FY 2017-2019 Inventory of Cadastral Survey Service Needs
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
Washington, DC 20240
http://www.blm.gov
November 20, 2015
In Reply Refer To:
9609 (350) P
EMS TRANSMISSION 11/24/2015
Instruction Memorandum No. 2016-018
Expires: 09/30/2019
To: State Directors
Attn: Field Managers and State Cadastral Survey Chiefs
From: Assistant Director, Energy, Minerals, and Realty Management
Subject: FY 2017-2019 Inventory of Cadastral Survey Service Needs
DD: 04/07/2016; 04/07/2017; 04/06/2018
Program Area: Lands, Realty and Cadastral Survey.
Purpose: This Instruction Memorandum (IM) requires states to update the inventory of needs for cadastral survey services as required by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
Policy/Action: The requirement for this inventory stems from a 2004 OMB study of the Cadastral Survey Program. The inventory, covering fiscal years (FY) 2017-2019, will address the need for cadastral survey services for five categories: 1) cadastral brass cap survey, 2) supplemental plats, 3) corner remonumentation, 4) administrative survey, and 5) original survey. This will include all Federal and Indian Trust lands. State offices must use two inventory sheets, one for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and one for other Federal agencies including the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Do not give any consideration as to whether funding will be available when identifying needs.
This inventory reflects the Office of Inspector General (OIG) recommendation (Report No. C-IN-MOA-0001-2009) to “…identify, prioritize, and conduct surveys on targeted lands, both Federal and Indian, which have the highest risk boundaries.” Each need identified in this inventory will include information indicating whether or not significant high value resources are at risk due to an uncertain boundary location.
Each BLM State Office Chief Cadastral Surveyor will work with the BLM and other Federal land management agencies to identify the cadastral survey services needed. Each Federal land management agency is responsible for identifying its cadastral survey needs in a manner that provides effective land stewardship for the benefit of the public. Apply reporting elements consistently in completing this inventory. This IM requires each state office to complete all data fields using the attached Excel spreadsheets (Attachments 4 and 5).
This inventory will impact:
Workforce Planning – Identify future workloads and the trained staff necessary to address the need for cadastral survey services;
- Communicating at the Washington Office, state, and field level – The need for cadastral survey services will be identified and communicated to Congress and OMB; and
- Reporting for the OMB performance measure: “Percent of survey projects of Federal and Indian Trust lands that are funded.”
This inventory will:
- Assist the OMB in identifying the scope and type of all the highest priority needs for cadastral services for all Federal-interest lands;
- Provide a tool for the BLM to identify lands with significant resources lost or at risk due to uncertain boundary location as recommended by the OIG in the above-described report; and
- Provide a tool that identifies projects that are funded by BLM Cadastral Survey funding, BLM benefiting programs, other agencies, and private stakeholders. This tool also identifies the priority drivers associated with each project by describing the primary reason for completing the cadastral service. This information is useful for BLM managers in gauging trends, determining whether these trends are aligned with the BLM’s mission, and goals, and guiding policy development for the purpose of expediting the BLM’s highest priorities.
Timeframe: This IM is effective immediately. State offices must complete this inventory by the following dates:
2017 Inventory – Due April 7, 2016;
2018 Inventory – Due April 7, 2017; and
2019 Inventory – Due April 6, 2018.
Budget Impact: The short-term budget impact is minimal.
Background: The BLM first compiled this inventory in FY 2006 and updated it through FY 2015. The current inventory of cadastral service needs (covering FY 2016) for BLM land is projected to cost $59 million to complete. Additionally, because the BLM has statutory requirement to provide cadastral services for all federally-managed lands, this inventory identifies the cadastral services needs of other Federal land management agencies. Finally, this effort assists in responding to the OIG’s recommendation to identify lands with significant revenues lost or at risk due to uncertain boundary location.
Manual/Handbook Sections Affected: None.
Coordination: The BLM State Office Chief Cadastral Surveyors will coordinate with the appropriate land management staffs within the BLM and other Federal agencies to update the inventory. The BLM will share national inventory results with participating Federal agencies. The Washington Office Branch of Lands and Cadastral Survey (WO-350) coordinated preparation of this IM with BLM state offices. Based on feedback received from the state offices, revising this inventory during the winter months will increase the data quality. Therefore, WO-350 has moved the timeframe for revising this inventory from summer to winter.
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, Cadastral Surveyor (WO-350), at 202-912-7316, for further guidance and direction.
Signed by: Authenticated by:
Michael Nedd Robert M. Williams
Assistant Director Division of IRM Governance,WO-860
Energy, Minerals and Realty Management
5 Attachments
2 - Instructions for Completing the 2017 BLM-Requested Cadastral Services Inventory (6 pp)
4 - 2017 BLM-Requested Cadastral Services Inventory (3 pp)
5 - 2017 External-Agency-Requested Cadastral Services Inventory (1 pp)