BLM's National News Release Feed

Salazar Announces 38 Lease Sales for Oil and Natural Gas on Public Lands in 2010

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:10:20 -0700

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Department of the Interior has scheduled 38 oil and natural gas lease sales for U.S. public lands in 2010, including a sale in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today.

“During the past year we have held 32 onshore lease sales, offering more than 2.7 million acres in the West and generating more than $126 million in revenue for American taxpayers,” Secretary Salazar said. “Next year will be just as busy with 37 quarterly sales for Western public lands and the first sale in nearly two years for tracks in the northern reaches of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. Our nation needs a balanced and appropriate use of our conventional and renewable energy resources. That means oil, gas and coal will continue to play an important role in our energy mix, as we develop and expand the use of wind, solar, geothermal and other renewable sources.”

The Bureau of Land Management’s 37 quarterly oil and natural gas lease sales scheduled for 2010 will offer thousands of parcels in a dozen states, most in the West. The BLM’s Alaska State Office oil and gas lease sale will offer available tracts in the Northeast and a portion of the Northwest areas of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The sale is scheduled for August 11 in Anchorage, Alaska. The last sale for the Reserve was held September 24, 2008.

BLM conducts its quarterly lease sales based on nominations received from industry. These are evaluated to determine eligibility and availability for leasing before being delineated into individual parcels. A preliminary parcel list is sent to sister agencies, such as the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, for review and recommendations on which parcels to offer.

Since January of this year, the Bureau of Land Management has held 32 onshore lease sales that offered 2,346 parcels, covering 2.7 million acres, and sold 1,212 of those for $126 million. BLM will hold four more lease sales this year, for a total of 36 for 2009.

Oil and gas leasing in the NPR-A is authorized under the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976, as amended. Integrated Activity Plan/Environmental Impact Statements have been prepared for both the Northeast and Northwest planning areas.

More information on Interior’s onshore oil and gas lease sales in online at www.blm.gov

BLM Presents Interpretation & Education Awards

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:15:10 -0700

For the fourteenth consecutive year, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recognized outstanding BLM interpreters and environmental educators at the National Association for Interpretation (NAI) National Workshop, held this year in Hartford, Connecticut.

The BLM “Excellence in Interpretation or Environmental Education” Awards, presented at a November 19, 2009, ceremony, recognized outstanding BLM interpreters and educators for their work on employee-conducted programs that enhanced public appreciation and understanding of the natural and cultural riches on our public lands, as well as management issues in the context of the BLM’s multiple-use mission.

The BLM’s 2009 “Excellence” award winners were:

GOLD AWARD winner: Elizabeth “Beth” Paragamian, Wildlife Education Specialist, Coeur d’Alene Field Office, ID, for outstanding wildlife education programs delivered across large areas of Idaho and eastern Washington, in both classroom and outdoor settings.

SILVER AWARD winner: Connie Jacobs, Director, Missouri Breaks Interpretive Center, Ft. Benton, MT, for contributions toward the development of “A Journey Through the Monument,” a middle-school educational program about the Upper Missouri Wild and Scenic River and the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument.

SILVER AWARD winner: Gregario “Nick” Teague, Outdoor Recreation Planner, Spokane District Office, WA, for fostering cohesive, citizen-based stewardship in the San Juan Islands and helping to develop the San Juan Islands Experiential Education Outdoor Classroom for island youth.

Each of this year’s winners has done exceptional work with partners and communities to create meaningful interpretive and/or educational experiences and materials for public land users. Winners were selected from a slate of BLM nominees by a review panel comprised of BLM staff and partner-group representatives.

In presenting the awards, BLM Director Bob Abbeystated, “The BLM’s interpretive and educational programs help to increase public appreciation and support of our multiple-use mandate and our management efforts. Public understanding of the balanced uses of numerous and diverse resources is critical to the success of the BLM’s mission.”

