Washington, D.C. – Today, the Senate passed H.J. Res. 44 (Rep. Liz Cheney, WY-at large), a joint resolution of disapproval under the Congressional Review Act to repeal the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Planning 2.0 rule.
BOISE, ID - In opening remarks today at the conference, "The Next Steppe: Sage Grouse and Wildland Fire," Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director Neil Kornze announced the release of the Northern Great Basin Rapid Ecoregional Assessment (REA), a next-generation tool for looking at the ecological health of this important geographic region.
"The BLM is using these regional assessments to identify the key challenges and opportunities that exist across the West," Kornze said. "By providing good, current science and looking across broad landscapes we can help ensure that decisions are being made with the best available information."
BLM Provides Mitigation Guidance To Lessen and Offset Impact of Development on Public Lands
National Mitigation Policy Provides Roadmap for Approving Projects
WASHINGTON — The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) today finalized itspolicyfor how to lessen and offset adverse environmental effects caused by various uses of the public lands. This announcement formalizes the agency’s knowledge developed through years of applying mitigation measures in the context of its multiple use and sustained yield mission.
The Bureau of Land Management released today the final strategy for monitoring the impacts of solar energy development in eastern Riverside County. Public comments from the October draft strategy were considered into this final strategy which is part of the implementation of the Western Solar Plan.
The Riverside East Long Term Monitoring Strategy will help the BLM understand solar energy development's broad-scale effects on resources such as vegetation, hydrology, and air quality. The information generated through the strategy will help the BLM permit future solar energy projects.
The Hazard Removal and Vegetation Management Project Programmatic Environmental Assessment streamlines vegetation management and removal of hazardous trees.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – In advancing the Department of the Interior’s commitment to reduce wildfire risk, the Bureau of Land Management on Friday released its Hazard Removal and Vegetation Management Project Programmatic Environmental Assessment (EA). This assessment covers approximately 551,000 acres of BLM-managed public land in central and northern California and streamlines the process for right-of-way holders, utility companies, and counties to treat vegetation and remove hazardous trees within 200 feet of critical infrastructure to reduce wildfire risk.
RENO, Nev. In an effort to find common ground to preserve sage brush ecosystem in Nevada, federal and state agencies and key stakeholders have agreed to form working groups to identify regulatory flexibility and improve communication and outreach between themselves and the public.
The agreement came from a workshop held in Reno in early December that focused on collaboration. The workshop, which was attended by about 80 people, was organized by the Bureau of Land Management, US Forest Service and the State of Nevada. The primary focus of the workshop was teaching participants how to work with each other in order to find common ground, respect others’ point of view, and effectively manage conflict when dealing with issues related to conservation of the sagebrush ecosystem.
Washington, D.C. - The Federal land management agencies that make up the National Wilderness Preservation System signed an agreement that will guide interagency collaboration and vision to ensure the continued preservation of nearly 110 million acres of the most primitive of public lands.
The 2020 Vision: Interagency stewardship priorities for America’s National Wilderness Preservation System will guide the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Geological Survey, all under the U.S. Department of Interior; and the U.S. Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
SALT LAKE CITY – A two-count misdemeanor information filed in federal court Wednesday morning in Salt Lake City charges five individuals in connection with an unlawful ATV ride in Recapture Canyon on May 10, 2014. The information alleges one count of conspiracy to operate off-road vehicles on public lands closed to off-road vehicles and one count of operation of off-road vehicles on public lands closed to off-road vehicles.

(January 21, 2016) PHOENIX - The Arizona Game and Fish Commission approved two resolutions, including one to address an "extreme overpopulation of burros" impacting the state's wildlife, habitat and public safety, and another that bolsters the department's efforts to ensure public access to public lands. The Commission passed the resolutions at its January meeting.
The resolution on burro management states that "the Arizona Game and Fish Commission recognizes there is an extreme overpopulation of burros in Arizona that negatively impacts wildlife, wildlife habitat and public safety."
Under the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burros Act of 1971, there should be no more than 1,676 burros within the state. The current population is estimated at 4,860, according to the Bureau of Land Management, which is legally required to maintain burros at established "appropriate management levels." The BLM is hampered by a lack of funding and support from the agency's administration at the national level.
Western Governors have asked Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Ryan Zinke why they were not consulted in advance about DOI's proposal to change the bureaus’ regional office boundaries and shared additional questions regarding the proposal.
"Western Governors appreciate your desire to improve the efficiency of DOI so that it can more effectively respond to the needs of our nation," said WGA Chair and South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard and Vice Chair and Hawaii Gov. David Igein the letter sent Feb. 1. However, the Governors
WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of the Interior celebrates the one-year anniversary of President Donald Trump signing into law the John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act (P.L. 116-9). The Dingell Act is the single most important public lands management law to be passed in over a decade. The Act:
Excellent example of collaboration between federal and local governments to protect and improve working landscape
WASHINGTON – In an effort to improve the habitat for Greater Sage-Grouse in the West, the U.S. Department of the Interior today issued a Record of Decision for the treatment of 617,000 acres of land in Owyhee County, Idaho. The decision is supported by the Bruneau-Owyhee Sage-Grouse Habitat (BOSH) Project Final Environmental Impact Statement, which analyzes the effects of removing encroaching Western juniper on approximately 617,000 acres of public land within a 1.67 million-acre area of sagebrush-steppe habitat in Owyhee County.
BLM's Planning 2.0 Rule Crowds Out Local, State Voices in Favor of Special Interests
Washington, D.C. – Today, the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations held an oversight hearing to hear from state and local representatives on the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) draft Planning 2.0 Rule. This draft rule would dramatically shift resource management planning away from local communities to bureaucrats in Washington, D.C.
BLM Marks Major Gains in 2015 Ensuring Safe and Responsible Energy Development on Public Lands
WASHINGTON – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) made major progress in 2015 promoting responsible energy development on public lands while also managing for a wide range of uses on the agency's 245 million acres. While BLM advanced modern safety and production-measurement regulations, the agency also made progress on the development of master leasing plans for oil and gas areas as well as new landscape-scale planning efforts to achieve both conservation and energy development goals.
"Each accomplishment is significant on its own, but together, they're a big stride forward in our management of the nation's energy resources" said BLM Director Neil Kornze.
Facilitating Renewable Energy Development
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIALS AND RECREATION INDUSTRY LEADERS DISCUSS RECREATION EXPANSION AND IMPROVEMENTS
Senior officials from the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and U.S. Forest Service met with more than 30 representatives of the outdoor recreation industry at Shenandoah National Park April 24 to discuss improving visitor experiences on America’s public lands and waters. The meeting was hosted by the Outdoor Recreation Industry Roundtable (ORIR) at Skyland Resort – operated by National Park concessioner Delaware North.
Collaborative rule clarifies and coordinates paleontological resource management and preservation in areas managed by Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Park Service
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Interior today announced a proposed rule to further facilitate implementation of the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act of 2009. The proposed rule provides standards for a coordinated approach to the management of paleontological resources on lands managed by four DOI Bureaus: Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and National Park Service (NPS). It will also clarify how these bureaus manage paleontological resources to ensure they are available for current and future generations to enjoy as part of America’s national heritage.

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