BLM Eastern States John D. Dingell, Jr. Act Designations
On March 12, 2019, the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act became Public Law 116-9. This law includes rules and plans for protecting and managing natural resources on federal lands, like parks and wilderness areas. It covers many topics, such as land exchanges, buying or selling land, creating or changing national parks and historic sites, protecting wildlife, extracting helium, and managing fire operations in wildlands. It also deals with releasing certain land interests, adjusting boundaries of parks, and specific projects like the natural gas pipeline in Denali National Park. The law sets rules for charging fees for medical services in national parks, funds for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and recreational activities on public and private lands. It also includes plans for a volcano warning system, federal water projects, and search and rescue missions. Additionally, the law reauthorizes programs to support Historically Black Colleges and Universities’ historic preservation work and geologic mapping efforts.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Eastern States is responsible for carrying out actions to meet the goals of this law, particularly under Sections 1009 and 2107.
Section 1009, Lake Bistineau Land Title Stability (Louisiana): This section requires the BLM to transfer certain federal lands in Louisiana to specific claimants. These claimants are people who have been using and taking care of the land in good faith and have held it peacefully. The BLM must find and identify these claimants so they can receive official land patents (legal ownership documents). However, before transferring the land that was left out, the BLM must recover from the state of Louisiana all the costs it spent related to that land.
Section 2107, Voyageurs National Park Boundary Adjustment (Minnesota): The BLM's Eastern States office transferred about 70 acres of public land to the National Park Service. This land was added to Voyageurs National Park to help expand the park and protect more natural areas.