Last updated: 01/08/07

2003 News Releases

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• BLM Requests Nominations for the 2004 Reclamation and Sustainable Mineral Development Awards The BLM is requesting nominations for the 2004 Reclamation and Sustainable Mineral Development Awards. The awards program recognizes solid mineral (non-coal) development operations that practice the principles of sustainable development or represent outstanding examples of reclamation or environmental stewardship. (12/09/03)
  
  
• Interior Secretary Announces Proposed Grazing Rule That Would Improve Grazing Management, Help Continue Public Lands Ranching The Department of the Interior and its Bureau of Land Management today released details of a proposed grazing rule that would improve grazing management and help continue public lands ranching in the rural West. The proposed rule, announced by Interior Secretary Gale Norton in a speech in New Mexico, recognizes the economic and social benefits of public lands ranching, as well as its preservation of open space in the rapidly growing West. The BLM will publish the proposed rule in the Federal Register on December 8. (12/05/03)
  
  
• Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board Meeting Scheduled 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 in October 15, 2003 Federal Register. The meeting will be held Monday, November 3, 2003 from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm and on Tuesday, November 4, 2003 from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm local time. The Advisory Board will meet at the Capital Hilton, 1001 16th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., Phone: (202) 393-1000. (10/14/03)
  
  
• BLM Clarifies Guidelines for Travel Management: Flexibility added to OHV route designations in limited areas The BLM has issued nationwide planning guidance that allows its field-level staff more time to complete route designations in areas identified as limited. Current guidance requires route designations to be in place before completion of the plan. (10/06/03)
  
  
• BLM Announces Hardrock Mining Awards Winners BLM Director Kathleen Clarke today announced the inaugural winners of the 2003 Hardrock Mining awards. The Hardrock Mineral Environmental Winners are Vulcan Materials Company's Morongo Project, California, and Stillwater Mining Company, Montana. The Hardrock Mineral Community Outreach and Economic Security winners are Kennecott Flambeau Mine, Wisconsin and Phelps Dodge Miami, Inc., Arizona. The awards recognize environmentally sound mineral development operations on public and private lands and acknowledge successful partnering efforts in helping ensure a safe and productive hardrock mining industry. (10/01/03)
  
  
• BLM Celebrates the Nation’s Public Lands: Reception Will Kick Off National Public Lands Day 2003 and Introduce New Recreation Guide The BLM will celebrate the nation’s public lands with a reception on September 16 to launch National Public Lands Day 2003. The event will showcase some of these magnificent lands through the introduction of the BLM’s new recreation guide, Adventures on America’s Public Lands, a full-color book that highlights prime recreational destinations on BLM-managed lands in 20 states. The publisher, Smithsonian Books, expects the new recreation guide to be available from booksellers worldwide in October 2003. (09/16/03)
  
  
• BLM Extends Public Comment Period on Draft National Sage-Grouse Habitat Conservation Strategy; Strategy Complements State Government Planning Efforts The public will have additional time to comment on the BLM’s draft Sage-Grouse Habitat Conservation Strategy, which seeks to provide for the survival of the sage grouse through management of its habitat on BLM-administered public land throughout the West. The new deadline is November 1, 2003, and public input can be provided through the BLM national Internet site. (08/21/03)
  
  
• BLM Issues New Policies Aimed at Ensuring Timely Development of Oil and Gas Resources in Environmentally Sound Manner As part of its implementation of President Bush's National Energy Policy, the BLM today issued new policies aimed at reducing or eliminating impediments to oil and gas leasing on BLM-managed lands. The policies, which take effect immediately, instruct BLM land-use planners to evaluate the necessity of current constraints on energy development in high-potential oil and gas areas. (08/07/03)
  
  
• BLM Names William Woody as New Head of Law Enforcement William Woody of Salt Lake City has been named Director, Law Enforcement, Security and Protection for the Bureau of Land Management, BLM Director Kathleen Clarke announced today. (08/05/03)
  
  
• BLM Issues Draft National Sage-Grouse Habitat Conservation Strategy The BLM has developed a draft Sage-Grouse Habitat Conservation Strategy that seeks to reverse the declining trend of sage-grouse and their habitats on BLM-administered public land in the West. (07/21/03)
  
  
• BLM and Forest Service Seek Public Input on Stewardship Contracting, a Tool for Healthy Forests Initiative and Rangelands The Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management and the USDA Forest Service are seeking public input on an administrative tool for stewardship contracting, which will improve and restore forest and rangeland health projects under the Bush Administration’s Healthy Forests Initiative. (06/27/03)
  
  
• BLM Issues Payments in Lieu of Taxes to Local Governments The BLM will send over $218 million this year to local governments under the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) Act. The BLM will distribute PILT funding to compensate almost 1,900 local governments in Fiscal Year 2003 because of the presence of Federal lands in those jurisdictions that are not subject to local taxes. (06/18/03)
  
  
• Rule Change to Federal Regulations Will Streamline BLM Wildfire Management Decisions The BLM may now implement wildfire management decisions on rangelands and forest lands with a minimum of delay, thanks to changes in federal regulations governing hearings and appeals. The final changes were published in the June 5 Federal Register, and are effective July 7, 2003. (06/05/03)
  
