Travel and Transportation Management, Planning and Conducting Route Inventories, Technical Reference 9113-1

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

October 3, 2007

In Reply Refer To:
8340, 8341, 8342, 8358, 9100 (250) P

EMS TRANSMISSION 10/15/2007
Information Bulletin No. 2008-002

To: All Assistant Directors, All Field Officials
Attention: Outdoor Recreation Planners, Engineers, Land Use Planners

From: Division Chief, Division of Recreation and Visitor Services

Subject: Travel and Transportation Management, Planning and Conducting Route Inventories, Technical Reference 9113-1

Program Areas: Travel and Transportation Management, Off-Highway Vehicle Management, Property, Engineering, Land Use Planning.

Purpose: This Information Bulletin officially announces the availability of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) December 2006 document titled Travel and Transportation Management, Planning and Conducting Route Inventories, Technical Reference 9113-1.

Background: Successful resource management depends on gathering quality data using the best available science. The BLM’s National Management Strategy for Motorized Off-Highway Vehicle Use on Public Lands completed in January 2001 recognized the need for improving the BLM’s overall baseline of travel and transportation route inventory data. More recently, the BLM’s Roads and Trails Terminology Team subsequently recognized the need for developing National guidelines for baseline route inventory data when managing transportation related linear features. This Technical Reference was developed to fill these needs and identifies successful techniques for route data collection for use in both travel and transportation management.

Policy/Action: This Technical Reference describes the best management practices for planning and conducting transportation related route inventories. Route inventories identify all existing transportation-related linear features, including potential roads, primitive roads and trails and travel-associated linear disturbances within a landscape unit. This inventory methodology is a tool that may be used to help with land use plan development, including the quantification of issues, description of the environment, formulation of land use plan alternatives, conducting of impact analysis, supporting land use plan decisions, and monitoring resource condition changes over time. This Technical Reference may be downloaded (printable PDF file) by going to the BLM’s NSTC web site at http://www.blm.gov/nstc/ and is found under the “Publications” section. Color printed copies of the Technical Reference can be obtained through the BLM’s Printed Materials Distribution Section (PMDS) or E-mail BLM_NCS_PMDS@blm.gov .

Time Frame: This Technical Reference is now available in both printed publication copy and downloadable formats for immediate use.

Budget Impact: There is no significant budget impact.

Manual/Handbook Sections Affected: None currently. In the future some information contained within this Technical Reference may become policy if incorporated within a travel or transportation management BLM manual.

Coordination: The BLM Washington Office, Division of Recreation and Visitor Services Division, (WO-250) and the BLM’s National Science and Technology Center (NSTC) collaborated on the preparation of both this IB and the Technical Reference. The preparers also coordinated with the BLM’s Trails and Travel Management Team (TTMT) as part of the peer review of this Technical Reference

Contact: Should you have any questions concerning this IB, please contact
Bob Ratcliffe, Division Chief, Division of Recreation and Visitor Services,
(WO-250) by phone at (202) 452-5040 or Mark Goldbach, Senior Outdoor Recreation Specialist, Division of Recreation and Visitor Services, (WO-250) by phone at
(202) 452-5176.

Signed by:
Authenticated by:
Robert T. Ratcliffe
Robert M. Williams
Division Chief
Division of IRM Governance,WO-560
Recreation and Visitor Services