Statewide Film Permit for Tourism Related Organizations

Three Nevada tourism related agencies/organizations have each contacted the Nevada State Office (NVSO) seeking consistency in the BLM NV film permitting processes around the State.

Many people do not realize that the state tourism agencies and federal land management agencies are directed to work together to promote federal lands and waters. The Western States Tourism Policy Council (WSTPC) has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the federal land management agencies which states:

Section I. Purpose: The Agencies and the WSTPC desire to work together to achieve the common goals of advancing the public's awareness of travel and tourism on federal lands, waters, and shores to encourage the use of these opportunities in an environmentally and culturally sensitive manner, using natural resources to produce long- term economic, business development, educational and recreational benefits, especially in rural areas (Attachment 1 - MOU).

The BLM is an important partner in the national outdoor recreation tourism industry in the United States, and many national and state tourism related agencies/organizations are our partners. At this time there are three Nevada tourism related agencies/organizations filming tourism related marketing material on lands managed by federal and state agencies throughout Nevada: Travel Nevada, Wild Nevada, and Outdoor Nevada (permit holders). As part of their mission, these tourism related agencies/organizations, and their affiliates, create tourism related marketing material for no commercial gain. Activities by these agencies/organizations are considered marketing related materials.

In Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 BLM NV will be issuing the first statewide film permit to Travel Nevada as a pilot program with the intention of issuing the other two film permits in the future. There may also be additional Nevada tourism related organizations that could be considered under this policy that have not yet contacted BLM NV.

Statewide Coordination: The NVSO Film Permit Lead will serve as the primary contact with respect to all actions associated with these permits including: coordination between permit holders and District Offices (DOs); completing the Categorical Exclusion (CX) for State Director signature; developing permit stipulations; completing the final post use evaluation with due consideration of the input from all participating offices; coordinating an annual fall meeting with each permit holder and DO representatives to close out the previous year; and discuss projects for the next calendar year.

District/Field Office Coordination: One important stipulation is the permit holders will be required to provide the Form for Proposed Filming Activities to the DO Public Affairs Specialist (PAS) and Field Manager (FM) a minimum of 30 days prior to beginning any filming in the Field Office (FO) (Attachment 2 - Field Office contacts). This form includes the date, location, estimated number of people and vehicles, draft script, and any other pertinent information (Attachment 3 - Form). The PAS, FM, and/or DO/FO Planning and Environmental Coordinator, will work with the Resource Specialists to determine if there are any resource concerns within the proposed areas; to recommend any additional safety or resource management messages; and if necessary, to recommend alternative locations. The PAS or FM will respond to the permit holder within this 30 day period by providing the signed form accepting, rejecting or requesting modifications of the proposed activity.

NVSO has created the serialized case file: NVN-98614. We are requesting each DO create a duplicate file to store all the Forms. In addition, one of these DO contacts, or their representatives, will be responsible to conduct the annual post-use evaluation and to submit it to the NVSO Film Permit Lead by the end of the fiscal year.

Permit and Stipulations: BLM NV DO representatives have been involved in discussions to develop this IM, film pennit, and the stipulations. Standard stipulations are included as an integral part of film permits. Additional stipulations will be considered during the annual evaluation and fall meeting (Attachment 4 - Copy of Film Permit and Stipulations).