Request for Nominations of High Risk Lands with High Risk Boundaries
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240
http://www.blm.gov
November 2, 2012
In Reply Refer To:
9600 (350) P
EMS TRANSMISSION DATE 11/09/2012
Instruction Memorandum No. 2013-011
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 Risk Lands with High Risk Boundaries
DD: 12/11/2012
Program Areas: 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 high-valued Department of the Interior (DOI)-managed lands or resources that are at risk because of antiquated surveys. Nominate high-valued lands or at-risk resources to the Washington Office (WO) for possible Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 funding of necessary cadastral services. Funding has been set aside for this effort in the FY 2013 Planning Target Allocations (PTA). We encourage state and field offices to 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 damaged or removed resources through unauthorized activity. The OIG Report states revenues are lost due to the absence of fundamental cadastral services. This effort addresses this finding through identifying and collecting undiscovered revenues and through protecting lands from future damage or loss. Consequently, each office will identify high-value land or revenues at risk resulting from antiquated surveys. Offices must coordinate efforts among program staff, law enforcement, and BLM Indian Lands Surveyors in an effort to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of potential lost or damaged resources using the guidance provided in Attachment 1.
The offices will also work with other DOI 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 (Attachment 2), to their State Director and provide a copy to their State Office Chief Cadastral Surveyor. During the project identification and submission process, the office manager and/or program lead will coordinate with the State Office Chief Cadastral Surveyor in an effort to produce clear and detailed nominations. The State Office Chief Cadastral Surveyor will also coordinate with resource, realty, and law enforcement staffs, and when appropriate, other bureaus and offices, tribes, and the Solicitor’s Office to provide nominations. The Chief Cadastral Surveyor will produce a Condition of Survey map for each nomination. The offices will provide the required materials to the WO. All nominations must include estimated or actual quantified values, market and nonmarket, of undiscovered revenues or damages recoverable and the location where offices will deposit such revenues.
A WO panel will consider nominations and determine those with the most merit. The panel, representing a cross-section of disciplines and directorates, will include field and WO managers, at least one Division Chief, and a Deputy Assistant Director (Chair). The panel will give priority to projects with the greatest potential for recovery of revenues followed by those which greatly improve protection against future loss or damage. In addition, the panel will give preference to projects with contributed funding.
After selection and project completion, the office must complete the Project Completion Questionnaire (Attachment 3) within 45 days of field completion.
Timeframe: This IM is effective immediately. State offices must submit nominations to the WO, care of Mark Wahlfield, 202-912-7316, MWahlfield@blm.gov, by December 11, 2012, to allow time to review, prioritize, and distribute funds.
Budget Impact: Funding has been set aside in the FY 2013 PTA. State, district, and field offices are also asked to examine benefiting functional areas to co-fund nominations and leverage limited funding. Administrative costs recovered in the completion of these projects will be deposited in the Damaged Lands Accounts established under the authority of Federal Land Policy and Management Act Section 305 when appropriate. We encourage state, district, and field offices to examine accounts, including L5310 and L5320, for funding availability to support administrative actions, including survey and realty activities, to co-fund the nomination.
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 management of land boundary services on Federal interest and Indian lands having the highest value.
State and field offices submitted 82 nominations for similar efforts in FYs 2010-2012. The BLM funded 27 of these at approximately $1.5 million with a combination of funding mechanisms including state, district, field, and WO funding. Revenues recovered, including estimates associated with unresolved cases, total approximately $4 million.
Manual/Handbook Sections Affected: Department of the Interior Manual Part 757, Surveying and Mapping; BLM Manual Sections and Handbooks 9235-1, Minerals Materials Trespass and Abatement; 9232-1, Realty Trespass Abatement; 9231, Forest Product Trespass Procedure.
Coordination: Division of Lands, Realty and Cadastral Survey prepared this IM in coordination with the state offices.
Contact: If you have any questions concerning the content of this IM, please contact me, Michael D. Nedd, Assistant Director, Minerals and Realty Management at 202-208-4201, or your staff may contact Kim Berns, Division Chief, Lands, Realty and Cadastral Survey, 202-912-7350, or Mark Wahlfield, Cadastral Surveyor, at 202-912-7316.
Signed by: Authenticated by:
Michael D. Nedd Catherine Hope Emmett
Assistant Director Division of IRM Governance, WO-560
Minerals and Realty Management
3 Attachments