Congressional Technical Assistance Response for Fiscal Year 2020 Land and Water Conservation Fund Core Project Submissions

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240–0036
http://www.blm.gov

October 18, 2018

In Reply Refer To:
2100 (350) P

EMS TRANSMISSION 10/19/2018
Instruction Memorandum No. 2019-007
Expires: 09/30/2021

To:                   All State Directors

From:              Assistant Director, Energy, Minerals, and Realty Management

Subject:           Congressional Technical Assistance Response for Fiscal Year 2020 Land and Water Conservation Fund Core Project Submissions                          DD:  11/02/2018

Program Area:  Land Acquisition.

Purpose:  This Instruction Memorandum (IM) requests submission of Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Core project and FY2019 Recreational Access land acquisition funding proposals to the Washington Office Division of Lands, Realty, and Cadastral Survey (WO-350). 

Administrative or Mission Related:  Mission.

Policy/Action:  This IM is a call for Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) land acquisition funding proposals for FY2020.  Only projects that enhance or expand recreation and public access opportunities or other eligible priorities (Attachment 1) will be considered.  Program guidance and submission formats are found in Attachments 1 through 6 of this policy.  A completed project data sheet (narrative), fact sheet, Land Acquisition Request Information (LARI), representative maps, GIS shape files of the parcel(s) to be acquired, and digital photographs must be included in the proposal submission.  Please submit the State packages with a cover letter designating the State Director’s priorities.

Timeframe:  Submissions are due to WO-350 by November 02, 2018, without exception.

Budget Impact:  Submission of annual proposals is expected to have minimal impact on the budget.

Background:  This request complies with Congressional direction contained in the explanatory statement for the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2018, Div. G of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (P.L. 115-141), which states:

Agencies are directed to continue their longstanding process of identifying and prioritizing potential Federal land acquisition projects in anticipation of program appropriations as consistent with previous years... In future years, the agencies are directed to submit their lists within 30 days of the President's budget submission to Congress. 

Funding proposals requested in this IM will initiate a selection process followed by funding recommendations presented to the Director.  The FY2020 funding level for the Core line item project list is $13.3 million.  Project submissions above that level will be considered for Recreational Access project submissions.

Submission information must not be released to external sources, as submission of the proposals does not guarantee funding or inclusion on the list to be submitted for Congressional Technical Assistance.

Manual/Handbook Sections Affected:  This IM transmits interim policy.  During the next revision, this policy will be incorporated into Chapter 4, Section 4A of H-2100-1, Acquisitions.

Coordination:  The WO-350 manages the development of the BLM’s annual LWCF land acquisition funding request.  This IM has been coordinated with the Resources and Planning Directorate and the National Landscape Conservation System and Community Partnerships Directorate, and the National LWCF Shared Services Team, which is comprised of representatives from the BLM Washington Office and BLM California State Offices.

Contact:  If you have questions concerning the content of this IM, please contact Michael Nedd at 202-208-4201, or your staff may contact Kathy Lawson, National LWCF Program Lead via email at klawson@blm.gov or by phone at 202-912-7333.

Michael D. Nedd                                            Authenticated by:
Assistant Director                                           Robert M. Williams
Energy, Minerals and Realty                          Division of Business Resources,WO-850
   Management

6 Attachments
     1 – LWCF Submission Process (2 pp)
     2 – Instructions for Project Data Sheets (2 pp)
     3 – Project Data Sheet (Narrative)-Blank Format (1 p)
     4 – Fact Sheet (1 p)
     5 – Land Acquisition Request Information (LARI) (2pp)
     6 – Instructions for Mapping Products (5 pp)