Fiscal Year 2014 Land and Water Conservation Fund Project Submissions

IM 2012-065
Instruction Memorandum

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

WASHINGTON, D.C.  20240

http://www.blm.gov

February 13, 2012

                                                                                                                                               

In Reply Refer To:

2100 (350) P

 

EMS TRANSMISSION 02/15/2012

Instruction Memorandum No. 2012-065

Expires: 09/30/2013

To:                   All State Directors

From:               Assistant Director, Minerals and Realty Management

Subject:           Fiscal Year 2014 Land and Water Conservation Fund Project Submissions

DD:  04/20/2012

Program Area:  Land Acquisition.

Purpose:  This Instruction Memorandum (IM) requests your submission of Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Core project funding proposals to be forwarded to the Washington Office Division of Lands, Realty and Cadastral Survey (WO-350).  Program guidance and submission formats are attached.  With the volume of competing workloads this request is being forwarded in advance of the formal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Strategic Budget Plan packet to provide ample time to prepare submissions.  Submissions are limited to eligible priorities (described in Attachment 1).

Beginning in FY 2010, field response to the annual submission process increased dramatically.  That interest, coupled with reduced levels of appropriated funding (resulting in no project funding and/or project underfunding), has created a significant backlog of acquisition opportunities.  In order to meet long-term conservation goals a number of third party partners have purchased threatened parcels to preserve them for future resale to BLM.  In an attempt to address this growing backlog the FY2014 process will be limited to 48 eligible projects (listed in Attachment 2).  Submission information must not be released to external sources, as it may become part of the FY 2014 President’s Budget.

Policy/Action:  Submission of annual proposals for LWCF land acquisition funding must be consistent with the LWCF FY 2014 Submission Process.  A completed narrative, fact sheet, questionnaire, representative maps and digital photographs must accompany your nomination. 

Timeframe:  Submissions are due to WO-350 by April 20, 2012, without exception.

Budget Impact:  Minimal.

Background:  Each year the BLM participates in a Department of the Interior strategic budget planning exercise for the upcoming FY.  A part of this exercise is to develop funding targets for the land acquisition program and to identify the individual properties within each eligible project area to be incorporated into the upcoming fiscal year’s President’s Budget.  Funding proposals requested in this directive will initiate a selection process followed by funding recommendations presented to the Director.

Manual/Handbook Sections Affected:  This IM transmits interim policy that will be incorporated into H-2100-1, Acquisitions, during the next revision.  This policy is intended to be inserted in Chapter 4, Section 4A.

Coordination:  Development of the BLM’s annual LWCF land acquisition funding request is managed by the Division of Lands, Realty and Cadastral Survey.

Contact:  If you have any questions concerning the content of this IM, please contact me at 202-208-4201, or your staff may contact David Beaver, National LWCF Program Lead, at 202-912-7336.

 

 

Signed by:                                                                   Authenticated by:

Michael Nedd                                                             Robert M. Williams

Assistant Director                                                       Division of IRM Governance,WO-560

Minerals and Realty Management

 

 

5 Attachments

     1 - LWCF FY 2014 Submission Process (2 pp)

     2 - List of Eligible Projects (1 p)

     3 - Narrative-Blank Format (1 p)

     4 - Fact Sheet (1 p)

     5 - Questionnaire (13 pp)

Fiscal Year

2012