Deep Creek Mountains Wilderness Study Area, Utah |
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ISSUE 2 - NOVEMBER 17, 2016 |
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- Celebrate Your Public Lands
- Honoring our Veterans
- Headlines and Highlights
- Rangeland Management
- Youth
- Oil and Gas
- Conservation
- Renewable Energy
- Wildlife Question of the Week
- DOI Highlights
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CELEBRATE YOUR PUBLIC LANDS |
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The Salt-Lake Tribune, October 28, 2016
Last week, 40 years ago, President Gerald Ford signed a major new law that reshaped the American West. The Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976 set a radical new course for the management of our nation’s shared lands. Reversing more than 160 years of practice that
focused on transferring federal land to homesteaders and developers, the president and Congress decided to keep vast areas in common ownership for the benefit of all Americans. This law is the essential guide that the Bureau of Land Management uses as it cares for more than 10 percent of the
nation’s land. Read full story
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High Country News, November 10, 2016
America has spent the last year celebrating the centennial of the National Park Service. Given that the agency protects 85 million acres — 3.6 percent of the United States — this is a birthday well worth celebrating. But two other important birthdays passed almost unnoticed:
October marked the 40th anniversary of both the Federal Land Policy Management Act, or FLPMA (usually pronounced “flipma”), which covers the Bureau of Land Management’s holdings, and the National Forest Management Act, which embraces our national forests. The combined acreage
overseen by the two laws amounts to an astounding 20 percent of our 50 states. Read full
story
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The Pew Charitable Trusts, October 18, 2016
The year 1976 saw not only the bicentennial of the United States but also the birth of the law that brought the phrase “this land is your land” to life. The Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), signed by President Gerald Ford on October 21, 1976, was the spark that
ignited change in the way the Bureau of Land Management—the federal agency that oversees more public land than any other—would manage all 247 million acres of our vast commons. The act, a product of the bipartisan Public Land Law Review Commission established by Congress in 1964, was
debated in three Congresses before becoming law. Read full story
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Public lands in the BLM Las Cruces District were front and center for two major events last month, including the Third National Student Congress and the 29th annual
Public Lands Foundation (PLF) Meeting. Sponsored by the PLF and BLM, the focus of the Student Congress was the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, which is 40 years old this year. Twenty students and recent university graduates from across the country participated in the four-day seminar to
explore, discuss and formulate responses to questions on the future of public land management and its relevance in today’s social and political climate. (Your Public Lands
story)
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HONORING OUR VETERANS |
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About one in five BLM employees is a military veteran, and we are immensely grateful for their service to our nation. In the run-up to Veterans Day, the BLM is
honoring its veterans with reflections from some of our own on what Veterans Day means to them. The Bureau of Land Management is proud to honor all the men and women who have worn the uniform and fought for our freedom. To all who answered their country’s call, we appreciate your sacrifice and
thank you for your service. (Your Public Lands story)
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Last month the BLM joined the local community in celebrating the opening of the California Central Coast Veterans Cemetery along the edge of the Fort Ord National Monument. Around
600 veterans and their families, citizens and local leaders gathered on the 78-acre site surrounded by twisted and gnarled oaks to celebrate the grand opening. The celebration marked the culmination of a 20-year effort by local Army veterans to establish a cemetery on their former post. (Your Public Lands story)
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HEADLINES AND HIGHLIGHTS |
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In northeastern Wyoming, the Gillette Single Engine Air Tanker (SEAT) base is always racing against the clock. The planes there are vital in the effort to fight wildland fires in
the sagebrush prairie that makes up Campbell County. This base is a classic example of partnership efforts ending in tremendous success. The base is owned and operated by Campbell County and administered by the BLM’s High Plains District. (Your Public Lands story)
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A Tyrannosaurus rex recently excavated from BLM-administered lands in McCone County, Montana has garnered attention and looks to take a spot next to previous finds that have
rewritten the book on this popular dinosaur species. (Your Public Lands story)
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Las Vegas, a city surrounded by a stunning panorama of two National Conservation Areas and several BLM Wilderness Areas, recently hosted the eighth Conservation Lands Foundation
(CLF) “Friends Rendezvous.” Every eighteen months, this conference brings together members of the CLF’s Friends Grassroots Network, a group of over 60 partner organizations that coordinate efforts to protect the BLM’s National Conservation Lands. (Your Public Lands story)
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BLM Alaska represented the United States at the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna Governing Board meeting last month in Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Norway. At 78 degrees north
latitude, Spitzbergen is the world’s northernmost year-round community. All eight Arctic nations – Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States – participated in the meeting. (Your Public Lands story)
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The BLM’s Recreation and Visitor Services Program has had a “banner year” in 2016, according to Andy Tenney, Division Chief for Recreation and Visitor Services.
