Fiscal Year 2015 Land and Water Conservation Fund Project Submissions
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
Washington, D.C. 20240
http://www.blm.gov
January 31, 2013
In Reply Refer To:
2100 (350) P
EMS TRANSMISSION 02/05/2013
Instruction Memorandum No. 2013-067
Expires: 09/30/2014
To: All State Directors
From: Assistant Director, Minerals and Realty Management
Subject: Fiscal Year 2015 Land and Water Conservation Fund Project Submissions
DD: 04/19/2013
Program Area: Land Acquisition.
Purpose: This Instruction Memorandum (IM) requests your submission of Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Core project land acquisition funding proposals to be forwarded to the Washington Office Division of Lands, Realty and Cadastral Survey (WO-350). Attached are program guidance and submission formats. With the volume of competing workloads, we are forwarding this request in advance of the formal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Strategic Budget Plan packet to provide you ample time to prepare submissions. Please limit submissions to eligible priorities (described in Attachment 1).
Since FY 2010, field response to the annual submission process has 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 the BLM. In an attempt to address this growing backlog, we have limited the FY 2015 process to 10 eligible projects from each State Office. Please do not release submission information to external sources, as it may become part of the FY 2015 President’s Budget.
Policy/Action: Submission of annual proposals for LWCF land acquisition funding must be consistent with the LWCF FY 2015 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 19, 2013, without exception.
Budget Impact: Minimal.
Background: Each year the BLM participates in a Department of the Interior strategic budget planning exercise for the upcoming fiscal year. A part of this exercise is to develop funding targets for the land acquisition program and 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 WO-350 will incorporate into H-2100-1, Acquisitions, Chapter 4, Section 4A, during the next revision.
Coordination: WO-350 coordinated preparation of this IM with Renewable Resources and Planning and the National Landscape Conservation System and Community Programs directorates.
Contact: If you have 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 Ambyr Fowler
Assistant Director Division of IRM Governance, WO-560
Minerals and Realty Management
4 Attachments
1 - LWCF FY 2015 Submission Process (2 pp)
2 - Narrative-Blank Format (1 p)