Land Tenure Adjustments

Objectives

Make land tenure adjustments to benefit a variety of uses and values. Emphasize opportunities that conserve biological diversity or enhance timber management opportunities. As a matter of practice, O&C forestlands allocated to timber management would only be exchanged for lands to be managed for multiple-use purposes.

Meet the following objectives for the three land tenure adjustment zones:

Zone 1: generally, retain these lands under BLM administration.
Zone 2: block up areas in Zone 2 with significant resource values and exchange other lands in Zone 2 to block up areas in Zones 1 and 2 with significant resource values.
Zone 3: retain lands with unique resource values; dispose of other lands in this zone using appropriate disposal mechanisms, including sale.

Make BLM-administered lands in Zones 1, 2, and 3 available for a variety of uses as authorized by section 302 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, the Recreation and Public Purposes Act, and special recreation permits.

Manage newly acquired lands for the purpose for which they are acquired or consistent with the management objectives for adjacent BLM-administered lands. If lands with unique or fragile resource values are acquired, protect those values until the next plan revision.

Land Use Allocations

	Zone		Acres

	Zone 1		292,100
	Zone 2		558,600
	Zone 3		7,600

See Map 11 for location of land tenure zones and Appendix J for legal descriptions of Zone 3 lands.

Management Actions/Direction

Management Actions/Direction - Riparian Reserves

Use land acquisition, exchange, and conservation easements to meet Aquatic Conservation Strategy and riparian reserve objectives, and facilitate restoration of fish stocks and other species at risk of extinction.

Management Actions/Direction - Late-Successional Reserves

Consider land exchanges when they will provide benefits equal to or better than current conditions.

Consider land exchanges especially to improve area, distribution, and quality (e.g., connectivity, shape, and contribution to biological diversity) of late-successional reserves where public and private lands are intermingled.

Management Actions/Direction - All Land Use Allocations

Use the land tenure adjustment criteria shown in Appendix K when conducting environmental analyses for site-specific exchange, sale, transfer, or acquisition proposals. Application of these criteria may result in retention of some Zone 3 lands.

Maintain or increase public land holdings in Zone 1 by retaining public lands and acquiring nonfederal lands with high public resource values. The primary mode of acquisition will be through exchange of BLM-administered lands in Zones 2 and 3. Utilize purchases and donations if exchange is not feasible. All fee acquisitions will be with willing sellers.

Consult with county governments prior to any exchange, especially those involving O&C land.

Consider the effect of land tenure adjustments on the mineral estate. If the lands are not known to have mineral potential, the mineral estate will normally be transferred simultaneously with the surface estate.

Minimize impact on local tax base by emphasizing exchanges rather than fee purchase.

Make exchanges to enhance public resource values and/or improve land patterns and management capabilities of both private and BLM-administered land within the planning area by consolidating ownership and reducing the potential for land use conflict.

Consider transfer of BLM-administered land to other Federal agencies or acquisition of other Federal lands where consistent with public land management policy and where improved management efficiency will result.

Prohibit disposal of Zone 2 lands through sales under Section 203(a) of FLPMA. Zone 2 lands may be transferred to other public agencies or managed under some form of cooperative agreement. However, Zone 2 lands will generally remain under BLM-administration.

Dispose of Zone 3 lands through sale under Section 203(a) of FLPMA if no viable exchange proposals can be identified. Zone 3 lands could also be transferred to another Federal agency or State or local government as needed, to accommodate community expansion or other public purposes.

Realign the Coos Bay/Medford district boundaries and sustained yield unit boundaries to administratively transfer jurisdiction of the land in the O'Brien-Takilma area from the Coos Bay District to the Medford District.

Adjust landownership patterns with the Rogue and Siskiyou National Forests to enhance management efficiency.

Continue the Hyatt Lake homesite leasing program as currently managed.