The BLM’s “Connecting with Communities” Recreation Strategy leverages the resources of the Recreation and Visitor Services Program to better engage with communities, service
providers and other partners to deliver recreational opportunities and experiences that communities value most. (Your Public Lands story)
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One of the jewels of the rock-climbing world is a BLM Special Recreation Management Area just outside Socorro, New Mexico, called “The Box.” The rock from which this
beautiful canyon and adjacent formations are sculpted is predominately rhyolite and andesite—extrusive volcanic rock. A favorite with climbers for more than 40 years, use of the area continues to increase, and it’s not just recreation. (Your Public Lands story)
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RANGELAND MANAGEMENT |
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Like Greater Sage-Grouse, more than 350 species depend on the sagebrush ecosystem for their
survival. People are one of them. Long golden light streams across the ruddy-colored range. The sun travels further south as each day passes. Warm days transition to crisp
nights, and the first frost has already come and gone. Anticipating this, a cottontail rabbit hunkers beneath a sagebrush. Its fur is coming in thick, ready for winter winds and snow storms. (Your Public Lands story)
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The “Sagebrush in Prisons Project” is a collaborative project between The Bureau of Land Management, Idaho Department of Corrections, Institute for Applied
Ecology (IAE) and the Sustainability in Prisons program. The Project allows inmates at ISCC to participate in habitat restoration projects by growing the sage brush seedling inside the correction facility. These seedlings go to areas that are effected by wildfire, to help restore habitat for
wildlife, especially the greater sage-grouse. (My Public Lands Tumblr)
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An hour south of Tucson, the rolling, curving foothills of the Santa Rita Mountains give way to swales of grass, newly green from prolific monsoons. A great valley
spreads out in the distance, flanked by the sway-backed Mustang Mountains in the southeast. A highway sign proclaims this a “scenic byway.” The Empire Valley is iconic ranch country immortalized in several John Wayne movies. These days the leading man is rancher Ian Tomlinson, burly,
blue-eyed and tall in the saddle. On any given day you might see him riding herd on his cattle, accompanied by dogs and hired hands. (Your Public Lands story)
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U.S. Department of the Interior released a new science plan that will serve as an action-oriented blueprint for acquiring information needed to make science-based
decisions to restore and conserve the imperiled ‘sagebrush sea,’ a roughly 500,000-square-mile-area of sagebrush steppe habitat across western North America. (Department of Interior News Release)
Related: Feds release plan to protect Western sagebrush country (U.S. News)
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Capital Press, October 24, 2016
A once rocky relationship between Bureau of Land Management firefighters and Idaho ranchers has improved markedly since the creation of rangeland fire protection associations in 2013. Ranchers, who once had a contentious relationship with BLM firefighting officials, have come to respect
them, Mountain Home RFPA Chairman Charlie Lyons said October 20 during a Western Governor’s Association meeting in Boise. Read full story
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The Mori Ranch and the Shoesole Resource Management Group, which have been grazing permittees on public land in Nevada for 20-plus years, recently received Rangeland
Stewardship Awards from the BLM. These awards recognize their dedication to the health and productivity of BLM-managed public rangelands. Every year four awards are given and this year two of the four awards were given to these Elko County ranchers. (Your Public Lands story)
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Wandering through rows of plants in a humid greenhouse on Eastern Arizona College’s Discovery Park Campus in Safford, Arizona, you can almost feel the
photosynthesis happening. These plants – think sacaton grass plugs and butterfly-friendly milkweed – are destined for restoration projects across southeast Arizona’s Sky Island Region thanks to a partnership among the BLM’s Safford Field Office, Gila Watershed Partnership and
Eastern Arizona College. (Your Public Lands story)
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YOUTH |
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The BLM Rawlins Field Office has been partnering with Trout Unlimited, Wyoming Game and Fish Dept., and the Little Snake River Conservation District to implement Adopt-A-Trout, a
Trout Unlimited program that has been introduced in various Wyoming schools. (Your Public Lands story)
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BLM Idaho State Office cadastral surveyors Dan Young and John Zink recently helped shape some young minds at a Career Day at Idaho City, Idaho.
