Citizen-based councils play critical role in developing solutions to public land management issues

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) today announced that it is seeking public nominations for three citizens’ advisory councils affiliated with specific sites on the BLM’s National Conservation Lands. These citizen-based councils assist in the development of recommendations that address public land management issues.

The three Councils, which are formally chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) and the Federal Policy and Land Management Act (FLPMA), provide advice and recommendations to the BLM on the development and implementation of management plans in accordance with the statutes under which the sites were established.

The three Advisory Councils include the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Advisory Committee located in Utah, the San Juan Islands National Monument Advisory Committee located in Washington, and the Steens Mountain Advisory Council located in Oregon.

“The Steens Mountain Advisory Committee and the San Juan Islands National Monument Advisory Committee are important forums for the community conversation that is a key component of public land management,” said BLM Acting State Director Jose L. Linares. “By ensuring that representation reflects a variety of perspectives, members provide a valuable service to the Bureau by delving into matters and proposing solutions on a wide variety of land and resource issues.”

The Councils have successfully demonstrated that consensus-driven recommendations often lead to sustainable outcomes that benefit long-term public land planning and management of National Conservation Land sites.  This inclusive approach is proven successful and often enjoys a high level of public support. These Councils consist of 10 to 15 members that represent unique site-specific interests as defined in the Federal Register Notice Supplementary Information. 

Individuals may nominate themselves or others to serve on a Council. Nominees, who must be residents of the state where the Council has jurisdiction, will be reviewed based on their training, education, and knowledge of the specific geographic area. Nominees should also demonstrate a commitment to consensus building and collaborative decision-making. Nominations and completed applications should be sent to the appropriate BLM office. All nominations from represented interests or organizations must include a completed application, letters of reference, and any other information that speaks to the nominee’s qualifications.

As published in a notice in Friday’s Federal Register, the BLM will consider nominations for 45 days (until February 24, 2020).  Requests for more information, nominations and completed applications for RACs should be sent to the appropriate BLM personnel listed below:

San Juan Islands National Monument Advisory Committee:

Jeff Clark, BLM Spokane District Office, 1103 North Fancher Road, Spokane, WA 99212, 509-536-1297.

Steens Mountain Advisory Council

Tara Thissell, BLM Burns District Office, 28910 Highway 20 West, Hines, OR  97738, 541-573-4519.

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The agency’s mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. Diverse activities authorized on these lands generated $96 billion in sales of goods and services throughout the American economy in fiscal year 2017. These activities supported more than 468,000 jobs.