Last updated: 01/08/07

2002 News Releases

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• BLM Issues Final Rule on Conveyances, Disclaimers, and Correction Documents The BLM issued a final rule today that will allow any entity claiming title to lands or an interest in lands to apply for a "recordable disclaimer of interest." A recordable disclaimer of interest is an official determination that the United States neither owns nor holds a valid interest in certain lands. The disclaimer document is used to create an administrative procedure for landowners and other claimants to remove clouds of title from their lands or interest in lands. (12/24/02)



• BLM Implements Survey Management and Measurement Management Modules of the National Integrated Land System The BLM is pleased to announce the implementation of the Survey Management and Measurement Management modules of the National Integrated Land System (NILS) project. NILS is a joint project between the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and the BLM to create a business solution by integrating survey data with parcel-based land records in a geographic information system (GIS) environment, and developing a common land data model. (12/09/02)



• BLM Interpreters and Educators Honored At National Workshop The BLM has announced that Jim Jennings, a recreation planner from the BLM's Bishop, California, Field Office, is the winner of the agency's 2002 "Excellence in Interpretation or Environmental Education" award for his work in developing an innovative guide to remote roads in California's Eastern Sierra region. (12/06/02)



• BLM Announces Policy for Term Extensions for Notice-Level Operators The BLM is reaching out to holders of approximately 5,000 surface-disturbance notices to inform them of the policy in place for extending the terms of their notice-level operations. Revisions to the Surface Management Regulations at 43 CFR 3809 took effect January 20, 2001. Among those revisions, 43 CFR 3809.300(a) stipulates that notices on file with the BLM on or before January 20, 2001, will expire on January 20, 2003, unless the operator chooses to extend the notice. (12/04/02)



• BLM Releases Final National Mountain Bicycling Strategic Action Plan The BLM has released a final Strategic Action Plan for the management of mountain bicycling activities on BLM-managed public lands. The final Action Plan, which incorporates many of the public comments received during the document's draft stage, was signed by BLM Director Kathleen Clarke Oct. 25. (11/12/02)



• BLM Director Kathleen Clarke Will Participate in Resource Advisory Council Meeting by Video Teleconference BLM Director Kathleen Clarke announced today that she will participate in a live broadcast with the citizen-representatives from each of the BLM's Resource Advisory Councils. Clarke will do so by means of a nationally accessible video teleconference with the full membership of 24 councils. The teleconference will take place on November 20, 2002 at 10:00 a.m. MST. (11/06/02)



• BLM Names New State Directors BLM Director Kathleen Clarke today announced the appointment of five new State Directors to fill positions left vacant by retirements and resignations over the past few months. The appointments include three current BLM employees, one former BLM employee and one career natural resource manager from outside the agency. (10/29/02)



• BLM To Review Land Exchange Program The BLM Washington Office will undertake a 90-day review of all land exchanges currently in process or under discussion, it was announced today by Deputy Director for Policy and External Affairs, Jim Hughes. (10/10/02)



• BLM Creates New Forest and Woodland Management Group BLM Director Kathleen Clarke announced today the creation of the Forest and Woodland Management Group to oversee the management of 55 million acres of forest and woodland on BLM-managed public lands while addressing the Society of the American Foresters' National Convention today in Winston - Salem, North Carolina. (10/08/02)



• Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board Meeting to be held by Bureau of Land Management The BLM today, announced that its Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board will hold a meeting October 28-29, 2002 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Advisory Board will discuss matters pertaining to management and protection of wild free-roaming horses and burros on the Nation's public lands.(10/07/02)



• BLM To Recover Costs Relating to Recreation Permits: Additional Proposed Regulations Would Provide Greater Continuity for Recreation Service Providers and Facilitate Law Enforcement The BLM today published a final rule in the Federal Register that will update cost-recovery requirements and make other changes in the BLM's existing recreation regulations. The rule will modernize how the agency recovers costs by emphasizing resource protection, addressing health and safety requirements, and incorporating new developments in recreation technology.(10/01/02)



