Land Use Planning and the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule

The Conservation and Landscape Health Rule (commonly known as the “Public Lands Rule”), published on May 9, 2024, advances the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) multiple use and sustained yield mission by prioritizing the health and resilience of public lands. Conservation¹ is a use of public lands on equal footing with other uses and is necessary for the protection and restoration of important resources. The Public Lands Rule will help safeguard the health of our public lands for current and future generations by ensuring we:

• Protect the most intact, functioning landscapes;
• Restore degraded habitats and ecosystems; and
• Use science and data, including Indigenous Knowledge, as the foundation for management decisions across all plans and programs.

The purpose of this Information Bulletin (IB) is to identify the elements of the Public Lands Rule that are implemented through the land use planning process. While some elements are required, others allow for inclusion in planning efforts at the authorized officer’s discretion. Authorized officers should incorporate the requirements of the Public Lands Rule into both new and, when feasible, ongoing land use planning efforts. However, new land use planning efforts should not be initiated solely to respond to the requirements of the rule. This IB does not provide detailed implementation guidance for the land use planning elements of the rule, and further guidance on how to incorporate the requirements of the Public Lands Rule into land use plan development, revision, and amendment will be provided in forthcoming program-specific manuals and handbooks, as well as specific guidance related to implementation of the sections of the rule highlighted below.

The incorporation of the Public Lands Rule into ongoing land use planning efforts in FY 2024 will occur on a case-by-case basis, where scope, schedule, and budget of the planning effort allow. Generally, planning efforts for which the BLM has published a Notice of Availability (NOA) for a draft RMP prior to the effective date of the rule would not be expected to incorporate otherwise required elements or include those required elements in the final RMP and EIS. In such situations, the authorized officer may still exercise discretion to include elements of the rule, subject to planning and NEPA requirements. Please contact the Directorate of Resources and Planning (HQ-200) for guidance on incorporating the Public Lands Rule into planning efforts.

The following requirements of the Public Lands Rule must be completed during development and revision of land use plans, and during amendments of land use plans when such action falls within the scope of the amendment. Detailed information that addresses how to incorporate these requirements into a land use planning process will be forthcoming in program-specific guidance:

