Department of the Interior

Departmental Manual

 

Effective Date:  9/20/07

Series:  Organization

Part 135:  Bureau of Land Management

Chapter 2:  Organization and Functions

 

Originating Office:  Bureau of Land Management

135 DM 2

 

2.1     Organization.  The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) includes national and field organizations (see attached organization chart).  The national organization includes the Headquarters Office and the National Operations Center.  The field organization consists of 12 State Offices which have responsibility for implementing the BLM activities in one or more State jurisdictions; and District and Field Offices.

 

2.2     Headquarters Office (HQ Office) Functions.  The functions of the headquarters office include:

 

          A.      Strategic Direction.  Identifies and articulates BLM’s mission, goals, priorities, and the essence of the BLM's activities, including trends, challenges, and issues.  The Headquarters Office prepares the BLM Operating Plan and Performance-Based Budget in accordance with the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA); develops strategic analyses and action plans, the budget, and guidance documents to articulate and implement the goals and objectives of the BLM and its future direction; and monitors program implementation to achieve the BLM’s goals and objectives.

 

          B.      Policy Leadership.  Initiates efforts to develop, revise, and refine BLM policy, and resolve internal and external policy issues.  The Headquarters Office has the lead, using Field Office involvement, to develop and approve BLM-wide policy and procedures.  The Headquarters Office facilitates the consistent implementation of policy by the Field Office, especially State Offices, by communicating with the Field Offices and providing evaluations and assessments.

 

          C.      Communications.  Communicates the BLM's policy, needs, and accomplishments at the national level to the media, members of Congress, national organizations, partners, stakeholders, and customers.  Apprises BLM State Offices of administration and Secretarial initiatives.  The BLM Headquarters Office actively pursues intergovernmental coordination with other bureaus and Federal agencies; and State, local, and tribal governments, including intergovernmental task forces.  The BLM Headquarters Office provides the interface between the interdisciplinary‑oriented field management employees and the program‑oriented external customers and stakeholders.

 

          D.      Legislative and Regulatory Involvement.  Facilitates legislative and regulatory changes needed to accomplish the BLM's mission.  The BLM Headquarters Office works with members of the Executive Leadership Team and/or the Field Committee, as well as special designated teams to identify problems requiring legislative solutions or changes in regulations; prepares testimony and witnesses to testify before congressional committees; works with congressional committees and staffs on legislative issues affecting BLM's programs; and develops and implements regulations with participation from the BLM's Field Offices.  The Headquarters Office leads the BLM's efforts to respond to administrative, political, and statutory direction impacting the BLM. 

 

          E.       Budget.  Accomplishes BLM-wide budget resource acquisition and allocation of funds within the BLM.  The BLM Headquarters Office formulates, presents, and defends the BLM budget request to the Secretary, Office of Management and Budget, and the Congress, and allocates funds among the major operating components of the BLM for budget execution.

 

          F.      Program and Organizational Evaluation and Oversight.  Evaluates and validates program performance and general management effectiveness through objective measurement and systematic analysis of current data and field reviews.  Establishes a framework and process to obtain national level performance information to determine the differences between planned and end results by program.  The framework provides a consistent organizational structure through which the objectives are set.  The means of attaining the objectives and monitoring performance are appropriate to meet the intentions of policy.  Implements and tracks corrective actions to ensure that statutory, regulatory, and customer requirements are met.

 

          G.      Issue Management.  Manages sensitive issues at the national level, maintains subject‑matter expertise in the core processes of the BLM, and serves as an advocate to enhance the ability of the BLM's field organization to carry out programs/initiatives.  The BLM Headquarters Office provides technical support to the Department’s bureaus and offices for BLM‑related matters and for Departmental policy development and/or analysis of projects.

 

          H.      Routine Functions.  Responds to correspondence referred from the Offices of the Secretary and the President; processes BLM-wide administrative actions, e.g., major procurements, higher‑level personnel actions, etc.; conducts special reviews/administrative inquiries as directed by the Secretary's Office; and conducts internal support operations to maintain the BLM Headquarters Office organization and infrastructure.

 

          I.       Coordination.  Coordinates with the Department’s bureaus and offices and other Federal agencies in establishing Departmental and national policies.

 

          J.       Technical Support.  Supports the field by providing technical expertise in programmatic areas.

 

2.3     Executive-Level Teams, Committees, and Councils.  In addition to the formal organization, a number of teams, committees, and councils serve the organization as follows:

 

          A.      Executive Leadership Team (ELT).  The ELT consists of the Director; Deputy Directors; Chief of Staff; Assistant Directors; BLM State Directors; and the Directors for the Office of National Landscape Conservation System, Office of Law Enforcement and Security, and the National Operations Center.  The ELT meets several times each year to focus on BLM-wide management issues.  The ELT is a management forum for the discussion and resolution of major policy issues.  The ELT develops BLM-wide objectives; personnel policy; program direction; capital planning, acquisition and property management priorities; budget priorities; and monitors progress to ensure that BLM's goals and objectives are achieved.

 

          B.      Field Committee (FC).  The FC consists of the Deputy Director, Operations; Deputy Assistant Directors; Associate State Directors; and the Deputy Directors for the Office of National Landscape Conservation System, Office of Law Enforcement and Security, and the National Operations Center.  The FC meets several times each year and primarily focuses on projects, issues, and concerns in the areas of budget formulation and execution, human resources management (HRM), information resource management (IRM), capital planning, acquisition and property management.  The FC also monitors and implements special studies and projects in other areas as appropriate and requested by the Director, Deputy Directors, or ELT.

 

          C.      Budget Strategy Team (BST).  The BST has broad representation from across the BLM, including team members from the BLM Headquarters, State Offices, and Field Offices.  The Budget Strategy Team is responsible for developing an overall budget strategy to implement the BLM Strategic Plan; developing a budget strategy communications plan; developing criteria for performance-based budget allocations for the BLM Washington Office, the State Offices, and the National Operation Center; providing oversight on the implementation of the budget; and providing guidance for budget document preparation to integrate the BLM budget strategy and the Strategic Plan goals.

 

          D.      Information Technology Investment Board (ITIB).  The ITIB is the board for executive input and review of BLM-wide Information Technology (IT) investments.  In addition, the ITIB provides recommendations and support for decisions to the Director.  The ITIB serves as the capital planning board for selecting, controlling, managing, and evaluating information systems (software) and technology (hardware) investments.  The Board establishes an analytical framework for linking IT investment decisions to strategic objectives and business plans within the Bureau.  The objective of this framework is that senior managers are able to systematically maximize the benefits of IT investments through use of the IT investment process that is appropriate for BLM’s organization and business.  The Deputy Director of Operations serves as the Executive Officer of the ITIB.

 

9/20/07 #3758

Replaces 7/12/00 #3310 and 7/12/00 #3311