Priority Access List Public Nominations and State Submitted Data Requirements
February 9, 2021
In Reply Refer To:
1753/8300 (430) P
EMS TRANSMISSION 02/12/2021
Permanent Instruction Memorandum No. 2021-004
To: All State Directors and Field Office Officials
Attn: State Recreation Program Leads, Lands and Realty Program Leads, GIS Managers and Data Administrators
From: Assistant Director, National Conservation Lands and Community Partnerships
Subject: Priority Access List Public Nominations and State Submitted Data Requirements DD: 03/15/2021 (re-occurs biennially)
Program Area: Recreation and Visitor Services
Purpose: To implement section 4105 of the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act (Public Law 116-9 (Dingell Act)), this Permanent Instruction Memorandum (PIM) provides direction for BLM state offices to review the priority public access nominations received from the public and populate a standardized geodatabase with key information about those parcels. BLM state offices will use this process to document their determinations regarding which public nominations are appropriate to include on the BLM’s biennial priority access list. Further, this PIM provides direction for BLM state offices to populate the same standardized geodatabase for each priority access parcel submitted by a BLM state office.[1]
This PIM advances the Bureau’s commitment to review and consider priority access nominations received from the public,[2] and develop BLM Priority Public Access List and maps (which includes both the public nominations and the BLM state office submitted parcels). Pursuant to Dingell Act requirements, future BLM solicitations of public priority access nominations and publication of BLM Priority Public Access Lists will occur in advance of January 31, 2022 and every two years thereafter through 2030. When completed, BLM’s priority access lists and biennial updates will be posted and made available to the public utilizing a BLM national webmap or similar application.
Policy/Action: On or before March 15, 2021, each BLM state office should:
- Review public nominations for priority access (the National Operations Center (NOC) will make the public nomination data set(s) and standard schema available to the states in conjunction with issuance of this PIM, see Policy/Action #4).
- For each public nomination, validate and document conformance/non-conformance with Dingell Act requirements.[3] No additional action is required for nominations that are determined not to conform to statutory requirements.
- Populate data for priority access parcels (both conforming public nominations and BLM state office submitted parcels) within their areas of jurisdiction, according to the data schema provided in Attachment 1 and in the geodatabase described in Policy/Action #4.
- Review and validate geospatial data corresponding to each nomination (point/polygon/line).
- Determine which public access nominations to include on the BLM’s final priority access lists (data field 18 on data schema “Public Nomination Status”). Ensure all public nomination determinations are approved by the State Director.
- Download State-based File Geodatabase (FGDB) from \\blm\dfs\loc\EGIS\OC\Xfers\DingellActNomLand_StateReview\DingellAct_20201103 and load into State Enterprise Geodatabase (EGDB) structure (this link is for BLM internal process only). The NOC will establish replication from the State Publication Geodatabase to the national EGDB and synchronize on 03/16/2021 or when notified by individual states if edits have been completed before the deadline. Notify the NOC when data submission is complete.
Each BLM state office should complete these steps again by January 31, 2022, and every two years thereafter through 2030.
Timeframe: The policy identified in this PIM is effective immediately. Both the public nominations for priority access and the BLM Priority Public Access Lists need to be solicited, analyzed, merged, and shared publicly every two years for 10 years, ending in 2030. The BLM will consolidate and publish the initial BLM Priority Public Access Lists in 2021. HQ400 will initiate future public solicitation periods with updated lists to be published in 2022, 2024, 2026, 2028, and 2030.
Budget Impact: The application of this policy will require staff work and leadership review at the state offices. The Bureau expects this workload to be budget neutral.
Background: On March 12, 2019, Congress enacted the Dingell Act, which directs Federal agencies to work with the public and others to identify priority access needs related to hunting, fish, or other recreational purposes on Federal lands. Section 4105 of the Dingell Act requires the BLM to evaluate access limitations on public lands and to identify Federal parcels greater than 640 contiguous acres, that are legally inaccessible; or where public access is significantly restricted, and to then create priority access lists to help inform and guide the BLM’s future land and easement acquisition efforts. The Dingell Act requires the BLM to provide an opportunity for members of the public to nominate BLM parcels for inclusion on the Priority Public Access Lists.
Public Nominations: The BLM established an ePlanning webpage with an interactive map and issued a national press release on January 24, 2020 soliciting public nominations of parcels for inclusion on the priority list. The public nomination period was open for 30 days, beginning January 31, 2020 through February 29, 2020. The BLM received 2,072 priority access nominations from the public, state agencies and non-governmental organizations; 1,741 of these nominations are believed to be in conformance with the Dingell Act criteria. State office review and data entry are required to validate and rank these public nominations for potential inclusion on BLM’s Priority Public Access List.
BLM State Access Priorities: BLM state offices previously identified 606 “Draft Priority Access” areas, representing approximately 4.7 million acres of public lands in need of some type of public access improvement. Additional data entry and geospatial data development are required to refine these state access priorities for future publication.
Biennial Priority Access List: The BLM is working to refine and publish a “Priority Access List” in 2021 which will be a combination of the accepted public nominations and the BLM state access priorities. The BLM will repeat the process in 2022 and every two years thereafter until 2030.
Pages of Manual/Handbook Sections Affected: None.
Instruction Memorandums Affected: None.
Coordination: Headquarters 400 coordinated with HQ200, 300 and the NOC in the development of this PIM and related Dingell Act Section 4105 requirements.
Contact: For questions regarding this PIM, please contact Linda Cardenas, Senior Wildlife Biologist, at (406) 396-2513 or Dennis Byrd, Outdoor Recreation Planner, at (303) 236-6434.
Signed by: Authenticated by:
Mark Lambrecht Hilary Zarin
Assistant Director, Regulatory Affairs (HQ-630)
National Conservation Lands and Community Partnerships
Attachment
- Data Schema for Public Land Access Priorities (4 pp)
[1] This IM is not intended to, and does not create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or equity by a party against the United States, its departments, agencies, instrumentalities or entities, its officers or employees, or any other person.
[2] The BLM issued a widely-distributed national press release on January 24, 2020 to solicit public priority access nominations for potential inclusion on BLM’s Priority Public Access Lists. Public nominations were accepted for a period of 30 days beginning January 31, 2020 through February 29, 2020, and were captured utilizing an ePlanning webpage and interactive map (ePlanning project number: DOI-BLM-WO-WO2000-2020-0001-OTHER_NEPA).
[3] These requirements are included in Public Law 116-9, Subtitle B, Section 4105(b).