• § 1610.7-2, Designation of Areas of Critical Environmental Concern: This section requires authorized officers to identify, evaluate, and give priority to areas that have potential for Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) designation. The BLM is directed to give priority to ACEC designation by identifying eligible ACECs early in the land use planning process, analyzing in detail any proposed ACEC that has relevant and important values, and determining which ACECs to designate based on the presumption that all areas found to require special management attention will be designated. The rule confirms that proposed and existing ACECs being addressed in the planning process for a resource management plan or plan amendment will be identified in all applicable Federal Register Notices and in public outreach materials. The BLM will not be required to produce separate notices specific to ACECs. Detailed guidance on nominating, evaluating, designating, and managing ACECs can be found in MS 1613- Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (rel.1-1832).
• § 6101.5 Principles for Ecosystem Resilience: This section, in paragraph (d), requires the BLM to implement conservation as a land use within the multiple use framework in planning efforts. This requirement is accomplished through implementation of other sections of the Public Lands Rule (refer to requirements in sections 6102.2, 6102.3.1, and 1610.7-2).
• § 6102.2 Management to Protect Intact Landscapes: This section, in paragraph (a), requires the BLM to maintain an inventory of landscape intactness as a resource value. Such an inventory should be conducted as a precursor to 6102.2(b) as part of the land use planning process. In paragraphs (b) and (c), this section requires authorized officers to identify and delineate boundaries of intact landscapes within the planning area, evaluate alternatives to protect intact landscapes or portions of intact landscapes, identify which intact landscapes or portions of intact landscapes will be managed to protect their intactness, and establish management direction for desired conditions and landscape objectives.
• § 6102.3.1 Restoration Prioritization and Planning: Paragraph (a) of this section requires authorized officers to identify quantifiable restoration outcomes in land use plans that are consistent with the restoration principles of section 6102.3, Restoration.
• § 6102.5 Management Actions for Ecosystem Resilience: Subsections of note:
  • Paragraph (b)(1) of this section requires the BLM to make every effort to avoid authorizing uses of the public lands that permanently impair ecosystem resilience, and paragraph (b)(8) requires the BLM to provide justification for decisions that may impair ecosystem resilience. This includes implementation decisions authorizing particular uses and land use plans, which should analyze whether land use allocations (allowable uses) have the potential to impair ecosystem resilience. “Permanent impairment” means renewable resources are permanently depleted and desired future conditions cannot be met for future generations (refer to section 6101.4(z)).
  • Paragraph (b)(4) requires the BLM to meaningfully consult with Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Corporations during land use planning and decision-making processes on actions that are determined, after allowing for Tribal input, to potentially have a substantial effect on the Tribe or Corporation.
  • Paragraph (b)(5) requires the BLM to invite State, Tribal, and local agencies to serve as joint lead agencies or cooperating agencies when developing environmental impact statements and environmental assessments, including those prepared for land use plans.
  • Paragraph (b)(6) provides direction for incorporating Indigenous Knowledge into land use plans and other processes, including expanding co-stewardship opportunities and encouraging Tribes to suggest ways in which Indigenous Knowledge can be used to inform land use planning and decision-making.
  • Paragraph (c) requires authorized officers to use high-quality inventory, assessment, and monitoring data, as available and appropriate, to evaluate resource conditions and inform land use planning and decision-making across program areas
• § 6103.1.1 Management for Land Health: Paragraph (c) of this section requires authorized officers to identify in a land use plan the land use allocations (allowable uses) and actions anticipated to achieve or promote significant progress towards achieving land health standards. Paragraph (d) requires authorized officers to identify in land use plans any statutory, regulatory, or other requirements that may prevent the achievement of land health standards. Land use plans must also identify best management practices and mitigation measures to minimize effects to land health resulting from such requirements. The environmental effects analysis in a land use plan should consider effects to relevant resources, values, and indicators used to measure achievement of land health standards.
• § 6103.2 Inventory, Assessment, and Monitoring: This section, in paragraph (a), requires the BLM to conduct watershed condition assessments every 10 years and use them to inform land use planning. Further guidance on watershed condition assessments can be found in the WCA instruction memorandum and a forthcoming Technical Reference. Paragraph (c) requires the BLM to use high-quality inventory, assessment, and monitoring information, including standardized quantitative monitoring data, remote sensing maps, and geospatial analyses, to inform land use planning. High-quality information promotes reasoned, evidence-based agency decisions. Information that meets the standards for objectivity, utility, and integrity as set forth in the Department’s Information Quality Guidelines qualifies as high-quality information. Indigenous Knowledge qualifies as high-quality information when it is gained by prior, informed consent, free of coercion, and generally meets the standards for high-quality information.

The authorized officer may wish to incorporate other aspects of the Public Lands Rule into a land use planning process when the timing and context of a planning process make it feasible to do so. The following sections of the rule are relevant to land use planning but are not required to be incorporated in the land use planning process:

• § 6102.3.1 Restoration Prioritization and Planning: This section, in paragraph (b), requires the BLM to identify priority landscapes for restoration and to review and update that prioritization every five years. This may be done as part of a land use planning process, although there is an expectation for restoration prioritization to occur outside the land use planning process as well. Implementation guidance for restoration prioritization and planning will be available in a forthcoming IM.
• § 6102.5 Management Actions for Ecosystem Resilience: Consistent with other sections of the rule, paragraphs (a)(1)-(3) of this section require the BLM to identify priority watersheds, landscapes, and ecosystems that require protection and restoration efforts; develop and implement plans and strategies that effectively manage public lands to protect resilient ecosystems; and develop and implement monitoring and adaptive management strategies for maintaining sustained yield of renewable resources, accounting for changing landscapes, fragmentation, invasive species, and other disturbances. While these actions are not required to be part of land use planning (i.e., priority landscapes for restoration may be identified separately, and implementation plans may follow), land use plans must be consistent with these requirements and may set direction for implementation plans and project-level decision-making.
• § 6102.5.1 Mitigation: Under paragraph (a) of this section authorized officers may identify specific mitigation approaches or requirements to address resource impacts in land use plans.
• § 6103.1.2 Land Health Evaluations and Determinations: If current land use plan decisions do not allow for changes in management actions to address significant causal factors of not achieving or making progress toward achieving land health standards, the authorized officer may, under paragraph (i) of this section, consider a land use plan amendment to adjust management to help achieve land health standards. This requirement will be accomplished during a land use plan evaluation.

If you have questions about this Information Bulletin, please contact Panchita Paulete, Land Use Planning Program Lead, at fpaulete@blm.gov or (541) 844-6190.