UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240
http://www.blm.gov
September 1, 2010
 
In Reply Refer To:
1740 (220) P
 
EMS TRANSMISSION 09/03/2010
Instruction Memorandum No. 2010-196
Expires:  9/30/2011
 
To:                   All Field Office Officials
 
From:               Assistant Director, Renewable Resources and Planning
 
Subject:           Providing Integrated Vegetation Management Information for the Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation System                                    DD:  09/30/2010       
 
Program Areas: Integrated Vegetation Management including: Range Management, Weed Management, Healthy Landscapes, Forest Management, Soil, Water and Air Management, Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation, Riparian Management, Emergency Stabilization, Burned Area Rehabilitation, Fuels Management, Wildlife Management, Threatened and Endangered Species Management, and Plant Conservation.
 
Purpose:  This Instruction Memorandum (IM) requests information, by state, on the species that are used for integrated vegetation management projects for inclusion in the Emergency Stabilization and Rehabilitation System (ESRS) Planning Module and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Treatments Module.
 
Policy/Action: This IM requests that state office resource specialists identify “commonly used species” for revegetation in their respective states.  Please identify and report the plant species, subspecies, varieties, and cultivars that: 1) play a pivotal role in the ecosystem and upon which other species in the community depend, and 2) meet the revegetation objectives in stabilization, rehabilitation and restoration projects. Be sure to include those that dependably maintain and restore the biotic integrity of native plant communities and protect their soil stability and hydrologic function. 
 
Attachment 1 lists all species purchased through national seed buys since 2007. These species and those species whose seeds, seedlings and/and cuttings identified by the states through this IM as “commonly used” will be entered into the applicable drop-down lists in ESRS.  
The state offices are being asked to provide the following information in Attachment 2:  
1.      Review Attachment 1 and provide information on Attachment 2 on seeds of any species purchased through a national seed buy, but are missing from the list.
2.      Provide information on species seeds, seedlings and cuttings purchased in a district or field office agreement, but not included on Attachment 1.
3.      Provide information on species seeds collected and/or grown out locally that have been used locally in revegetation efforts for stabilization, rehabilitation, or restoration projects.
4.      Provide information on seeds, seedlings, or cuttings that are required in the terms and conditions or stipulations of use authorizations, but are not included on Attachment 1.
5.      Provide information on species seeds, seedlings, and cuttings that may not have been used previously, but are identified as needed in the restoration/revegetation and site protection objectives of any current activity plan. 
Please coordinate your response with field and state office specialists in all vegetation management programs so that the data included represents an integrated vegetation management approach. This will help limit the number of information requests needed to populate the BLM treatments module as it is completed. We are asking that state offices send one response each.
 
Timeframe:  The ESRS system is in development and testing is planned early in Fiscal Year 2011. Due date for providing information conforms to the time when it is needed for testing.
 
Budget Impact:  None.
 
Background:  In 2006, with approval of the Information Technology Investment Board, the BLM began developing the ESRS. The first phase of system development is automation of post-fire plan writing. The BLM is currently designing a “Treatments Module,” which will integrate with several BLM systems, including the ESRS, the National Invasives Species Information and Management System, the Resource Improvement Projects and the Forest Vegetation Information System, and the Riparian Aquatic Data System. The information provided in this data call will be the basis for the revegetation species included in the Treatments Module.
 
Manual/Handbook Sections Affected:  None.
 
Coordination: Emergency Stabilization (ES) and Burned Area Rehabilitation (BAR), Rangeland Management and Weed Management, the Division of Forestry, and the Division of Fish, Wildlife and Plant Conservation and with the Division of Wildland Fire Management, the National Landscape Conservation System, and Minerals and Realty staff in the Washington Office.
Contact: Questions can be directed to Rob Roudabush Chief, Division of Rangeland Resources 202-912-7222, or Carol Spurrier, Rangeland Ecologist at 202-912-7272, or David Repass, Emergency Stabilization and Burned Area Rehabilitation Program Leader at 202-912-7224.
 
 
Signed by:                                                       Authenticated by:
Edwin L. Roberson                                          Robert M. Williams
Assistant Director                                           Division of IRM Governance,WO-560
Renewable Resources and Planning
 
 
2 Attachments