Request to Submit Fiscal Year 2022-2026 Potential and Pending Withdrawal Projects

United States Department of the Interior
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
https://www.blm.gov

February 28, 2022

In Reply Refer To:
2300 (HQ-350) P

EMS TRANSMISSION 03/14/2022
Instruction Memorandum No. 2022-024
Expires: 09/30/2025

To:                  All State Directors

From:              Assistant Director, Energy, Minerals and Realty Management

Subject:           Request to Submit Fiscal Year 2022-2026 Potential and Pending Withdrawal Projects                                                                     DD:  03/31/2022

Program Area:  Lands and Realty - Administrative and Military Withdrawals.

Purpose:  This Instruction Memorandum (IM) directs the identification of pending and potential new and military withdrawal actions and includes a list of withdrawals that are due to expire between Fiscal Years (FY) 2022 through 2026.. 

Administrative or Mission Related:  Administrative.

Policy/Action:  State offices are directed to:

1. Review this list for accuracy, completeness, and provide comments as necessary.
2. Provide explanations for any withdrawals that are expiring and for which the applicant is not seeking an extension (e.g., the withdrawal is no longer required).
3. Identify details for any new potential withdrawal proposals.

Each state office must review the expiring withdrawals located in their respective states to ensure that the withdrawn lands are the minimum acreage necessary to meet the demonstrated need for the withdrawal and to determine if the purpose for the withdrawal requires its extension.  If the withdrawal needs to be extended, alert the benefitting agency, if not the Bureau of Land Management(BLM), and begin the petition or application process at least 2 years prior to the expiration date in order for the withdrawal review and extension process to be completed in the timeframe.

If your state office intends to submit a new petition/application on behalf of the BLM or another Department bureau or you are aware of another Federal Agency who may apply for a new withdrawal, please add that information to the withdrawal workload spreadsheet.  Additional guidance to process withdrawals can be found at Code of Federal Register (CFR) Part 2300, especially at 2310.4 and 603 Departmental Manual (DM) 1.

Please submit the requested withdrawal information using the attached withdrawal workload spreadsheet (Attachment) to the Headquarters Office for Lands, Realty and Cadastral Survey (HQ-350), Attn:  Brenda Wilhight, Military Liaison and National Withdrawal Program Lead, at bwilhigh@blm.gov no later than close of business on March 31, 2022. 

Timeframe:  Effective upon publication.

Budget Impact:  None.

Background:  The Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) defines a withdrawal as “withholding an area of Federal land from settlement, sale, location, or entry, under some or all of the general land laws for the purpose of limiting activities under those laws in order to maintain other public values in the area or reserving the area for a particular public purpose or program; or transferring jurisdiction over an area of Federal land….”  There are three major categories of withdrawals:  (1) Administrative, (2) Executive, and (3) Congressional. 

Withdrawals are established for a wide variety of purposes (e.g., military reservations, administrative sites, recreation sites, national parks, reclamation projects, resource protection, and wilderness areas).  Withdrawals from location and entry under the United States mining laws, and/or from operation of the mineral and geothermal leasing laws still allow for multiple surface uses of the land (e.g., recreation, hunting, grazing), unless such uses are otherwise prohibited by the laws, regulations, and policies that govern the agency administering the surface lands.

Manual/Handbook Sections Affected:  43 CFR 2300 (Land Withdrawals) and 603 DM 1.

Coordination:  Division of Lands, Realty and Cadastral Survey (HQ-350) and Energy, Minerals and Realty Management (HQ-300).

Contact:  If you have questions concerning the content of this IM, please contact Nicholas Douglas at (202) 672-4983, or Brenda Wilhight, Military Liaison/National Withdrawal Program Lead, by email at bwilhigh@blm.gov or by phone at (202) 450-0043.

Signed by:                                   Authenticated by:
Nicholas E. Douglas                   Robert M. Williams
Assistant Director                       Division of Regulatory Affairs and Directives,(HQ-630)
Energy, Minerals and Realty
    Management

1 Attachment
1 – FY2022-2026 Anticipated Withdrawals (3 pp)