USGS Guide to Federal Environmental Laws and Regulations
PUBLIC LAND RESOURCES
Table of Contents
Applicable Statutes
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- Organic Act of the National Park Service
(16 U.S.C. 1)
- National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966, as amended (PL 89-669; 16 U.S.C. 668dd-668ee)
- Wilderness Act (PL 88-577; 16 U.S.C. 1131-1136)
- Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (PL 94-579; 43 U.S.C. 1701-1782)
Purpose
The Organic Act of the National Park Service establishes the National Park Service (NPS) for the purpose of promoting and regulating the use of Federal areas that comprise the National Park System by such means and measures as to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and wildlife within and to provide for their enjoyment in such a manner as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.
Major Provisions by Section
Subchapter I- National Park Service
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§§ 1 through 18f-1
- Establishes the National Park Service and explains basic operational procedures along with rules and regulations.
Subchapter III- National Park Foundation
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§§ 19e through 19n
- A charitable, non-profit corporation known as the National
Park Foundation is established in order to encourage private gifts of
property for the benefit of the National Park System.
Subchapter III-B- Park System Resource Protection
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- The Secretary of the Interior is given the authority to take actions to prevent or minimize the destruction, loss or injury to park system resources.
Subchapter V through CXXI
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- Gives pertinent information for each entity of the National Park System.
Pertinent regulations
- CFR Part 1- General Provisions, National Park Service
This regulation sets up some general provisions applicable to all persons entering lands covered by NPS jurisdiction. They are intended to provide for the proper use, management, government, and protection of persons, property, and natural and cultural resources.
- 36 CFR Part 9- Minerals Management, National Park Service
Controls activities for valid mineral and non-federal oil and gas
rights on claims within the National Park System in order to prevent or
minimize damage to the environmental or loss of resource values.
- 516 DM 2 Appendix 2(2.2), Department of Interior
Environmental documents (EA, EIS, FONSI) must be prepared for actions
which may adversely affect such unique geographic characteristics as park,
recreation or refuge lands.
- Designates the National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS). Tasks the Fish and Wildlife Service with
administration of the NWRS. Acts to enhance the habitat of migratory birds and the habitat of mammals and non-migratory birds in general. Regulates and
controls activities such as hunting, fishing, and mining on these lands.
Wilderness Act (PL 88-577; 16 U.S.C. 1131-1136)
Purpose
- Mindful of the increasing population s impact on the amount of
remaining wilderness lands, the Wilderness Act was created to secure an enduring resource of wilderness America. The Act establishes a National Wilderness Preservation System. The system is meant to reserve wilderness areas for the use and enjoyment of the American people in such a manner as will leave them
unimpaired for future use and enjoyment of wilderness, ...the protection of
these areas, the preservation of their wilderness character, and for the
gathering and dissemination of information regarding their use and enjoyment
as wilderness.
Major Provisions by Section
- § 2 (16 U.S.C. 1131)- National Wilderness Preservation System
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This sets up a program known as the National Wilderness Preservation System to provide wilderness areas for the use and enjoyment by the American people. The lands included are Federally owned and are to be managed by the department or agency having jurisdiction over them. Does not apply to Bureau of Land Management administered lands.
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§ 3 (16 U.S.C. 1132)- Extent of system
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Part c of this section requires the Secretary of the Interior to review roadless areas and report to the President whether or not such areas should be
designated under the preservation system.
- § 4 (16 U.S.C. 1133)- Use of wilderness areas
- Each Federal agency administering any area designated as wilderness is
responsible for preserving the character of the area. Wilderness areas
shall be devoted to the public purposes of recreational, scenic,
scientific, educational, conservation, and historic use. USGS cooperation
with the Department of Agriculture is required to plan surveys of
National Forests to determine the mineral value of wilderness areas.
Excludes most commercial enterprise ans road building in the system.
Pertinent Regulations
- 36 CFR Part 251, Subpart B- Special Uses, Forest Service
This part expands upon the authorization of special use activities in
National Forest areas, as expanded upon in 36 CFR Part 261. Attention is given to application procedures as well as terms and conditions.
