Guidance for Implementation of the new Travel Management Area and Plans Data Standard

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240
http://www.blm.gov

August 22, 2018

In Reply Refer To:
8342 (250) P

EMS TRANSMISSION 09/05/2018
Instruction Memorandum No. 2018-102
Expires: 09/30/2021

To:                   All Field Office Officials
                        Attn: State Travel and Transportation Leads

From:              Assistant Director, Resources and Planning

Subject:           Guidance for Implementation of the new Travel Management Area and Plans Data Standard            DD:  10/26/2018    

Program Area: Travel and Transportation Management Planning

Purpose:  This Instruction Memorandum (IM) provides guidance and direction for Bureau of Land Management (BLM) staff at state offices (SO), field offices, and district offices to implement the new Travel Management Areas and Plans (TMAP) data standard as a means to develop a core dataset in support of travel and transportation management (TTM) strategic planning.  Once implemented, the TMAP data standard and the associated enterprise geodatabase will assist the BLM in meeting its obligation to better schedule, develop, implement, and monitor TTM planning at all levels of the agency.  Utilizing this new data standard and dataset will decrease both state and field office workloads associated with TTM plan-related information requests, eliminate annual one-time data calls for plan milestones, schedules, plan priorities, and status by capturing state TTM planning priorities, planning strategies, and NEPA document numbers within the TMAP geodatabase.  All offices must use this standard when developing geospatial data related to TTM.  This includes Travel Management Areas (TMA) and Travel Management Plan (TMP) boundaries for implementation level planning as well as off-highway vehicle (OHV) area designation decisions in land use plans.

Administrative or Mission Related:  Administrative.

Policy/Action:  Each SO must complete the steps needed to migrate current TMA, TMP, and OHV area data into a state TMAP geodatabase using the TMAP data standard.  The state level geodatabase will then be replicated into the national geodatabase in accordance with the schedule listed in the table below.

In 2009, the Government Accountability Office issued Report GAO-09-509, “Enhanced Planning Could Assist Agencies in Managing Increased Use of Off-Highway Vehicles”, which addressed OHV management on U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, and BLM lands.

The report noted that though the BLM had a recreation strategy in place that addressed TTM, it lacked specific guidance on travel management plan preparation, implementation timelines, and performance measures.  The TMAP data standard and associated database will assist BLM to better meet the recommendation of the report by enhancing state TTM strategy and planning schedules.  The TMAP geospatial database provides a means to better illustrate BLM’s national TTM planning strategy with the ability to map OHV, TMA and TMP boundaries and associate those areas with current State TTM Planning Schedule spreadsheets.

In addition to the annual State TTM Planning Schedule updates, each SO must also update required plan information using this new data standard as regularly as the information changes. A web-based map interface has been developed as a support tool to assist with the management of this data.  The tool may also be used by staff as a supplement to existing ArcGIS software for populating the TMAP database with their office’s polygon and tabular data for TMAs, TMP boundaries, and OHV area designation boundaries.  The National Operations Center (NOC) will make this tool available and provide assistance with setup and deployment upon request.  For assistance, please contact Tom Chatfield (OC-535), the NOC Data Standards Implementation team) at 303-236-1936 or tchatfie@blm.gov.

Timeframe:  The TMAP Data Standard is effective immediately and is to be used for all new TMAs, TMP boundaries, and OHV area designation polygon data.  All existing and related data predating this IM shall be migrated/incorporated into the new geodatabase by October 28, 2018.  Older OHV area or TTM planning area related data may not have sufficient information for successful data migration.  States are directed to coordinate with the Division of Recreation and Visitor Services (WO-250) and the NOC Branch of Resource Data (OC-530) to ensure efficient use of personnel resources.

Budget Impact:  Travel and transportation project planning is considered base program workload and the overall impact to budgets will be minimal.

Background:  National corporate data standards and databases are recognized by the Director and the Executive Leadership Team as being a critical component to facilitate bureau-wide comprehensive data management and increased efficiency in dealing with information at all levels of the BLM.  A national BLM TMAP data standard is essential for collecting the landscape-scale level geospatial data necessary to identify management opportunities and challenges that may not be evident when managing smaller land areas.  The TMAP data not only serves the crucial function of improving BLM travel and transportation planning, but are also invaluable to numerous BLM programs affected by travel and transportation management (e.g. water and air quality, energy, wildlife habitat fragmentation, Greater Sage Grouse habitat mitigation. engineering, realty, and cultural resources).

To support the development of the BLM corporate data standard for TMAP, a team of subject matter experts with representatives from field offices, state offices, Washington Office, and the NOC collaborated to identify the BLM’s requirements for TMAP.  

TMAP Implementation Guide 1.0

http://teamspace/sites/blmnds/Established%20Data%20Standards/TMAP_Implementation_Guide.docx

TMAP Business Rules

http://teamspace/sites/blmnds/Established%20Data%20Standards/TMAP_business_rules.docx

TMAP Geodatabase XML 1.0

http://teamspace/sites/blmnds/Established%20Data%20Standards/TMAP_GEODATABASE_V1_0.XML

Manual/Handbook Sections Affected: This IM supplements the guidance contained in BLM Manual Section 1626 Travel and Transportation Management and will be incorporated into the Manual when it is revised.

Coordination: The Division of Recreation and Visitor Services (WO-250) and the National Operations Center, Division of Resource Services (OC-500) coordinated on this IM.

Contacts: For questions regarding data standards, implementation of the standard or migrating existing data into the geodatabase, contact Tom Chatfield, NOC Data Standards Implementation Manager, OC-535 at 303-236-1936, or Dennis Byrd, Travel and Transportation Management, WO-250 at 202-912-7252.  For information regarding NOC replication, contact Stacy Crowe, Spatial Data Coordinator, OC-530 at 303-236-5445.

Signed by:                                                                   Authenticated by:
Kristin Bail                                                                  Robert M. Williams
Assistant Director                                                       Division of IT Policy and Planning,WO870
Resources and Planning