About 40 students from Idaho City High School decided to check out the Professional Land Surveyor profession as a potential career path. The Career Day was held at the Idaho Center for Outdoor Education in Idaho City. (Your Public Lands story)
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OIL AND GAS |
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Thanks to many years of collaborative efforts, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell joined U.S. Senator Jon Tester, Blackfeet Nation Chairman Harry Barnes and Devon Energy
Corporation President and CEO David Hager to announce that the BLM has canceled 15 additional oil and gas leases in the Badger-Two Medicine area of the Lewis and Clark National Forest in northwestern Montana. (Your Public Lands story)
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As part of the Interior Department’s reform agenda to create a cleaner and more sustainable energy future, and in furtherance of the Obama Administration’s Climate
Action Plan, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced the Methane and Waste Prevention Rule – a final rule that will reduce the wasteful release of natural gas into the atmosphere from oil and gas operations on public and Indian lands. The rule updates 30-year old regulations
governing venting, flaring, and leaks of natural gas, and will help curb waste of public resources, reduce harmful methane emissions, and provide a fair return on public resources for federal taxpayers, tribes and states. (Department of Interior News Release)
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Petro Global News, October 23, 2016
The Bureau of Land Management said on Monday that updated rules for oil and gas royalties from federal leases are expected to reduce compliance costs by nearly $100 million. The BLM said the new rules were designed to ensure “the accurate measurement, proper reporting,
and accurate record keeping of oil and gas produced from Federal and Indian leases in order to ensure that the royalties due are paid.” The new rules call for the incorporation of the “latest industry standards,” measurement technology and practices and also establish a
one-stop, national process for the review and approval of new measurement technologies and practices. Read full story
Related: BLM Completes Comprehensive Update of Its Oil and Gas Measurement Rules (BLM News Release)
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CONSERVATION |
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New Mexico State University News Center, October 27, 2016
New Mexico State University is partnering with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to create opportunities for faculty and student research at the Organ Mountains-Desert Mountain Peaks National Monument. President Barack Obama designated the nearly 500,000 acres of federal land in southern
New Mexico as a national monument in 2014 to protect its natural beauty for future generations. Read full story
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While stone walls and crumbling raw wood window frames may add to its character, work is needed to keep a Colorado Western Slope cabin from fading into a pile of rubble. Just nine
miles from Grand Junction, the Skinner Cabin sits in the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area (NCA). It is widely believed that the cabin was built by John Skinner, a local mason responsible for iconic works in the Grand Valley. Volunteers and BLM staff are working to save this important piece
of history and culture. (Your Public Lands story)
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RENEWABLE ENERGY |
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Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced that the BLM finalized its rule governing solar and wind energy development on public lands. The rule strengthens existing
policies and creates a new leasing program that will support renewable energy development through competitive leasing processes and incentives to encourage development in suitable areas. (Your Public Lands
story)
Related: Rule codifies BLM’s Smart from the Start approach, establishes a robust framework for competitive leasing, and increases transparency and certainty (Department Of Interior News Release)
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The Denver Post, October 29, 2016
Fields of solar arrays and giant wind turbines dotting public lands across the United States sounds both appealing, for the renewable energy potential, and unappealing for potential aesthetic and environmental impacts. That’s why the Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act,
