Public Access Parcel Nomination Effort (New)
Bureau of Land Management Public Access Parcel Nomination Process 2024
As part of its efforts to implement the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is opening the third round of public nominations to identify public land parcels for evaluation under the Act. The Dingell Act directs the Department of the Interior to ask for public input on BLM-managed lands where there is no legal public access or where access is significantly restricted, to improve that access for hunting, fishing, and other recreational activities.
Recommendations from the public will aid the BLM in creating a report to Congress that provides options for reasonably providing access to nominated lands, such as by acquiring an easement, right-of-way, or fee title from a willing seller.
To ensure all stakeholders have ample opportunity and the ability to make suggestions, BLM has created a new web portal to gather public input. The 2024 public nomination period is open for 30 days from August 1 to August 30, 2024. During that time the web portal will be active to solicit public nominations of legally inaccessible or significantly restricted BLM parcels for potential inclusion on the BLM's priority access list.
Nomination Portal
The interactive web map tool provides the public the ability to draw polygons on a map representing the public land areas they believe lack access or have significantly restricted access. Polygons for all nominations will be visible, including those parcels added to the BLM Priority Access List, parcels still under agency consideration, and parcels eliminated from consideration. This map tool will help inform the public of the status and location of all previously submitted priority access nominations. The public will be asked to provide a limited amount of information about the new parcels they nominate.
- How to use the Interactive Web Map Tool
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Dingell Act: How to Submit A Parcel Video
Guidance Document for Web Tool
To contact support for questions and concerns regarding the webmap tool, please email BLM_HQ_Dingell_Act@blm.gov
Nomination Requirements
Valid nominations must include the location of the nominated land or parcel, total acreage affected (if known), a description or narrative describing the lack of access, and any additional information the BLM should consider when determining if the land should be on BLM’s priority access list. The BLM will not include any personal identifying information concerning owners or ownership of any parcels in preparing the priority list or related congressional reports.
This effort advances a primary goal of the Dingell Act (S. 47), which was signed into law in March 2019. Section 4105 of the Act directs the BLM to develop a priority access list.
Implementing the Dingell Act will continue the BLM’s mission to support multiple uses for public land, and to strike a balance for land and resources management, increase access for hunting, fishing, and recreation, and create economic prosperity while protecting and preserving America’s treasures.
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Background
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All lands nominated for inclusion on the BLM’s priority access list must be managed by the BLM, encompass at least 640 contiguous acres and have significantly restricted or have no public access. BLM must also consider the likelihood of resolving identified access issues when determining whether to include parcels on the list. When submitting nominations, the public must include the location of the nominated land or parcel, total acreage affected (if known), a description or narrative describing the lack of access, and any additional information the BLM should consider when determining if the land should be on BLM’s priority list. BLM will not include any personally identifiable information concerning owners or ownership of any parcels in preparing the priority list or related congressional reports.
The BLM is working to implement Dingell Act tasks assigned in Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Utah, Montana/Dakotas, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon/Washington, and the Eastern States Office (Louisiana and Minnesota). Implementing the Dingell Act will continue the Department of the Interior’s work to strike proper balance for land and resources management, increase access for hunting, fishing, and recreation, and create economic prosperity while protecting and preserving America’s treasures.
Learn more about the Dingell Act and how it affects your public lands.
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The Dingell Act Priority Access List
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The BLM sought public comments for a 38-day period, which ran from May 23, 2022, through June 30, 2022, to encourage participation in identifying high-priority recreation lands at least 640 contiguous acres, where legal public access is either non-existent (legally inaccessible) or significantly restricted (press release). Nominated lands must be open for recreation consistent with existing land use plans.
The public’s response was robust, demonstrating a significant level of interest and high importance that the public, state agencies, and non-governmental partners assign to the issue of improving recreational access to public lands across the West. A total of 502 new nominations were received in 2022 from 25 recreation user groups, 22 conservation organizations, 68 BLM offices, 2 other federal agencies, 47 state, county, and local governments, 1 Native American Tribe, and 337 individuals. Many individuals self-identified as hunters, outdoor recreationists, and/or public land advocates.
The BLM’s final priority access list includes a total of 821 distinct parcels spread across 14 western states (AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, ND, NM, NV, OR, SD, TX, UT, WA, and WY). These parcels represent approximately 4.2 million acres of legally inaccessible or significantly restricted public lands with exceptional recreational values. From the 502 nominations received in 2022, 103 distinct parcels of BLM-managed public lands were added to the priority access list; 255 continue to be evaluated by the BLM; and the rest were eliminated from consideration because they were duplicate submissions, did not contain sufficient information, or did not meet the Act's criteria. Additionally, six parcels that were nominated in 2020 and were previously "under agency coordination" were moved to the 2022 public access list.
More information on the Dingell Act Priority Access Parcel list
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Summary Table of BLM Priority Access List and Acreages by BLM State Office.
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State Office
Total # Parcels on Priority Access List
# BLM Nominated Parcels
# Public Nominated Parcels
# Legally Inaccessible Acres
# Significantly Restricted Acres
AZ
72
23
49
136,634
335,660
CA
7
6
1
7,888
26,870
CO
137
127
10
88,571
886,309
ID
167
135
32
350,237
422,472
MT/DK
117
59
58
492,178
156,033
NM
26
8
18
34,616
63,669
NV
8
1
7
77,155
27,449
OR/WA
67
26
41
93,059
107,695
UT
18
14
4
84,060
14,247
WY
202
54
148
411,793
400,595
Totals
821
453
368
1,776,191
2,440,999
