To ensure the best balance of uses and resource protections for America’s public lands, the BLM undertakes extensive land use planning through a collaborative approach with local, State and Tribal governments; the public; stakeholder groups. The result is a set of land use plans – called Resource Management Plans – that provide the framework to guide decisions for every action and approved use on the Nation’s 258 million acres of surface lands and 700 million acres of mineral estate. Ensuring these plans are up-to-date is critical because so many Americans look to the public lands for a wide variety of resources, including energy, rights-of-way that support communications and energy delivery, a variety of recreational uses, and crucial habitat for species associated with the Western landscape, such as the sage grouse & pronghorn antelope.

 

In 2001, the BLM initiated an effort to evaluate and amend or revise its existing land use plans (many of which were more than 20 years old) in response to changing conditions and demands on the public lands.  This included the preparation of new plans for designated units of the National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS).  To-date, the BLM has completed 41 Resource Management Plans or plan amendments, including 16 of 21 plans deemed time sensitive plans.  Currently, more than 50 planning efforts are in various stages of completion.  The BLM expects to complete more than 40 additional amendments, revisions, and new plans in the next 2 years. 

 

The BLM became the first Federal agency to establish a consistent, permanent role for cooperating agencies by issuing a final Cooperating Agency Rule in April 2005. These planning regulations ensure the agency fully engages at all levels, including State, Tribal, and local governments, as well as other Federal agencies. The Cooperating Agency Rule supports the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), which called on Federal, State and local governments to cooperate with the goal of achieving “productive harmony” between humans and their environment.

 

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