Restoration Prioritization and Planning

The Public Lands Rule, 6102.3(a)-(c) states that: The BLM must emphasize restoration³ across the public lands to achieve its multiple use and sustained yield mandate. In determining the restoration actions required to achieve recovery of ecosystems and promote resilience, the BLM must consider the causes of degradation and the recovery potential of the ecosystem and develop commensurate restoration goals and objectives. The BLM should employ management actions to promote restoration. Over the long term, restoration actions must be durable, self-sustaining, and expected to persist in a manner that supports land health and ecosystem resilience.

Section 6102.3.1 has four main requirements for restoration:

1. Authorized officers must identify measurable and quantifiable restoration outcomes consistent with the restoration principles enumerated in 6102.3 in all resource management plans (RMPs).
2. Authorized officers will, at least every 5 years, identify priority landscapes for restoration consistent with RMP objectives and the restoration principles enumerated in 6102.3.
3. For priority landscapes identified in accordance with this subpart, authorized officers must periodically, and at least every 5 years, develop or amend restoration plans consistent with RMP objectives in accordance with part 1600 of this chapter.
4. Authorized officers must track restoration implementation and progress toward achieving goals at appropriate temporal scales.

The identification of priority restoration landscapes will aid the Bureau in focusing limited resources and staffing capacity to the highest restoration needs. Associated restoration plans will outline the agency’s goals and objectives and the specific types of management actions necessary to achieve effective and durable restoration outcomes in priority landscapes. Priority landscapes identified every 5 years may consist of those chosen in previous years if long term restoration goals still need to be met. To help guide restoration planning and prioritization, a BLM restoration advisory team consisting of subject matter experts from Headquarters, the National Operations Center, and state offices will be available. State directors should follow a four-step process to implement this section of the Public Lands Rule:

1. Identify priority restoration landscapes.

State directors will identify priority landscapes for restoration and then review and update that prioritization at least every five years (6102.3.1(b)). The initial identification of at least two priority restoration landscapes should be completed by each state director and submitted to the Assistant Director for Resources and Planning by the end of the first quarter of FY2025. The initial identification of priority restoration landscapes should rely upon areas previously identified for restoration under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), unless the state director determines that restoration objectives for those areas have already been met and another area is more appropriately identified. For consistency with the Public Lands Rule watershed condition assessment approach, restoration landscapes should be identified by 10-digit, 5th level Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUCs), or aggregation of these HUCs.

State directors must consider the following factors in identifying priority landscapes for restoration, some of which are required by section 6102.3.1(b), and document the process using the template in Attachment 1:

• Current conditions, causes of degradation, and recovery potential as indicated by watershed condition assessments,⁴ existing land health evaluations, causal factor determinations, and other high-quality information (refer to subpart 6103.2).
• The likelihood of success of restoration actions to achieve resource or conservation objectives including ecosystem resilience.
• Where restoration actions may have the most social and economic benefits or work to address environmental justice, including impacts on communities with environmental justice concerns.
• Where restoration or mitigation can minimize or offset unnecessary or undue degradation, such as ecosystem conversion, fragmentation, habitat loss, or other negative outcomes that permanently impair ecosystem resilience.
• Areas that have one or more important, scarce, or sensitive resources for which management actions may aid in recovery of these resources.
• Areas with high potential for collaboration with Tribal, State, local governments, and other BLM State Offices, in addition to other partners.

2. Determine the restoration planning approach.

State Directors will develop restoration plans for identified priority restoration landscapes. Restoration plans for each priority restoration landscape must be completed by the end of the fourth quarter of FY2025 using the template in Attachment 2. The restoration plans should guide how to restore the priority landscape by defining the goals and objectives of restoration as well as the management actions needed to achieve those goals and objectives. Restoration planning may be accomplished in several ways and may, or may not, include an associated National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis depending on the purpose of the plan. For example, restoration planning can be completed:

