Congressionally Required Maps and Legal Descriptions - Wilderness

 

October 14, 2014

In Reply Refer To:

6300 (9320) P

 

 

EMS TRANSMISSION 10/16/2014

Instruction Memorandum No. AZ-2015-003

Expires:  9/30/2016

 

To:                  District Managers and Field Managers

 

From:              State Director

 

Subject:           Congressionally Required Maps and Legal Descriptions – Wilderness

 

Purpose:  Direction is provided to implement Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Manual 6120 - Congressionally Required Maps and Legal Boundary Descriptions for National Landscape Conservation System Designations.

 

Policy/Action:  District and Field Office Managers and appropriate staff are directed to review the “coded copy map” for each wilderness area in their Field Office jurisdiction when that map has been prepared by the BLM Arizona State Office.  The District Manager, Field Manager, and additional key staff will be notified by email when the coded copy map for a wilderness area is available at a directory link to be provided in the email.  The policy applies to the completion and transmittal of required maps and files for all 47 BLM Arizona wilderness areas.

 

Timeframe:  When notified that a map is available for review, District Managers, Field Managers and appropriate staff will be requested to check the map and return any information related to mapping errors within about 2 weeks so that the mapping and legal description process and submission of the maps according to the manual can continue to progress.

 

Background:  The BLM Manual 6120 was released in March 2010.  Work is under way at the BLM Arizona State Office on preparing the maps and legal descriptions for BLM Arizona wilderness areas according to the guidance provided in the 6120 Manual.

 

As directed in the 6120 Manual, the coded copy map is prepared based on the legislative map that was referenced in the law designating the wilderness area.  The coded copy map, also called the annotated map, provides point-to-point detail concerning the intent of a boundary line in relation to other boundaries (public land survey system, surface management agency, rights-of-way, etc.), roads, and other geographic features.  Where a wilderness area has been surveyed, the coded copy map will show the surveyed boundary line with survey Monument locations.  The coded copy map will be used to prepare the final congressional map and legal description of the wilderness area boundary.  The coded copy map becomes a part of the serialized case file for the wilderness area.

 

A serialized case file is established for each BLM wilderness area in Arizona.  The serialized case file will include the legislative map, the congressionally required map and legal boundary description, the coded copy map, the certification sheet with signatures as directed in the manual, the designating legislation, relevant parts of the congressional record, the master title plat, the historic index, transmittal letters and receipts.  Additional information about the maps, the case file, and their transmittal is contained in the manual.

 

The 6120 Manual and the list of BLM Arizona wilderness area serialized case file numbers are attached.

 

Manual/Handbook Sections Affected:  None.

 

Contact:  If you have questions about the above information and the process to complete the congressionally required maps and legal descriptions for BLM wilderness areas in Arizona, please contact Ken Mahoney, Program Leader for National Monuments, National Conservation Areas, Wilderness, and Wild and Scenic Rivers, at 602-417-9238 or email kmahoney@blm.gov.

 

 

2 Attachments:

1 - BLM Manual 6120 - Congressionally Required Maps and Legal Boundary Descriptions for National Landscape Conservation System Designations (18 pp)

2 - Case File Numbers – BLM Arizona Wilderness (2 pp)