Filing a Plan Protest
Release of the proposed resource management plan (RMP) and final environmental impact statement (EIS) initiates a 30-day protest period for any person who has previously participated in the planning effort and has an interest that is or may be adversely affected by the proposed plan.
A protest may raise only those issues which were submitted for the record during the planning process.
BLM regulations specify the required elements of a valid protest. As much as possible, cite specific planning documents or available planning records (e.g. meeting minutes or summaries, correspondence, etc.) in your protest. Use the Critical Item Checklist to guide you in preparing your protest.
All protests must be in writing and filed with the BLM Director, either electronically via BLM’s ePlanning website or as a hard copy by the close of the protest period. The only electronic protests the BLM will accept are those filed through ePlanning. All protest letters sent to the BLM via fax or e-mail will be considered invalid unless a properly filed protest is also submitted.
The ePlanning page for each planning project will contain a tool for submitting a valid protest electronically. The link to the respective ePlanning project page where a protest may be filed will be included in the Federal Register Notice of Availability for the proposed RMP-final EIS and in related communications about the planning effort.
If you do not have the ability to file your protest electronically, hard-copy protests must be mailed to the following address, postmarked by the close of the protest period:
USPS Mail:
BLM Director
Attention: Protest Coordinator (HQ210)
PO Box 151029
Lakewood, CO 80215
Overnight Mail:
BLM Director
Attention: Protest Coordinator (HQ210)
Denver Federal Center, Bldg. 40
Lakewood, CO 80215
Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your protest, be advised that your entire protest – including your personal identifying information – may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your protest to withhold from public review your personal identifying information, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.
The BLM publishes Director's Protest Resolution Reports that analyze and address protest issue statements received. Decisions will also be sent to the respective protesting parties by certified mail, return receipt requested.