The three winning BLM employees were selected by a review panel composed of both BLM staff and representatives from partner organizations, including NAI. BLM “Excellence” nominees were judged on the quality of their work, their ability to involve partners, their effectiveness in enhancing public understanding of cultural and natural resources, their programs’ or products’ accessibility and sensitivity to diverse audiences, and their efforts’ success in helping BLM to accomplish its management goals.

The BLM awards were presented in conjunction with the U.S. Forest Service’s “Gifford Pinchot Award,” the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s “Sense of Wonder Award,” the National Park Service’s “Freeman Tilden Award,” the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ “Hiram M. Chittenden Award,” and NAI’s “Master Front-Line Interpreter” and “Master Interpretive Manager” Awards.

The Director also presented a Departmental Honor Award for Superior Service to retiring BLM National Interpretive Lead Amy Galperin for her contributions to BLM programs in support of the Department’s mission.

BLM Sets Meeting of National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board for December 7 in Reno

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:05:50 -0700

The Bureau of Land Management’s National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board will meet on Monday, December 7, 2009, in Reno, Nevada, to discuss issues relating to the management, protection, and control of wild horses and burros on Western public rangelands. The one-day meeting will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., local time, at the John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 1100 Nugget Avenue, Sparks, Nevada 89431 (hotel phone: 1-800-648-1177). The agenda of the meeting can be found in the November 10, 2009, Federal Register on page 58044.

BLM Will Collect $6,500 Processing Fee for Each New Oil and Gas Drilling Permit Application

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 10:05:50 -0700

The Fiscal Year 2010 Interior appropriations bill – enacted into law on October 30 – directs the Bureau of Land Management to charge a $6,500 processing fee for each new oil and gas drilling permit application, known as an Application for Permit to Drill (APD). The fee took effect November 2; the previous fee was $4,000 per APD. The money generated by APD fees constitutes a reimbursement to the U.S. Treasury for the estimated cost of processing new APDs.

BLM Waives Recreation Fees for Veterans on Veterans Day

Tue, 3 Nov 2009 10:05:50 -0700

BLM Announces 2009 Reclamation and Sustainable Mineral Development Award Winners

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:05:50 -0600

Washington, D.C. – The Bureau of Land Management Director Bob Abbey today announced the winners of the 2009 BLM Reclamation and Sustainable Mineral Development Awards. The awards recognize the efforts made in implementing the principles of sustainable development, a concept adopted by the United States and 192 other countries, to balance environmental, economic, and social considerations in planning for mining operations.

BLM Congratulates UK's Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, for Seed Banking Flora

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:05:50 -0600

WASHINGTON, D.C. – BLM Director Bob Abbey today congratulated the United Kingdom's Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in its milestone accomplishment of collecting, banking, and conserving 10 percent of the world’s wild plant species. For nearly ten years, the BLM has been a partner with Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank Program in its native seed collection effort.

Interior Launches Work Plan for BLM Western Oregon Forests

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:40:20 -0600

WASHINGTON, DC – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today launched a Fiscal Year 2010 work plan for Bureau of Land Management (BLM) forests in western Oregon that will add economic certainty for local communities while protecting endangered species.

BLM Releases Report on Utah Oil and Gas Leases

Thu, 8 Oct 2009 10:40:20 -0600

WASHINGTON, DC. A special Bureau of Land Management report on a controversial 2008 oil and gas lease sale in Utah, delivered today to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, recommends that the BLM lead the development of a comprehensive interagency strategy to address energy leasing, development, and related air quality concerns for Utah and other western states.

Salazar Seeks Congressional Support for Strategy to Manage Iconic Wild Horses

Wed, 7 Oct 2009 11:00:20 -0600

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today proposed a national solution to restore the health of America’s wild horse herds and the rangelands that support them by creating a cost-efficient, sustainable management program that includes the possible creation of wild horse preserves on the productive grasslands of the Midwest and East.