- 36 CFR Part 261- Prohibitions, Forest Service
Section 261.1a states that special-use authorizations may be issued by
Forest Service Chiefs, Regional Foresters, Forest Supervisors, or District
Rangers. This regulation is mainly devoted to listing various prohibitions
applicable to acts on National Forest Lands. Some of these actions may be
permitted with a special-use authorization. The regulation should be checked
for a detailed listing of prohibitions.
- 36 CFR Part 293- Wilderness- Primitive Areas, Forest Service
In order to meet the public purposes of recreation, scenic, scientific,
educational, conservation, and historical uses of National Forest
Wilderness, guidelines are given to establish, modify or eliminate sites.
Further guidance is presented on mineral leases and permits, stressing that
all mineral laws apply to National Forest Wilderness. A general statement is
made in 293.15 that any activity for the gathering of information about
resources shall be allowed as long as the activity is carried on in a manner
compatible with the preservation of the wilderness
environment. Activities using motorized equipment or using substantial
excavations need to be approved by the Office of the Forest Supervisor or
District Ranger having jurisdiction over the land involved. Prospecting for
water resources and the establishment of new reservoirs, water-conservation
works, and power projects are permitted, as long as the action has been
authorized by the President.
- 43 CFR Part 19- National Wilderness Preservation System, Office of the Secretary of the Interior
Sets forth administrative requirements for the Department of the Interior
to identify wilderness areas. One of the provisions covered is 3 of the Act
which requires the Secretary of the Interior to review roadless areas and to
recommend to the President areas suitable for preservation as wilderness.
- 43 CFR Part 8560- Wilderness Areas, Bureau of Land Management
This part provides procedures for the management of public lands in the
National Wilderness Preservation System. It is explained that certain
activities may involve written orders from an authorized officer when
necessary to carry out the provisions of the Wilderness Act. Section 8560.3(b) allows an officer to authorize use of wilderness areas by Federal agencies
when performed in the Act s interest. Later, in 8560.4-6, additional
information on mining law administration is given.
- 50 CFR Part 35- Wilderness Preservation and Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Generally prohibits use of motor vehicles, motorboats, aircraft, other
mechanized transport and limits installation of any structure on wilderness
units within wildlife refuges.
- 516 DM 2 Appendix 2(2.2),Department of Interior
Environmental documents (EA, EIS, FONSI) must be prepared for actions
which may adversely affect such unique geographic characteristics as
wilderness areas.
- Interim Management Policy (IMP) and Guidelines for Lands Under Wilderness Review, 44 FR 72014-72034, December 12, 1979, BLM
Provides interim policy guidance for BLM administered lands that are
under study for designation as wilderness. If Congress designates the study
area as wilderness, the IMP ceases to apply, and instead the Wilderness
Management Policy applies thereafter. If the study area is not designated as
wilderness, the IMP ceases to apply, and instead the area is managed as
ordinary public land.
Purpose
The Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) includes thirteen points of policy declared by Congress which develop the concept of multiple land use. The first is that public lands be retained in Federal ownership unless it is determined that disposal of a particular parcel will serve the national interest. Following this is a call to inventory public lands and project their present and future use through land use planning. This is to be coordinated between Federal and state efforts. The Act provides for review of lands without designated uses to be considered. The lands designated as public must be managed in a manner that will protect various ecological and educational values. Further, the act addresses areas of critical environmental concern by requiring regulations and plans for such areas to be promptly developed.
Major Provisions by Section
- § 201(43 U.S.C. 1711)- Continuing inventory and identification of public lands; preparation and maintenance
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The Secretary of the Interior is hereby required to compile an inventory of public lands and their resource and other values.
- § 202 (43 U.S.C. 1712)- Land use plans
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In the development and revision of land use plans, the Secretary of
the Interior shall give priority to the designation and protection of
areas of critical environmental concern.
- § 301 (43 U.S.C. 1731)- Bureau of Land Management
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Administration of the FLPMA is entrusted to the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM).
- § 302 (43 U.S.C. 1732)- Management of use, occupancy, and development of public lands
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Establishes as policy that the public lands be managed on the basis
of multiple use and sustained yield unless otherwise specified by law.
Pertinent Regulations
- 45 FR 57318-57330, Areas of Critical Environmental Concern; Policy and
Procedures Guidelines, BLM
Implements provisions of the FLPMA of 1976. Provides policy and direction
to BLM field personnel for the identification, designation, and management
of ACEC's where special management is required to protect important
historic, cultural, and scenic values, fish and wildlife resources and other
natural system and processes, and protect human life and property from natural hazards.
