Advanced Congressional Notification for Proposed Closures Related to Recreational Shooting, Hunting, or Fishing
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240-0036
http://www.blm.gov
September 29, 2015
In Reply Refer To:
8300 (250) P
EMS TRANSMISSION 09/30/2015
Instruction Memorandum No. 2015-157
Expires: 09/30/2018
To: All Field Office Officials
From: Assistant Director, Resources and Planning
Subject: Advanced Congressional Notification for Proposed Closures Related to Recreational Shooting, Hunting, or Fishing
Program Areas: Recreation and Visitor Services, Land Use Planning, Fish and Wildlife Conservation, and National Conservation Lands.
Purpose: The purpose of this Instruction Memorandum (IM) is to outline the procedures and steps that Bureau of Land Management (BLM) offices must follow in order to comply with congressional direction contained in the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act 2015 (P.L.-113-235) related to reporting proposed closures of public lands to recreational shooting, hunting, or fishing on a non-emergency basis for more than 30 days.
Policy/Action: In the event that a BLM Field (FO) or District Office (DO) is proposing an action specifically intending to close an area of the public lands to recreational shooting, hunting, or fishing on a non-emergency basis for more than 30 days in land use plans, activity plans or through a temporary closure notice, the FO or DO must complete and submit the attached closure notification form to their state director for transmittal to the Washington Office. The timeframe and process for completing this notification is as follows:
If the proposed closure is part of an effort accompanied by an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), the FO or DO must:
- For a draft EIS, the field or district manager will submit the closure notification form for closures identified in the preferred alternative to the state director at the same point in time as the Notice of Availability packet for the draft Resource Management Plan (RMP) Draft EIS (or RMP Amendment, if applicable) is submitted to the Washington Office of Regulatory Affairs (WO-630).
- For a final EIS, or the Notice of Availability for a draft EIS published prior to release of this IM, the field or district manager will submit the closure notification form for closures identified in the proposed plan alternative to the state director at the same point in time as the Notice of Availability packet for the Proposed RMP Final EIS (or RMP Amendment, if applicable) is submitted to the Washington Office of Regulatory Affairs (WO-630).
If the proposed closure, including temporary closures, is accompanied by an Environmental Assessment or relies on existing National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documents through a Determination of NEPA Adequacy, the field or district manager must submit the closure notification form to the state director 30 days prior to signing the Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) and Decision Record.
This notification to Congress is not required when proposing to close an area of public lands to recreational shooting, hunting, or fishing on an emergency basis, common examples are wild-land fires and hazardous material spills or for 30 days or less. Typical closures and restrictions imposed in response to known or planned events occurring on public lands, or long-occurring activities such as recreational shooting, hunting, or fishing are not usually considered emergencies.
Upon receipt of a closure notification from a FO or DO, the state director will sign their approval of the notification form and submit the form to the Division Chief, Recreation and Visitor Services (WO-250) within 10 business days. The WO-250 will input the information into the Data Tracking System and submit it to the Division of Budget (WO-880).
Upon receipt, WO-880 will take responsibility of the notification process; assuring proper procedures, internal reviews, and tracking are followed in preparing the transmittal Memorandum and Letters through the BLM and Department of the Interior to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations.
Time Frame: This guidance is effective immediately.
Budget Impact: Providing routine notifications to the Washington Office is currently within the scope of workload for BLM Offices.
Manual/Handbooks Affected: None
Coordination: This IM was coordinated among the Recreation and Visitor Services Division, Decision Support, Planning and NEPA Division, Budget Division, Legislative Affairs Division, and the National Conservation Lands Division.
Contact: If you have any questions concerning this IM, please contact Andy Tenney, Division Chief, Recreation and Visitor Services by email at atenney@blm.gov, or by telephone at 202-912-7094, or Phil Walker, National Shooting Sports Program Manager, by email at epwalker@blm.gov or by telephone at 202-912-7294.
Signed by: Authenticated by:
Brian Amme Robert M. Williams
Acting, Assistant Director Division of IRM Governance,WO-860
Resources and Planning
1 Attachment
1 - Template – Advanced Congressional Notification for Proposed Closure on Public Lands (1p)