• BLM Finalizes Administrative Change to Right of Way Regulations The BLM has published a final rule to make its right-of-way regulations consistent with statutory changes. The final rule, which appears in today's Federal Register, amends one section of BLM's regulations to remove a 60-day waiting period after notifying Congress before approving a right-of-way grant for pipelines 24 or more inches in diameter.(9/30/02)



• BLM Issues Reminder of Regulatory Changes Affecting Notice-Level Operators The BLM is reaching out to holders of roughly 5,000 surface-disturbance notices to remind them of an upcoming change that may affect them. Revisions to the Surface Management Regulations at 43 CFR 3809 took effect January 20, 2001. Among those revisions, §3809.300(a) stipulates that notices on file with the BLM on or before January 20, 2001, will expire on January 20, 2003, unless the operator chooses to extend the notice. The only authorized activity under expired notices will be reclamation. (09/12/02)
  
  
• BLM Releases Draft National Mountain Bicycling Strategic Action Plan for Public Review The BLM today released a Draft Strategic Action Plan for the management of mountain bicycling activities on public lands. The BLM encourages the public to share experiences and ideas related to mountain bicycling use on public land and give recommendations on the draft plan during the public comment period, from August 19 through Sept. 25. (08/19/02)



• BLM Distributes PILT Payments to Local Governments The BLM will send almost $210 million to approximately 1,900 local governments in accordance with the Payments in Lieu of Taxes Act (PILT) for fiscal year 2002. Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton announced that PILT payments are being sent three months earlier to help local governments budget for their fiscal years, many of which begin July 1. (06/26/02)



• Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board Meeting Postponed The Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board will reschedule its June 24-25 meeting, the BLM announced today. The meeting, originally scheduled to be held at the Marriott Denver Tech Center will take place at a later time. Full details, including the meeting location, will be announced later. (06/24/02)



• Correction to Notice of Call for Nominations to BLM Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board The BLM is today publishing in the Federal Register a Notice of Call for Nominations to the Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board. This notice was previously published in the Federal Register: Vol. 67, No.98, Tuesday May 21, 2002 but with incorrect dates. The correct date by which all nominations must be received is July 24, 2002. (06/24/02)



• BLM Director Offers Public Lands in Support of President Bush's Initiative to Promote Improved Health Through Visiting Public Lands BLM Director Kathleen Clarke offered her support of President Bush's new Healthier US Initiative, announced June 12, to promote improved health through the benefits of physical activity and the stress reducing experiences that visiting Federal public lands provide. As part of the President's Comprehensive Fitness Agenda, the Initiative will include an entrance fee-free weekend on June 22-23, 2002, to public lands sites across the country. (06/18/02)



• BLM Names New Members of Management Team BLM Director Kathleen Clarke today announced several new appointments to the Bureau's management team in Washington, DC and in three of the Bureau's State Offices. (05/23/02)



• Exemplary Volunteer Work On Public Lands Recognized; Bureau of Land Management Announces Volunteer Award Winners for 2002 Nine outstanding BLM volunteers (individuals, couples and one organization) and three exceptional BLM employees have been selected to receive the agency's 2002 "Making a Difference" National Volunteer Awards. BLM Director Kathleen Clarke and BLM Assistant Director for Communications Larry Finfer will present these awards May 30 at a special ceremony in Washington, D.C. (05/17/02)



• BLM Names Henri Bisson Alaska State Director BLM Director Kathleen Clarke today announced the appointment of Henri Bisson as State Director for Alaska. (05/15/02)



• BLM Names Fran Cherry as Deputy Director for Operations Francis "Fran" Cherry has been named the BLM's Deputy Director for Operations, BLM Director Kathleen Clarke announced today. Cherry is a 33-year veteran of the BLM who has most recently served as State Director of the Bureau's Alaska State Office. (05/08/02)



• BLM Names James M. Hughes Deputy Director for Programs and Policy James M. Hughes has been named the BLM's Deputy Director for Programs and Policy, BLM Director Clarke announced today. Hughes, who has most recently served as Legislative Director and Appropriations Committee Associate Staff Member for Congressman Joe Skeen (R-NM), rejoins the Department of the Interior, where he served in a variety of positions from 1986 to 1993. (05/08/02)



