In recognition of their important partnership, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation and the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers announced today an addendum to the 1997 national Programmatic Agreement (PA). 

 

The PA has long been a tool for the BLM to meet its responsibilities under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. The addendum recognizes that the BLM, through a tribal outreach effort that began last August with a letter from then-Director Caswell to over 600 tribal leaders, is working to make tribal coordination and consultation more effective. 

 

The BLM will continue its broad outreach effort to obtain tribal input on all matters related to tribal consultation. This will facilitate identification and consideration of concerns in land use planning and decision-making, as well as provide updates on the PA and other agency guidance directing tribal consultation processes.

 

Tribal listening sessions across the country will provide opportunities for tribes to talk with BLM officials in person.  The first session in October 2008 in Anchorage, Alaska, will be followed this spring with meetings in Phoenix, Arizona; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Billings, Montana; Reno, Nevada; and Boise, Idaho. Input and recommendations obtained through the meetings will expand the BLM’s initiatives and objectives as it continues to meet its tribal consultation and land management responsibilities.

 

The BLM manages more land – 256 million acres – than any other Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The Bureau, with a budget of about $1 billion, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estates throughout the nation. The BLM’s multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.

 

– BLM –