Bureau of Land Management

National Land Use Planning Conference

March 9-13, 2009

Portland, Oregon

Audience:

The National Land Use Planning Conference will bring together participants from all levels of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) organization as well as external customers, cooperators and stakeholders. In a call for proposed BLM conference participant nominations (WO IB-2008-042), responses were received by nearly 300 BLM employees nationwide! The number and diversity of participant nominations received serves as an indication of the level of interest and resulting need for holding this important event. 

• BLM managers, staff, and practitioners
• Department of the Interior, Office of the Solicitor
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Department of the Interior, Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance
• State agencies and partners
• Local cooperators
• Other Federal partners and agencies

Purpose:

Chart a course for being successful in overcoming obstacles to creating, implementing, monitoring, and maintaining BLM land use planning activities that will have lasting and positive impacts on the lands BLM manages. 

Goal:

Continue improvements to all aspects of the land use planning and decision-making processes including development, implementation, assessment, inventory, monitoring, evaluation, maintenance, and amendment.

Objectives:

• Enhance BLM decision-making, land use planning, environmental assessment, and science policy programs through incorporation of decision support tools. 

• Transition the BLM planning approach from focused plan development to a more holistic approach which supports plan implementation, monitoring, assessment, and evaluation. 

• Address current BLM challenges and propose strategies for being successful – complexity of management issues, litigation, quality collaboration, funding, conflicting priorities for staff, and involvement of cooperating agencies. 

• Increase consistency in BLM’s approach to planning across states and planning areas. 

• Share lessons learned and capture best practices for future activities.

• Broadcast newly developed policy and guidance and address needed changes to existing guidance.

• Educate participants on the latest initiatives, tools, and guidance that effect land use planning. 

Conference Tracks (Track Lead) and Schedule:

The National Land Use Planning Conference will run from Monday March 9th through Friday March 13th, 2009.  Half-day and all-day trainings and workshops will be offered on both Monday March 9th and Friday March 13th in-lieu of regular sessions.  The regular conference sessions will open with a welcome and plenary address on Tuesday March 10th.  The National Land Use Planning Conference has focused its regular sessions into 5 Conference Tracks.  The conference will offer participants the opportunity to select 3-4 sessions per day to attend, Tuesday through Thursday.  In total, the Conference will offer participants over 30 sessions to chose from, each related to one of the five Conference Tracks focus areas. 

Additional information about the Conference Schedule and Agenda will be posted and sent to the mailing list in the future.

1. Improving Plan Quality & Development - (Mark Spencer)
2. Incorporating Decision Support Tools - (Duane Dippon & Deb Dinville)
3. Addressing Long-Term Strategy - (Josh Hanson & Jenna Sloan)
4. Collaborating with Cooperators - (John Cossa & Frank Quamen)
5. Complying with NEPA - (Meagan Conry)

To join the mailing list, please send an email request to Jenna_Sloan@blm.gov.

Background:

The last BLM Land Use Planning Conference was held in 2004. Since that time, additional BLM programs and numerous initiatives have been incorporated into the land use planning process and will be addressed at the conference. These include: Healthy Lands Initiative; plan evaluation, maintenance and amendments; Assessment Inventory and Monitoring; socio-economic impact assessment; Adaptive Management; climate change; the National Landscape Conservation System land use plans; and geospatial technologies such as eGIS. Keeping pace with changing needs, conditions, and the environment in which we work has necessitated a change in the BLM’s approach to land use planning. These changes will be addressed throughout the week at the National Land Use Planning Conference. 

Conference Co-Chair Contacts:

Jenna Sloan, Division of Decision Support, Planning and NEPA, at 202-557-3589 or Jenna_Sloan@blm.gov.