Congressional Technical Assistance Response for Fiscal Year 2022 Land and Water Conservation Fund Core Project Submissions and Fiscal Year 2021 Land and Water Conservation Fund Recreational Access Submissions

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240
http://www.blm.gov

July 1, 2020

In Reply Refer To:
2100 (350) P

EMS TRANSMISSION:  07/02/2020
Instruction Memorandum No. 2020-029
Expires:  09/30/2023

To:                  All State Directors

From:              Assistant Director, Energy, Minerals and Realty Management

Subject:           Congressional Technical Assistance Response for Fiscal Year 2022 Land and Water Conservation Fund Core Project Submissions and Fiscal Year 2021 Land and Water Conservation Fund Recreational Access Submissions                                                                                                    DD:   July 17, 2020

Program Area:  Land Acquisition.

Purpose:  The purpose of this Instruction Memorandum (IM) is to request submission of Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Core projects and FY 2021 Recreational Access land acquisition funding proposals to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Washington Office Division of Lands, Realty, and Cadastral Survey (WO-350). 

Administrative or Mission Related:  Mission.

Policy/Action:  This IM is a call for LWCF land acquisition funding proposals for FY 2022.  Only those projects that enhance or expand recreation and public access opportunities or other eligible priorities (Attachment 1) will be considered.  The program guidance and submission formats are included in Attachments 1 through 6 of this IM.  A completed project data sheet (narrative); Fact Sheet; Land Acquisition Request Information (LARI); representative ArcGIS Online Parcel and Miscellaneous Feature Datasets for the project; and digital photographs must be included in the proposal submission.  Please submit your State package(s) with a cover letter designating the State Director’s priorities.

Timeframe:  Submissions are due to WO-350 by July 17, 2020, without exception.

Budget Impact:  Submission of annual proposals is expected to have minimal impact on the budget.

Background: Division D of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020, includes a statutory requirement for the Department to submit prioritized land acquisition project lists identified by each land management agency.  The list of projects for the Department must total no less than 150 percent of the amount enacted the previous year.  The bill language is provided below:

PROJECT INFORMATION

SEC. 427.  (a) Within 60 days of the submission of the fiscal year 2021 budget or by April 1, 2020, whichever comes first, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate prioritized and detailed lists of Federal land acquisition projects, and Forest Legacy projects, that have been identified by each land management Agency.

(b) The Federal land acquisition project lists required by each Agency in subsection (a) shall include individual projects for the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Forest Service, and shall total for each agency no less than 150 percent of the amount enacted for that agency for the previous fiscal year.

Funding proposals requested in this IM will initiate a selection process followed by funding recommendations presented to BLM leadership.  The FY 2022 funding level to be provided will be for the Core line project list.  Project submissions above that level will be considered for FY 2021 Recreational Access project submissions.

Submission information must not be released to external sources as submission of the proposals does not guarantee funding or inclusion on the list to be submitted for Congressional Technical Assistance.

Manual/Handbook Sections Affected:  This IM transmits interim policy.  During the next revision, this policy will be incorporated into Chapter 4, Section 4A of H-2100-1, Acquisitions.

Coordination:  The WO-350 manages the development of the BLM’s annual LWCF land acquisition funding request.  This IM has been coordinated with the Resources and Planning Directorate and the National Conservation Lands and Community Partnerships Directorate.

Contact:  If you have questions concerning this IM, please contact Nicholas Douglas at (202) 672-4983, or your staff may contact Karen Montgomery, National LWCF Program Lead, via email at k15montg@blm.gov or at (916) 978-4647.

Signed by:                                                                   Authenticated by:
Mitchelle Leverette                                                     Robert M. Williams
Acting, Assistant Director                                          Division of Regulatory Affairs,WO-630
Energy, Minerals, and Realty Management

6 Attachments
     1 – LWCF Proposal Submission Process (2 pp)
     2 – Instructions for Project Data Sheets (1 p)
     3 – Project Data Sheet (Narrative)-Blank Format (1 p)
     4 – Fact Sheet (1 p)
     5 – Land Acquisition Request Information (LARI) Form (2 pp)
     6 – Instructions for submitting ArcGIS Online Files (3 pp)