which was introduced last year in Congress, is so important. The legislation would create “priority areas” on public lands across the U.S. for wind, solar and geothermal energy projects. These would be areas where energy generation potential is plentiful, where environmental
and community impacts are minimal and infrastructure exists to support the project. Read full
story
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Think GeoEnergy, October 29, 2016
In conjunction with the GRC Annual Meeting that closed this week in Sacramento, California, the Bureau of Land Management held a geothermal lease sale for parcels on federal land in the U.S. BLM now reports having sold more than half of its geothermal leases on offer in Nevada, four out of
six parcels in Utah, but none of the parcels offered in California. Read full
story
Related: BLM Leases 41,000 Acres for Geothermal Energy Development (BLM News Release)
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WILDLIFE QUESTION OF THE WEEK |
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Which of the following have achieved milestones over the past year as some of the most remarkable imperiled species?
a) Wood bison
b) Whooping crane
c) Black-footed ferrets
d) California sea otter
e) Wyoming toad
f) All of the above
Keep reading for answer below.
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DOI HIGHLIGHTS |
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President Theodore Roosevelt was one of the most powerful voices in the history of American conservation. Enthralled by nature from a young age, Roosevelt cherished and promoted
our nation’s landscapes and wildlife. After becoming president in 1901, Roosevelt used his authority to establish 150 national forests, 51 federal bird reserves, four national game preserves, five national parks and 18 national monuments on over 230 million acres of public land. (Department of Interior News Release)
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Daily News Miner, October 22, 2016
Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell has had many momentous visits to Alaska — including the renaming of Mt. McKinley to Denali and raised awareness of climate change in the Arctic with her trip to Kivalina — but perhaps her biggest announcement came Friday. On the stage of the Carlson Center at this year’s annual convention of Alaska Federation of Natives, Jewell announced a landmark order requiring the Interior Department’s agencies to, where possible, include tribes
in the management of federal lands and resources. Read full story
Related: Secretary Jewell Issues Secretarial Order to Encourage Tribal Role in Managing Interior Lands with Native American Connections (Department of Interior News Release)
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To address concerns regarding mineral leasing and development activity adjacent to Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Deputy Secretary of the Interior Michael L. Connor
announced the U.S. Department of the Interior will expand the resource management planning effort underway in the Farmington, New Mexico area. For the first time, the Bureau of Land Management’s Farmington Field Office and the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ (BIA) Navajo Regional Office will
jointly conduct an expanded analysis of management in the area that covers both public and tribal lands. (Department of Interior News Release)
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WILDLIFE QUESTION OF THE WEEK ANSWER |
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Which of the following have achieved milestones over the past year as some of the most remarkable imperiled species?
f) All of the above
Endangered species are often associated with “lasts”– the last individual of a species alive, the last time one was sighted or the last to live in the wild. Over
the past year, we’ve seen story after story challenging this narrative and emphasizing the positive aspects of species conservation. It has truly been a year of historic “firsts” for many endangered or threatened species. Scroll down to see five milestones from the past year for
some of our most remarkable imperiled species. (Fighting for Firsts: Endangered species recoveries in
2016 via USFWS)
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Your Public Lands is a publication of the Bureau of Land Management.
Bureau of Land Management
1849 C Street NW, Room 5665
Washington DC 20240
Phone: (202) 208-3801
Fax: (202) 208-5242
yourpubliclands@xxxxxxx
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