wild horses and burros gathered from drought and fire-stricken public lands. BLM is faced with placing nearly 4,000 mustangs and burros with adopters during the next few months.(9/20/00)

• BLM Distributes Almost $134 Million in "PILT" Checks to Local Governments for Tax-Exempt Lands The BLM on September 21 sends payments for 2000 totaling $134 million to approximately 1,977 local government units across the U.S. in accordance with the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) Act. Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt announced that this year's payment is nearly $9 million more than last year's total, which was $125 million. (9/20/00)

• BLM Invites Public to Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board Meeting Cheyenne, Wyoming, September 19-20, 2000 (9/14/00)

• BLM Publishes Rule Requiring Permits for Public Demonstrations at Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument The BLM's interim final rule, which takes effect today, gives the BLM permit-issuance authority to manage public demonstrations and protests within the Monument. Questions and Answers (9/01/00)
  

• BLM Director Announces Head of New National Landscape Conservation System Office   Bureau of Land Management Director Tom Fry announced today the appointment of Elaine Marquis Brong, the BLM's Deputy Assistant Director for Renewable Resources and Planning, as the Director of the agency's new National Landscape Conservation System Office in Washington, D.C.   (8/25/00)
  

• Mike Pool Selected As New Director of BLM's California State Office.   Bureau of Land Management Director Tom Fry today announced the selection of BLM veteran Mike Pool as the new director of the BLM's California State Office.  Pool, who has been the BLM's Associate State Director in Colorado for the past three years, will assume his new position on August 27.   (8/24/00)
  

• BLM Director Gives Agency's Highest Award to Jimmy Carter. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director Tom Fry presented a Legacy of the Land Award to former President Jimmy Carter at an event in Anchorage, Alaska.   (8/23/00)
  

• Emergency Gathers Underway to Save Wild Horses and Burros. Severe drought conditions and recent wildfires throughout the western United States have destroyed thousands of acres of habitat for America's wild horses and burros, and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is conducting emergency gathers to save as many of these animals as possible.   (8/22/00)
  

• BLM Rule Implements Law Raising Acreage Limits on Sodium Operations. The BLM today published a rule that implements a new law raising the acreage limits for producers of sodium (trona) on BLM-managed lands.   The rule applies to sodium leases on all BLM-managed lands, but at this time is expected to affect only sodium leases in Wyoming producing trona.   (8/18/00)
  

• BLM Makes Spirit Cave Man Determination in Nevada. The BLM made a preliminary determination today that ancient human remains from Spirit Cave are Native American but they cannot be culturally affiliated with the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe, or with any other contemporary group. The remains, including Spirit Cave Man, will remain in federal ownership. (8/15/00)

• Statement by BLM Director Tom Fry on the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act The Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act (FLTFA) will allow the Bureau of Land Management to retain receipts from land sales, which will be used to cover administrative costs and acquire properties to improve the nation's land management pattern.  Questions and Answers (7/25/2000)

• Bureau of Land Management Presents Excellence Awards to Industry Leaders in Fluid Minerals Production
  The Bureau of Land Management today presented the Director's Excellence Awards to companies in six states, for their innovations and environmental sensitivity in the production of fluid minerals. (7/25/2000)

• BLM Seeks Comment on OHV Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is seeking ideas and comments from the public on how best to ensure environmentally responsible off-highway vehicle (OHV) use on the public lands. As part of this process the BLM will hold a "listening meeting" on July 28, 2000 at the Washington Plaza Hotel in Washington D.C. from 9 AM to 11:30 AM.(7/19/2000)

• BLM Announces Selection of Members to Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board Public Invited to Board's First Meeting Bureau of Land Management Director Tom Fry announces the selection of nine people to serve on the Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board, which will advise the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture on the management and protection of wild horses and burros on the nation's public lands. (7/6/2000)

• BLM Institutes Mineral Pricing Policy for calculating the mineral commodity price to use when determining whether a mining claim contains a "discovery" of a valuable mineral deposit. (7/6/2000)

• BLM Extends Public Comment Period on Land-Use Planning Guidance Proposal The comment period, originally scheduled to end on July 10, will now close on August 9. (6/30/2000)

• BLM To Publish Rule on Alaska Native Veteran Allotments The Bureau of Land Management will publish on Friday, June 30, a final rule that provides detailed guidance on how certain Alaska Native veterans may apply for allotments of Federal land in Alaska. (6/29/2000)

• BLM Extends Public Comment Period on Proposed Rule Relating to Oil and Gas Activities in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. The public comment period, originally scheduled to end June 26, will now close on August 10. (6/26/2000)