• BLM Launches Land Survey Information Web Site The BLM has announced the deployment of the Land Survey Information (LSI) Web site. As part of the National Integrated Land System (NILS) solution, the Land Survey Information (LSI) Web site at http://www.geocommunicator.gov/lsi will provide users with geographic information from the BLM's Geographic Coordinate Data Base (GCDB) representing the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) of the United States. (04/30/02)



• Interior Secretary Makes Plans to Manage National Monuments Based on feedback from key elected officials, Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton has directed the BLM to begin developing plans for managing the national monuments established under the Department's jurisdiction in 2000 and 2001. (04/24/02)



• Wyoming Native Named to Top Washington Job Conrad "Con" Lass is the BLM new chief of staff, BLM Director Kathleen Clarke announced today. In this position, Lass will help to oversee the operations of the bureau, which is the Nation's largest land manager. (04/19/02)



• BLM Finalizes Unitization, Other Regulations for National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska The BLM has published a final rule on unitization, suspensions and subsurface-storage agreements that relate to oil and gas activities in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A). The final rule, which appears in today's Federal Register, adds provisions dealing with these matters to the BLM's existing NPR-A oil and gas regulations. (04/11/02)



• Web-Based Resource Management Plans Developed The BLM Wyoming State Office has launched a web site that will host the resource management plans (RMPs) that it administers. The development was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in conjunction with the BLM. The primary objectives of developing the web site include providing widespread public access to current versions of the RMPs and their supporting data, and a streamlined method for maintenance of the RMP. The web site hosts the RMP text, including maps, figures, tables, and related spatial data, such as Geographic Information System (GIS) data. (04/01/02)



• New Location for Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board Meeting Announced The BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board will meet to discuss the management and protection of wild, free-roaming horses and burros on the nation's public lands, according to a notice published in today's Federal Register. The meetings will be held Tuesday, March 19, 2002, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. local time and Wednesday, March 20, 2002 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. local time at the Silver Legacy Hotel and Casino, 407 North Virginia Street, Reno, Nevada. This is a change in location from the BLM's February 6 announcement. (03/04/02)



• BLM and Forest Service Announce Automatic Fee Adjustment for Special Recreation Permits An automatic adjustment to Special Recreation Permit fees charged by the BLM and the U.S. Forest Service will take effect March 1, 2002. (03/01/02)



• BLM Issues Proposed Rule on Conveyances, Disclaimers, and Correction Documents The Department of the Interior issued a proposed rule today that would allow any entity claiming title to lands or an interest in lands to apply for a "recordable disclaimer of interest," an official determination that the United States neither owns nor holds valid interest in certain lands. (02/22/02)



• BLM Internet Service Restored The Department of the Interior's Office of the Secretary, has given approval for the BLM to restore access to the Internet. (02/21/02)



• Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board Meetings Postponed Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board meetings originally scheduled for March are being postponed, the BLM announced today. (02/15/02)



• 2002 Federal Grazing Fee Announced The grazing fee for the 2002 grazing year on Western public lands administered by the BLM will be $1.43 per animal unit month (AUM). The formula used for calculating the fee was established by Congress in the 1978 Public Rangelands Improvement Act and continues under a Presidential Executive Order issued in 1986. (02/14/02)



• Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board Members Selected BLM Director Kathleen Clarke today announced the selection of three 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. (02/06/02)



• BLM Requests Budget Increases in Energy, Planning, and Cooperative Conservation to Help Meet Country's Needs The Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management requested today a fiscal year 2003 budget of $1.9 billion with a focus on citizen-centered conservation initiatives. (02/04/02)



• BLM Holds Public Scoping Meetings for Vegetation Treatments on BLM Public Lands in Western U.S. The BLM encourages the public to share ideas and opinions about vegetation treatments on public land it administers. The public may attend any of 19 public scoping meetings in 11 western states, Alaska, and the District of Columbia from Jan. 22 through March 12 to learn more about the development of the BLM's EIS for Vegetation Treatments, Watersheds and Wildlife Habitats on Public Lands Administered by the BLM in the Western United States, Including Alaska. The EIS is scheduled to be completed by the summer of 2003. (01/18/02)