  
• Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board Meeting Scheduled 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 in the May 21, 2003 Federal Register. The meeting will be held Monday, June 16, 2003 from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm local time, and on Tuesday, June 17, 2003 from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm local time. The Advisory Board will meet at the Sheraton Billings Hotel, 27 N. 27th St., Billings, Montana. (05/27/03)
  
  
• Upcoming Expo and Show in Reno Will Feature BLM-Sponsored Adoption of Wild Horses and Burros A wild horse and burro expo and show, scheduled for July in Reno, Nevada, will feature an adoption sponsored by the BLM that will involve competitive oral bidding for about 30 wild horses. Bidding at the adoption, which will include wild burros from California, will be open to individuals qualified to adopt and will start at $125 for each animal. (05/23/03)
  
  
• Outstanding BLM Volunteers and Employee Selected to Win 2003 National Volunteer Awards for “Making a Difference” The Nine outstanding individual and team volunteer nominations and one exceptional employee nomination have been selected by the Bureau of Land Management to receive recognition at the BLM’s 2003 “Making a Difference” National Volunteer Awards. The awards, which complement the Administration’s “Take Pride in America” initiative that promotes volunteerism, will be presented at a special ceremony at the U.S. Department of the Interior’s historic South Penthouse and Roof Terrace in Washington, D.C., on May 8. (04/28/03)
  
  
• Nominations Open for Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board The BLM is requesting public nominations to fill three vacancies on the national Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board. The categories to be filled represent Wild Horse and Burro Research, Natural Resources Management, and Livestock Management. Nominations close May 15. (04/22/03)
  
  
• BLM Announces New Awards Program to Honor Accomplishments in Hardrock Mining BLM Director Kathleen Clarke today announced a new annual awards program designed to recognize environmentally sound mineral development operations and acknowledge successful partnering efforts in helping ensure a safe and productive hardrock mining industry. The new program allows for two nonmonetary awards to recognize and highlight outstanding examples of responsible mineral resource development on public and private lands. (04/18/03)
  
  
• BLM Announces Policies to Improve Oil and Gas Permit Application Process As part of its implementation of President Bush’s National Energy Policy and to enhance U.S. energy security, the BLM today announced fundamental new management strategies aimed at improving the Agency’s processing of applications for permits to drill oil and gas. The new approaches advance the President’s goal of strengthening America’s energy security while giving the BLM, oil and gas producers, and all Americans more effective environmental analyses and less bureaucratic application processing. (04/14/03)
  
  
• BLM Vows To Protect Rights of Surface Owners on Split-Estate Lands The BLM reaffirmed today its commitment to involving private surface owners of split-estate lands early in the process of developing the minerals underlying their lands.(04/02/03)
  
  
• BLM Considers "Working Landscape" Grazing Policy Changes, Seeks Public Input in Developing Ideas To improve the long-term health and productivity of the public rangelands, the BLM is considering grazing policy changes that would provide more management flexibility and promote innovative partnerships, BLM Director Kathleen Clarke announced today. These potential policy changes would complement the various grazing regulatory changes that the BLM is already considering. (03/25/03)
  
  
• Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board Meeting Scheduled 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 in the March 17, 2003 Federal Register. (03/20/03)
  
  
• Public Meeting on BLM Alaska's Draft Northwest NPR-A Integrated Activity Plan and EIS in Washington, DC The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will be holding a public meeting to obtain public comments on the Draft Northwest National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska (NPR-A) Integrated Activity Plan and Environmental Impact Statement released on January 10. (03/03/03)
  
  
• BLM Publishes Notices on Potential Changes to Grazing Regulations  The Bureau of Land Management today published two notices in the Federal Register that officially announce its consideration of grazing rule changes aimed at improving the agency’s management of the public rangelands. (03/03/03)



• 2003 Federal Grazing Fee Announced The grazing fee for Western public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service will be $1.35 per animal unit month (AUM) in 2003, down from $1.43 in 2002. The formula used for calculating the fee, established by Congress in the 1978 Public Rangelands Improvement Act, has continued under a presidential Executive Order issued in 1986. (02/06/03)



• BLM Requests $1.7 Billion for FY 2004 Budget to Meet Needs of Managing Public Lands for Multiple Uses The BLM is requesting a fiscal year 2004 budget of $1.7 billion, an increase of $42.8 million over the Administration's 2003 budget proposal. The new budget request would, among other things, improve recreation and visitor services, support forest management improvements, and enhance the protection of watersheds. The budget would also promote energy development as part of President Bush's National Energy Policy. (02/03/03)



• BLM Considers Changes to Grazing Regulations In Effort to Improve Public Rangeland Management In an effort to improve its management of the public rangelands, BLM is considering changing some of its grazing-related policies and regulations, BLM Director Kathleen Clarke announced today. (01/30/03)



• BLM Creates Group To Evaluate Land Exchange and Appraisal Process The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has created a work group to evaluate the agency’s land exchange and appraisal processes in light of recommendations by the Office of the Inspector General and the General Accounting Office and in a recent report prepared under contract by the Appraisal Foundation, BLM Deputy Director for Policy and External Affairs, Jim Hughes, announced today. (01/28/03)



• The BLM to Update Manual of Instructions for the Survey of the Public Lands of the United States BLM today announced that the agency is developing the latest edition of the Manual of Instructions for the Survey of the Public Lands of the United States. (01/03/03)