• BLM Creates National Landscape Conservation System, Fry Announces (6/19/2000)

• Tom Fry Sworm in as New BLM Director Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt swore Tom Fry of Dallas, Texas, to be the new Director of the Bureau of Land Management. (6/13/2000)

• BLM Seeks Public's Ideas on Off-Highway Vehicle Use Comment Period Open until August 31, 2000 (06/09/2000)

• John Northington, Senior Adviser to Bureau of Land Management Director Tom Fry, will be leaving the BLM on June 16 to work for a government relations firm in Washington, D.C. (06/09/2000)

• Secretary Babbitt makes four new monument recommendations to President Clinton. 
  Three BLM landscapes proposed for protection as national monuments. (06/01/2000)

• BLM Proposes New Manual and Handbook Guidance Related to Land-Use Planning Seeks Public Review and Input.  To improve its management and protection of public land resources, the Bureau of Land Management proposed new manual and handbook guidance relating to the BLM's preparation and updating of its land-use plans. The proposed guidance, which would encourage greater public participation throughout the planning process, would affect manuals and handbooks used by BLM land managers. The proposal, announced in today's Federal Register, is open for public review until July 10. See also related Q's and A's. (5/30/2000)

• U.S. Senate Confirms Tom Fry as New BLM Director
  On May 24, 2000, the U.S. Senate confirmed Tom Fry of Dallas, Texas, to be the new Director of the Bureau of Land Management.(5/25/2000)

• BLM Proposes Rule to Recover Costs Relating to Recreation Permits.  The Bureau of Land Management publishes a proposed rule in the Federal Register that would update cost-recovery requirements and make other changes in the BLM's existing recreation regulations. The proposed rule would take into account new developments in recreation technology, emphasize resource protection and update cost recovery requirements. See also related Q's and A's and Recreation Use Authorizations. (5/16/2000)

• New Web Site Provides Centralized Public Access to Geographic Information from the BLM's Public Land Surveys.  Announcing the establishment of a web site from which the public may download information from the agency's Geographic Coordinate Data Base (GCDB). The BLM's geographic information supports decisionmakers in the public and private sectors in applications as varied as commercial zoning, water conservation, property tax assessment, applying for mineral leases, and wildlife management. See also related Q's and A's on the GCDB web site.(5/11/2000)

• BLM Proposes Unitization, Other Regulations for National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.  This proposed rule would add a new subpart to the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) oil and gas leasing regulations applying to oil and gas leasing in the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska (NPRA). The new subpart would implement new statutory language in Section 128 of the Fiscal Year 1998 Interior Appropriations Act (P.L.105-83) and allow the formation of oil and gas units within the NPRA. See also related Q's and A's on the proposed rule.(4/26/2000)

• Mat Millenbach Named BLM Montana State Director
  Announcement of the return of Mat Millenbach BLM as State Director for Montana/Dakotas. He will replace Larry Hamilton who is moving to Boise, Idaho to manage the BLM's Office of Fire and Aviation, located at the National Interagency Fire Center. (3/14/2000)

• Larry Hamilton Named Office of Fire and Aviation Director.  Announcement of the move of Larry Hamilton to Idaho as the Director of the BLM's National Office of Fire and Aviation. Hamilton will replace Les Rosenkrance, who is being reassigned as a Special Assistant to the Deputy Director. (3/14/2000)

• Babbitt Announces the Designation of 18 Sites Important to the Nation's History as National Historic Landmarks.  Eighteen sites from Florida to California were recommended by the National Park System Advisory Board for their diverse history and because they contain aspects of America's national heritage. "These historic properties are the storytellers of our rich American history," Babbitt said. "Our diverse national heritage is locked in the very walls and grounds of these historic structures and will be preserved for future generations to learn from and enjoy." (DOI release - 3/1/2000)

• Secretary Babbitt Praises Confirmation of Sylvia Baca as Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management.  Secretary Babbitt praised the Senate action, which confirmed Baca's responsibility for overseeing the Minerals Management Service, Bureau of Land Management, and the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. (DOI release - 3/1/2000)

• BLM Requests $141 Million Increase in Budget to Meet Public Land Management Challenges.  The Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is requesting a fiscal year 2001 budget of$1.48 billion -- up $141 million over the FY2000 enacted level of funding. (2/7/2000)

• OHV Management Strategy to be Developed by BLM.  Announcement by the Bureau of Land Management that it will develop a national strategy for ensuring environmentally responsible Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) use on BLM-managed public lands. Working in partnership with all interested parties and the general public, the BLM will develop the strategy to address land-management issues prompted by the growing popularity of OHV use. Questions and Answers also available. (1/10/2000)