Rent for Remote Non-linear Rights-of-Way, Permits and Leases

Instruction Memorandum No . 2015-010
Expires: September 30, 2016

To: District and Field Managers

From: State Director

Subject: Rent for Remote Non-linear Rights-of-Way, Permits and Leases Program  Area:   Lands and Realty

Purpose: This Instruction Memorandum (IM) contains the guidance to inform managers and realty staff that they may elect to apply the attached minimum rental schedule for remote parcels of land to establish the fair market value rather than requesting individual appraisals.

Policy/Action: The Division of Lands, Minerals and Cadastral Survey, Washington Office (W0-350), requested that the Office of Valuation Services (OVS) prepare a nationwide rental fee schedule to reduce the need and expense of requesting individual appraisals to determine rent for the various types of land use authorizations provided under Section 302, and when applicable, under Section 504 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended .

Regulation at 43 CFR § 2920.8 directs the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to collect rent based either upon the fair market value of the rights authorized in a land use authorization or as determined by competitive bidding . Regulation at 43 CFR § 2806.50 directs the BLM to establish fair market rent for right-of-way grants that are not appropriate under the linear or communication site schedules.  In no case shall the rental be less than fair market value.

In accordance with the above regulations, the OVS completed the attached April 2015 Minimum Rent Analysis & Schedule-Alaska Districts (schedule) that provides a rental fee for land use authorizations/non-linear rights-of-ways for each of Alaska's district and field offices to maintain a consistent approach to determining fees for annual rentals for minimum land use authorizations on federal lands throughout the state for areas of 25 acres or less. The nationwide template schedule utilizes the National Agricultural Statistical Service'  (NASS) that reports agricultural land values by state and county and is published every 5 years. The OVS used the latest report and adjusted the values to appropriately reflect public land rent values. For a more detailed explanation of how the values were derived, see the attached rent study report. Before using the schedule, it is important that the realty specialist read the report and OVS’ memo in their entirety.

The OVS organized the schedule by district office and boroughs or census areas under that district office’s jurisdiction. Each borough or census area has a per acre rent value which is adjusted depending on the intensity of the use by 50 percent for minimum impact, 75 percent for moderate impact, and 100 percent for high impact. The realty specialist will select the appropriate borough or census area, identify the range of acreage the use falls within and select the severity of the impact to arrive at the estimated annual rental for the proposed use. The Greater Juneau Area (Southeast Alaska) land value per acre is considerably higher than in other Alaska boroughs or census areas.  This area is large and diverse so the value may be more applicable in some areas than others. Exercise caution and reasonable judgment in assessing the location and impact to proposed rental sites in this area.

The examples provided under the minimum, moderate or high impact uses are not inclusive. The realty specialist may use the schedule for any use that is determined appropriate, for example to resolve certain trespass issues or apiary sites. In general, uses which involve any improvements left on the land year around such as cabin sites should be considered as having the highest impact. Again, the realty specialist must exercise discretion in assessing the impact to the proposed rental sites.  While the schedule provides exact values within the acreage ranges, there is great leeway to interpret the category of use and degree of impact. If the values are low or high compared to previous annual rents, the realty specialist may consult with the OVS or request a formal appraisal through the Interior Valuation Information System (IVIS).

This schedule is not intended for filming, linear right-of-ways, communication site leases/rights-of-way, special recreation use permits, mineral, hydroelectric, geothermal, oil and gas or related uses that may require a higher annual rent or have established schedules

The BLM realty staff will use the schedule to administratively establish the rental rates to charge for non-linear rights-of-way, permit or lease authorizations located in rural and/or low intensity land use areas where individual appraisal are not economically warranted. By using the schedule, the BLM will provide consistent and fair values to the public for the use of federal lands and the BLM and the OVS will save time and a substantial amount of appraisal costs.

The BLM Alaska shall continue to utilize the schedule developed by the Chugach National Forest for commercial film permits for the calculation of rental. These fees may be applied to each staging or location area authorized.
 

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