- 516 DM 2 Appendix 2(2.2), Department of the Interior
Environmental assessments must be prepared for actions which may
adversely affect such unique geographic characteristics as ecologically
significant or critical areas.
- Areas of critical environmental concern
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areas within the public lands where special management attention is required to protect and prevent irreparable damage to important historic, cultural, or scenic values, fish and wildlife resources or other natural systems or processes, or to protect life and safety from natural hazards. (FLPMA, 103(a))
Multiple use-
the management of the public lands and their various resource
values so that they are utilized in the combination that will best meet
the present and future needs of the American people; making the judicious
use of the land for some or all of these resources or related services
over areas large enough to provide sufficient latitude for periodic
adjustments in use to conform to changing needs and conditions; the use of
some land for less than all of the resources; a combination of balanced and
diverse resource uses that takes into account the long-term needs of future
generations for renewable and nonrenewable resources, including, but not
limited to, recreation, range, timber, minerals, watershed, wildlife
and fish, and natural scenic, scientific and historical values; and
harmonious and coordinated management of the various resources without
permanent impairment of the productivity of the land and the quality of
the environment with consideration being given to the relative values of
the resources and not necessarily to the combination of uses that will give
the greatest economic return or the greatest unit output.(FLPMA, 103(c))
Sustained yield-
the achievement and maintenance in perpetuity of a high-level
annual or regular periodic output of the various renewable resources of
the public lands consistent with multiple use. (FLPMA, 103(h)
Wilderness-
an area of underdeveloped Federal land retaining its primeval
character and influence, without permanent improvements or human
habitation, which is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural
conditions and which (1) generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man s work substantially
unnoticeable; (2) has outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive
and unconfined type of recreation; (3) has at least five thousand acres
of land or is of sufficient size to make practicable its preservation and
use in an unimpaired condition; and (4) may also contain ecological,
geological, or other features of scientific, educational, scenic, or
historical value. (16 U.S.C. 1131(c))
Wildlife - birds, fish, mammals, and other classes of wild animals, and all types of aquatic and land vegetation upon which wildlife is dependent.
National parks, monuments, trails, recreation areas, wildlife refuges
- Determine if any National park, monument, trail, recreation area, or
wildlife refuge is in an area that may be affected by the proposed action.
- If any such area is present, establish consultation with the appropriate wildlife or surface management agency (FWS, NPS, FS) to assist in
determining the nature of effect
- Depending on the nature and extent of effect an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement (EIS) may be required. Formal consultation with FWS, NPS, or FS is required on draft and final EISs.
Wilderness Act
Commercial enterprises, temporary roads, use of motor
vehicles, motorized equipment or motorboats, landing of aircraft or other
forms of mechanical transport, and structures or installations are generally
prohibited from Wilderness Areas.
Federal Land Policy Management Act
Each area of critical environmental concern s (ACEC's) special management requirements are site-specific. No activity is specifically prohibited in ACEC's, including mining. If a proposed action may adversely affect an ACEC, then an environmental assessment will be prepared to determine the significance of the effect. Consultation with the BLM District Manager is perhaps the most efficient method for determining if proposed action may adversely affect an ACEC.
Wilderness Act
- Consult with the appropriate surface management agency
(BLM, NPS, FS) and the FWS to determine of the area that may be affected by
the proposed action is included in the NWPS, has been nominated for the
NWPS, or is under BLM wilderness review.
- If the project may adversely effect an area that is or is likely to be
included in the NWPS, prepare an environmental assessment. [516 DM 2
Appendix 2(2.2)]
- If effects are determined significant (see 40 CFR Part 1508.27)
coordinate environmental impact statement preparation and drafts with the
appropriate agencies.
Federal Land Policy Management Act
- Contact the BLM office for area affected
by proposed action and establish consultation with the District Manager or
State Director. Basic responsibility for making ACEC decisions has been
delegated to the District Manager (BLM's Policy and Procedures Guidelines).
- If the proposed action may adversely affect an ACEC, then an
environmental assessment should be prepared.
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U.S. Department of the Interior 
Cultural & Historic Resources