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Effective Date: 2/16/71

Series: Public Lands

Part 606: Soil and Moisture Conservation

Chapter 3: Conservation District Agreements

Originating Office: Bureau of Land Management

3.1 Departmental Policy. It is the policy of the Department of the Interior to enter into working agreements with Conservation Districts to integrate Federal Land Conservation activities with private and other non-Federal land development programs. Departmental agreements may be supplemented with Bureau-District agreements.

3.2 Responsibilities.

A. Department of the Interior.

(1) The Assistant Secretary for Public Land Management is, by Secretarial assignment, responsible for signing and processing the basic Departmental Memorandum of Agreement and the documents necessary to record arrangements for cooperation between the Department of the Interior and Conservation Districts.

(2) A Memorandum of Agreement is entered into with each Conservation District, upon request, as soon as any Bureau of the Department is in a position to work with the district in carrying out the conservation program and objectives.

(3) The Department of the Interior enters into a memorandum of agreement only after the governing body of the conservation district has developed a program outlining, in general, its long-term soil and water conservation objectives.

(4) The Department of the Interior assumes no responsibility for the soundness of the conservation district program and neither approves nor disapproves it. However, the Department of the Interior may make suggestions and offer recommendations for modifying the content of a district program.

B. Interior Bureaus.

(1) Are responsible to ascertain whether or not any Bureau programs can be coordinated with that of the Conservation District in formulating its program without entering into a supplemental agreement, normally the Bureaus will develop detailed plans in cooperation with Conservation Districts in conformance with the goals and objectives of their respective resource and land management responsibilities and enter into an agreement supplemental to the basic Departmental agreement specifying in detail what work is to be done by both parties.

(2) Keep the Secretary of the Interior informed through the Assistant Secretary for Public Land Management on the accomplishments resulting from cooperative programs.

3.3 Procedures.

A. Requests to enter into a Departmental agreement will be initiated on Form No. DI-440 by the Conservation Districts and submitted to the Assistant Secretary, Public Land Management with two completed copies of the proposed memorandum of agreement, Form No. DI-441, signed by the designated official of the district governing body.

B. The Assistant Secretary, Public Land Management, advises Bureaus and Regional Coordinators/Field Representatives that he has signed a departmental agreement with the conservation district and that they should so notify their field offices. When more than one Bureau is involved, the Regional Coordinator/Field Representative will insure the integration of the various plans being prepared by agencies of the Department of the Interior. The Assistant Secretary also notifies Congressional Liaison, the Departmental Director of Information and provides courtesy notification to the National Association of Conservation Districts and to the appropriate State official concerned with Conservation Districts.

C. Bureaus shall individually prepare instructions outlining specific procedures to follow in preparing supplemental agreements.

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2/16/71 #3488

Replaces 2/16/71 #1268