• As part of a broader restoration strategy: A restoration plan could adopt or refine the goals and objectives of a broader initiative, such as for one of DOI’s Keystone Initiatives, a species recovery plan, or interagency collaboration. For example, a state director may identify a priority restoration landscape for stream restoration as part of implementing the Gravel to Gravel Keystone Initiative, capitalizing on the Gravel to Gravel goal of restoring degraded streams to benefit salmon habitat. The state office would write a strategic restoration plan for the priority landscape using the template in Attachment 2, but NEPA analysis for the actions recommended in the restoration plan would occur at a later date.
• After restoration planning is completed, as an implementation-level NEPA analysis: State directors may choose to write their restoration plan(s) first and analyze the actions proposed in the plan(s) in an independent NEPA document later.
• As part of a land use planning effort: State directors may choose to identify priority restoration landscapes (Attachment 1) and also write a restoration plan for those priority landscapes (Attachment 2) as part of preparing a land use plan, plan revision, or plan amendment. The restoration actions proposed in the restoration plan would be analyzed in the NEPA document associated with the land use plan, although they may include implementation-level decisions. If prioritization and planning is completed as an implementation-level decision as part of a planning effort, then updating priority restoration landscapes and their associated restoration plans on the five-year timeline required by the rule would not require a plan amendment.

3. Develop restoration plans.

Per Section 6102.3.1(c), state directors must develop restoration plan(s) for priority restoration landscapes. Attachment 2 provides the fillable template to be used for each restoration plan. Restoration plans will be approved by the state director and submitted to the Assistant Director for Resources and Planning for inclusion with the BLM national restoration strategy. If the chosen priority restoration areas are IRA Restoration Landscapes, the restoration plans and strategies associated with those landscapes should be updated to match the template (Attachment 2). When designing restoration actions in a restoration plan, authorized officers must adhere to the following principles (6102.3(d)):

• Ensure that restoration actions address causes of degradation, focus on process-based solutions, and, where possible, maintain attributes and resource values associated with the potential or capability of the ecosystem.
• Ensure that actions are designed, implemented, and monitored at appropriate spatial and temporal scales using suitable treatments and tools to achieve desired outcomes.
• Coordinate and implement actions across BLM programs, with partners, and in consideration of existing uses to develop holistic restoration actions.
• Ensure incorporation of locally appropriate best management practices, high-quality information, and adaptive management that support restoration.
• Identify opportunities to implement nature-based or low-tech restoration actions and use native seeds and plant materials.
• Consult with Tribes to identify opportunities for co-stewardship or collaboration (refer to 6102.5(b)(4)-(6)).

It is critical that restoration plans are developed in consideration of the recovery potential for the landscape and identify appropriate restoration actions to generate durable outcomes. The restoration plans will identify resources within the priority landscapes that are degraded and/or at risk of being degraded and specific restoration actions that are required to improve conditions.

Each restoration plan must include goals, objectives, and management actions that are:

• Consistent with the restoration principles enumerated in 6102.3(d);
• Commensurate with the recovery potential of the landscape;
• Evaluated against measurable objectives, including to facilitate adaptive management to achieve outcomes supporting ecosystem resilience;
• Developed consistent with scientifically accepted standards and principles for restoration, such as the Society for Ecological Restoration’s International Principles and Standards for the Practice of Ecological Restoration (Attachment 3);
• Consistent with statewide and regional needs as identified in the assessment of priority landscapes for restoration (refer to 6102.3.1(b)); and
• Consistent with applicable RMP goals and objectives.

As part of the restoration plan, the state director will develop and implement a monitoring plan to track the implementation and effectiveness of restoration actions in achieving the goals and objectives of the restoration plans. The monitoring plan will also help inform when adaptive management should be considered.

4. Periodic plan updates and identification of new restoration landscapes.

The rule requires the agency to “periodically, and at least every 5 years, develop or amend restoration plans.” (6102.3.1(c)) At such time, state directors will review the plans, considering information gained from the monitoring data. With this and other high-quality information, they will determine if the existing restoration plan is effective in meeting restoration goals. If restoration goals are not met, authorized officers must assess why restoration outcomes are not being achieved and what, if any, additional resources or changes to management are needed to achieve restoration goals and objectives. If restoration goals and objectives were achieved and restoration is deemed a success and exhibits durability, a new priority restoration landscape should be identified and a new restoration plan developed. State Directors should continually maintain at least two priority restoration landscapes.