Planning Process and Criteria

BLM's planning process involves nine steps which are described below.

Step 1: Issue Identification

This planning step is designed to identify major problems, concerns, or opportunities associated with the management of public land in the planning area. Issues are identified by the public, the BLM, and other governmental entities. The planning process is focused on resolving the identified planning issues.

Step 2: Planning Criteria

Planning criteria include policies, laws, regulations, and guidelines for resolving issues, developing alternatives, and choosing a proposed plan.

Step 3: Inventory and Data Collection

Certain kinds of biological, physical, social, or economic information needed to resolve the planning issues is collected and analyzed. Inventory information is used in determining how BLM-administered resources would also respond under each of the alternatives.

Step 4: Analysis of the Management Situation

The Analysis of the Management Situation identifies the ways lands are currently managed in the planning area and opportunities to manage these lands differently.

Step 5: Formulation of Alternatives

BLM formulates a range of alternatives for managing resources in the planning area. A range of alternatives are developed to resolve significant planning issues and address specific management concerns. Alternatives include a preferred plan, management direction common to all alternatives, alternative plans, and no action (current management).

Step 6: Estimation of Effects

This step involves estimating the environmental effects of implementing each of the alternatives. Impacts are estimated in order to provide a comparative evaluation of impacts in compliance with Council of Environmental Quality regulations for implementing National Environmental Policy Act (40 Code of Federal Regulations 1500).

Step 7: Selection of the Preferred Alternative

BLM identifies a Preferred Alternative. The draft Resource Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement is then prepared and distributed for public review.

Step 8: Selection of Resource Management Plan

Following review and analysis of public comments of the Draft Resource Management Plan/Environmental Impact Statement, BLM selects a proposed resource management plan and then publishes the proposed Resource Management Plan and Final Environmental Impact Statement. Decisions become final after a 30 day appeal period following publication of the Final Environmental Impact Statement. BLM then publishes the Record of Decision and prepares the Approved Resource Management Plan.

Step 9: Monitoring and Evaluation

This step involves the collection and analysis of resource condition and trend data to ensure the plan is accomplishing its objective of resolving the identified issues and achieving other desired results. Monitoring continues from the time the Resource Management Plan is adopted until changing conditions require revision of the entire plan or any portion of it.

Publication of this document constitutes completion of step eight. Public involvement has occurred at several steps in the process.

The planning process is designed to help the BLM identify the uses of BLM-administered lands desired by the public. It also assists the BLM in considering these uses to the extent consistent with the laws established by Congress and the policies of the executive branch of the federal government regarding management of these lands.

Where BLM manages the subsurface mineral estate and the surface is nonfederal or administered by another federal agency, the Resource Management Plan addresses only the management of the BLM-administered mineral resources.