2007 America the Beautiful Volunteer Pass

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240
www.blm.gov

February 27, 2007

In Reply Refer To:
1114 (650) P

EMS TRANSMISSION 03/07/2007
Instruction Memorandum No. 2007-077
Expires: 09/30/2008

To: State Directors
Attn: State and Field Office Volunteer Coordinators

From: Director

Subject: 2007 “America the Beautiful” Volunteer Pass

Program Area: Volunteer Program

Purpose: This directive provides temporary guidance for issuing the Congressionally established “America the Beautiful” Volunteer Pass to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) volunteers in 2007.

Policy/Action: Each State should inform its volunteers about the opportunity to earn the “America the Beautiful” Volunteer Pass and issue passes to individuals who qualify for the pass in accordance with the following guidelines:

States should establish procedures for notifying current and future volunteers about the opportunity to earn the pass through available communication methods (websites, recruitment materials, orientation, training, etc.).

The volunteer supervisor or volunteer coordinator should verify the number of contributed hours for those volunteers who indicate an interest in earning the pass. Volunteers with a total of 500 hours of service during 2007 on public lands managed by BLM, USDA Forest Service, National Park Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Reclamation are eligible to receive the pass. They may officially begin to accrue hours on or after January 1, 2007, and apply for the pass whenever they have accrued the required hours. There is no specific timeframe within which volunteer hours must be accrued. Once the 500-hour requirement has been reached and a pass issued, the volunteer’s hours are reset to zero and the count begins again. Only one pass may be issued per year. When multiple agencies are involved, the pass will be issued by the agency for which the volunteer was working when he/she reached the 500th hour.

States should obtain the passes from BLM’s Printed Materials Distribution Services in Denver. The stock inventory number is B-04. Because the passes have a monetary value, they are considered accountable property. As such, they must be kept secure and records of their distribution must be kept.

With the input of the State Volunteer Coordinator, States should establish a process and identify responsible parties for safeguarding, validating, recording, and distributing the passes.

Once processes related to the new Volunteer Pass are established, States should issue instructions via State directive.

Timeframe: Effective immediately and in effect through December 31, 2007.

Background: In December 2004, Congress passed the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (REA), Public Law 108-447, which established a new interagency pass program to replace the Golden Eagle, Golden Age, and Golden Access Passports, and the National Parks Pass with a new “America the Beautiful – the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass.” As part of the program, the REA also authorized the Secretaries of the Departments of Agriculture and Interior to issue interagency volunteer passes. An image of the pass is included in Attachment 1.

Guidance related to other passes authorized under PL 108-447 will be provided via a separate Instruction Memorandum on the BLM Recreation Program.

Budget Impact: The budget impact is expected to be minimal.

Contact: Mary Tisdale, Chief, Division of Education & Volunteers (WO-650) at e-mail Mary_Tisdale@blm.gov or telephone (202) 452-0365.

Signed by:
Authenticated by:
Henri R. Bisson
Robert M. Williams
Deputy Director, Operations
Division of IRM Governance, WO-560

1 Attachment
1 – Department of the Interior Press Release, “New Interagency Pass Program Will Help Public Enjoy Enhanced Recreation Sites on Public Lands” (4 pp) [link to http://www.doi.gov/news/06_News_Releases/061205.html