Request for Nominations of High Valued Lands with High Risk Boundaries
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240
October 27, 2011
In Reply Refer To:
9600 (350) P
EMS TRANSMISSION 11/02/2011
Instruction Memorandum No. 2012-011
Expires: 09/30/2013
To: State Directors
Attn: Field Managers, State Office Chief Cadastral Surveyors, Realty Officers, and Program Leads
From: Assistant Director, Minerals and Realty Management
Subject: Request for Nominations of High Valued Lands with High Risk Boundaries
DD: 12/09/2012
Program Area: Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Land and Resource Management Programs and Law Enforcement.
Purpose: This Instruction Memorandum (IM) requires the states to canvass their jurisdictions to identify significant land and resources on Department of the Interior (DOI)-managed lands that are at risk because of antiquated surveys. Nominate any high-valued lands with at-risk resources to the Washington Office (WO) for possible Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 funding of necessary cadastral services. We have set aside funding for this effort in the FY 2012 Planning Target Allocations (PTA). State and field offices, DOI bureaus and offices, and others may also contribute to leverage limited funds or resources.
Policy/Action: The Office of Inspector General (OIG) Final Audit Report No. C-IN-MOA-0001-2009 (OIG Report) states that the BLM could generate significant revenue from high-valued lands having antiquated surveys. These lands, for example, may have unauthorized damaged or removed resources or have unauthorized utilities. The OIG Report also states that revenues are lost in the absence of fundamental cadastral services. Consequently, each office will identify high-value land or revenues at risk because of antiquated surveys.
As part of this effort, the offices will also work with other Federal land management agencies to identify high-risk lands using the same guidance. Nominations for non-BLM lands will not be BLM-funded without a written agreement.
Offices will forward nominations, using the nomination questionnaire, to their State Director and provide a copy to their State Office Chief Cadastral Surveyor. The Chief Cadastral Surveyor will produce a Condition of Survey map for each nomination and submit the required materials to the WO. Nominations must include estimated or actual quantified values, market and nonmarket, of revenues or damages.
A WO panel will review all nominations received. The panel, representing a cross-section of disciplines and directorates, will give priority to projects with the greatest potential for recovery of revenues followed by those resulting in protection of assets. In addition, the panel will give preference to projects with contributed funding.
The panel will include Field and WO managers, at least one Division Chief, and a Deputy Assistant Director (Chair). During the project identification and submission process, the office manager and/or program lead will coordinate with the State Office Chief Cadastral Surveyor who in turn will coordinate with resource, realty, and law enforcement staffs, and when appropriate, other bureaus and offices, tribes, and Solicitor Office to provide any nominations meeting the described criteria.
Timeframe: This IM is effective immediately. State offices must submit nominations to the WO, care of Mark Wahlfield, 202-912-7316; Mark_Wahlfield@blm.gov, by December 9, 2012, to allow time to review, rank, and distribute funds.
Budget Impact: Funding has been set aside in the FY 2012 PTA. Additional funds may be identified.
Background: High-risk lands and resources occur where value lands or significant revenues are at risk because of antiquated surveys. The Director and Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management have told the OIG that the BLM will identify and conduct surveys on Federal interest and Indian lands having the highest risk boundaries.
State and field offices submitted nominations for a similar effort in FY 2011, with an initial response of 33 nominations. These nominations were subsequently reduced to a field of 14 prior to panel review. The panel then ranked the nominations according to established criteria as defined above in Policy/Action. Ten projects were funded at a total cost of $662,000.
Manual/Handbook Sections Affected: Department of the Interior Manual Part 757, Surveying and Mapping.
Coordination: The Lands, Realty and Cadastral Survey division prepared this IM in coordination with the state offices.
Contact: If you have any questions concerning the content of this IM, please contact me at 202-208-4201, or your staff may contact Mark Wahlfield at 202-912-7316.
Signed by: Authenticated by:
Michael Nedd Robert M. Williams
Assistant Director Division of IRM Governance,WO-560
Minerals and Realty Management
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