Final phase replacing Alaska Land Information System remaining case types, Alaska Case Reporting Enterprise System, and Alaska Historical Index with the Mineral and Lands Records System

Beginning on October 15, 2024, all affected BLM officials and employees are instructed to use MLRS to create new or modify migrated case information and Historical Index records.  October 4, 2024, is the last day to enter and update information in ALIS and AK HI system.   On October 15, 2024, MLRS will become the system of record replacing ALIS, and AK HI.  External customers and public users may access the MLRS website for more information.

Implementation Timeframe:  MLRS Release 4 (R4) phases out remaining cases in ALIS and the AK HI system.  The ACRES reporting system will be replaced by the National Application Reporting System (NRS).

1. ALIS and AK HI Data Freeze: [TIME-SENSITIVE].  All remaining data in ALIS and the AK HI system will be frozen at 5:00 pm AKDT (7:00 pm MDT) on October 4, 2024.  All data will be frozen in place and users’ data entry will be paused while data is migrated.  
2. ALIS and AK HI Data Migration: Data migration for data in ALIS and AK HI will begin at 5:00 pm AKDT (7:00 pm MDT) on October 4, 2024, and is expected to be completed no later than October 14, 2024.  During data migration, ALIS and HI systems will be available read-only for research purposes. The ACRES internal reporting system will remain accessible as well as land documents access.
3. MLRS Outage: [TIME-SENSITIVE] Beginning at 5:00 pm AKDT (7:00 pm MDT) on October 4, 2024, MLRS will be taken offline and is expected to return to operation at 6:00 am AKDT (8:00 am MDT) on October 15, 2024. During this time, MLRS will be unavailable to all internal users and external customers while data is being migrated into MLRS.
4. ALIS, AK HI, ACRES Post Migration: ALIS, AK HI will remain accessible to internal users in read only access. ACRES will remain accessible internally, however it will reflect the state of the data as of October 4, 2024. The length of time these systems will remain accessible is undetermined at this time.
5. Payments:  All monies collected during data migration must be deposited into Suspense in CBS. Monies collected during this time will need to be transferred in CBS from Suspense to the appropriate program as soon as interfacing systems are available.
6. Permissions/Security:  The MLRS application uses DOI Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) accounts for internal users (BLM employees/contractors), and the user credentials are verified through the ADFS single sign-on flow each time the user signs ins.
7. MLRS Account User Login:  New Internal MLRS Console users will need to submit a Smart IT ticket for an MLRS account using the BLM's National Help Desk.  Once appropriate training in MLRS has been completed and the user is approved for access to the Console, User Support Specialists at the BLM National Help Desk will grant roles and permissions for specific program areas. 
8. Public Room Access: A common technology footprint has been established within the BLM's State Office public rooms that includes two computers for public access to MLRS. Access to specific internal BLM and DOI websites have been approved and are available for use from the public room computers. State Offices will need to provide printers with scanning capability to support in-person MLRS customers with document printing and scanning. 
9. Public Help Desk:  The BLM Public Help Desk has been modified to include MLRS instructions and will be monitored and adapted to triage application issues as well as to resolve external customer support problems.
10. Training:  Alaska users have participated in an extended User Acceptance Testing period and a system-wide pilot program from July 8 through July 31, 2024.  Self-paced training videos became available on DOI Talent in late July 2024. Registration for virtual instructor-led training sessions will be managed via DOI Talent, with sessions running from early September through early October.  More details for self-paced training and instructions for registering for virtual sessions will be announced as they are available.
11. Hard (Physical) Copy Case Files:  The MLRS database can create and maintain electronic case files or records; however, the BLM will continue to maintain the BLM’s paper filing system in tandem with the MLRS system until complete electronic integration can be achieved. State and Field Offices may scan and upload new documents to the MLRS for access by remote staff. However, all case information must continue to be placed in the official paper case file in accordance with BLM MS-1274 Rel. 1-1339 Serialized Case File System guidance, until such time MLRS is recognized by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) as an official electronic records management system.
12. File Naming Conventions:  Files uploaded to MLRS will be named to include the date filed (e.g., YYYYMMDD or 20220926) and the type of document (e.g., Assignment). As an example, an assignment of Land Use Authorizations filed on September 26, 2022, will be named 20220926_Assignment. MLRS will default all uploaded files to “customer access-enabled” status, which makes the file publicly available. The internal BLM MLRS user will need to disable customer access for any files submitted and marked as having proprietary or confidential information, or documents such as those including protected information regarding Indian mineral leases.
13. Change in Serial Number Format: The MLRS application will generate serial numbers for both new and existing cases migrated from ALIS. Serial number modernization standardizes serial number policy nationwide, future-proofs BLM’s numbering system, and simplifies the user experience with serial numbers. The new MLRS serial number format will contain a two-character alphabetic abbreviation for geographic state, a two-character alphabetic abbreviation for the corresponding administrative State Office, and sequential nine-digit number that forms a system unique identifier within MLRS.  Cases migrated from ALIS with existing “legacy” case serial numbers will retain the former serial number in MLRS, as a searchable field, but will be assigned a new standardized serial number. All new cases must conform to the new serial number format. MLRS will use the new serial number standard to maintain links between related cases. MLRS generated serial numbers are unique to each case, are not repeated from state to state, and must not contain embedded prefixes, spaces, or suffixes. 

All correspondence and decisions will inform the customer of the new MLRS serial number as well as the legacy serial number for existing cases. Any correspondence, payments, case actions, or applications for changes for legacy cases that reference the legacy serial number should not be denied or returned for this reason. In the field, legacy serial numbers posted on signage, such as well signs, will not need to be changed due to the serial number change, however, new signage should reflect the new serial number.

The office of record for new MLRS cases must continue to file paper documents, and records managers will add a note on the front of the legacy physical case file with the new MLRS assigned case serial number and any related case serial number(s). Serial Register Pages will reflect both the newly assigned MLRS case serial number and the legacy case serial number for cases migrated from ALIS.  Serial Register Pages for newly created cases will only have a newly assigned MLRS serial number. MLRS will not generate a legacy-style case serial number for those cases created in MLRS. 

Example:  AKAK123456789 is a sample MLRS-generated case serial number, where the first AK is the two-character abbreviation for geographic state Alaska; the second AK is the two-character administrative state abbreviation for the BLM Alaska State Office; it is followed by the nine (9) digit system unique identifier.

14.  Alaska Historical Index:  Public customers and internal users will be able to view, download, and print Alaska’s HIs through the Government Land Office website, GLO Records.