1. BLM Priorities in 2018 Brian C. Amme, Deputy State Director, Minerals
Bureau of Land Management - Our Public Lands
BLM Priorities in 2018
Brian C. Amme, Deputy State Director, Minerals
BLM Nevada State Office
Nevada Mineral Exploration Coalition
Annual Meeting, Reno, Nevada
Photo: Virginia Mountains in Northern Nevada
October 10, 2017

2. BLM Vision
To enhance the quality of life for all citizens through the balanced stewardship of America’s public lands and resources.

3. BLM Mission
The mission of the BLM is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.
BLM manages public lands for “multiple use”

4. BLM Values
To serve with honesty, integrity, accountability, respect, courage, and commitment to make a difference.

5. BLM Priorities
To improve the health and productivity of the land to support the BLM multiple-use mission.
To cultivate community-based conservation, citizen-centered stewardship, and partnership through consultation, cooperation, and communication.
To respect, value, and support our employees, giving them resources and opportunities to succeed.
To pursue excellence in business practices, improve accountability to our stakeholders, and deliver better services to our customers.

6. Administration Priorities
Making America Safe Through Energy Independence:
encouraging environmentally-
responsible development of energy
and minerals on public lands;
Make additional lands available for “all of the above” energy development
Streamline oil and gas leasing and permitting while addressing backlog of Applications for Permit to Drill (APDs) and Expressions of Interest (EOIs)
Streamline rights-of-way processing for pipelines, transmission lines, and solar/wind projects
Streamline leasing and permitting for Federal coal and hardrock mining while addressing backlog of mining applications

7. What Does the BLM Regulate?
Administration Priorities
What Does the BLM Regulate?
Making America Great Through Shared Conservation Stewardship:
by working with our partners to promote multiple-use on public lands
Pursue all options to achieve appropriate management levels (AMLs) for the Wild Horse and Burro Program
Work with partners to develop and implement priority habitat monitoring and improvement projects
Enhance opportunities for volunteer service and youth engagement on public lands
Emphasize BLM’s multiple-use mandate through strategic communication efforts and educational outreach

8. Administration Priorities
Making America Safe – Restoring Our Sovereignty:
through effective management of the borderlands and cooperation with the Department of Defense on public land issues
Direct agency law enforcement assets and efforts on BLM administered lands on or near the Southern border in a way that increases the safety of our visitors and employees, and the protection of public lands
Fully deploy security and communications systems to enhance employee safety, emergency notification, and accountability
Coordinate with the Department of Defense to ensure that public lands and resources are available to support the mission of our military
Support agencies of the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of the Interior in all border security actions.

9. Administration Priorities
Getting America Back to Work:
by promoting job creation and supporting working landscapes; and
Improve and streamline land use planning to support energy and minerals development and other priority initiatives
Streamline NEPA processes to achieve efficiencies and decrease time to completion
Modernize critical information systems
Pursue maintenance and capital improvement projects that address infrastructure needs
Provide employment opportunities for veterans, youth, and others to work on public lands
Increase efficiency of compliance with other agencies authorities (e.g., ESA, NHPA, CWA)

10. Administration Priorities
Serving the American Family:
by being good neighbors, supporting traditional land uses such as grazing, and providing access to hunting, fishing, and other recreational opportunities.
Maintain a capable, ethical, and diverse professional workforce and an inclusive and motivating work culture that drives high productivity
Enhance our relationships with States and local communities
Fulfill our trust responsibilities to tribal communities
Protect life, critical infrastructure, and natural/cultural resources through BLM’s Fire and Aviation Program.
Enhance State and local law enforcement partnerships to increase safety and improve the visitor experience on public lands and recreational, hunting, and wildlife conservation opportunities
Streamline the grazing permit process and provide more flexibility to the American rancher

11. Secretary Priorities
Create a conservation stewardship legacy second only to Teddy Roosevelt.
Sustainably develop our energy and natural resources.
Restore trust and be a good neighbor.
Ensure tribal sovereignty means something.

12. Secretary Priorities
Increase revenues to support the Department and national interests.
Protect our people and the border.
Strike a regulatory balance.

13. Secretary Priorities Modernize our infrastructure.
Reorganize the Department for the next 100 years.
Achieve our goals and lead our team forward.
Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke’s top priorities are restoring trust and being a good neighbor, sustainably developing our energy and natural resources, and striking a regulatory balance that ensures public lands are protected while also ensuring that industries like this one are able to thrive.

14. BLM Priorities 1) Streamline permitting for hardrock mining.
WO IM Pre-Plan of Operations (43 CFR 3809) Coordination; This IM follows the IM Nevada issued in  
2) Improve and streamline land use planning to support minerals development and other priority initiatives.
LUPs are being reviewed to ensure that a reasonable balance is attained between development of mineral resources and conservation of natural resources. Any proposed land use restrictions or withdrawals that could result in impediments to mineral resource development are being carefully reviewed at all levels (State, WO, DOI).
Result - SFA Withdrawal (10 million acres) terminates on Oct. 11, 2017
1) Streamline leasing and permitting for hardrock mining. This includes initiatives to:
Ensure adequate resources are available to efficiently process new applications for hardrock mining;
Develop and increase commercial availability of ecologically appropriate plant materials for hardrock mining reclamation, in order to streamline operator ability to meet State reclamation requirements;
Enhance coordination with states, tribes, and other agencies to streamline review and approval of NEPA documents related to coal, other leasable minerals, and hardrock mining; and
Improve agency geospatial sub-surface data and standardize mineral resource data to expedite resource analysis and decision-making.
2) Improve and streamline land use planning to support minerals development and other priority initiatives. This includes efforts to:
Decrease time to completion for priority Resource Management Plan revisions, in part by using third-party contractors when appropriate and ensuring better internal coordination on key management decisions.
Modernize land use planning efforts by incorporating the best available information and changes associated with relevant technologies. This includes conducting a thorough review of existing court decisions and making the necessary changes in current planning documents to limit re-litigation of similar issues.
Strengthen planning documents by allocating staff resources to ensure GIS data and land records are up-to-date and accurate, and that critical national, statewide, and local data is accessible to BLM employees and decision makers.
Establish flexible leasing and permitting teams to augment local BLM teams during times of high workload or low staffing.
Complete programmatic analyses and comprehensive modeling efforts when possible to minimize the need for multiple smaller-scale studies and planning documents.
3) Streamline NEPA processes to achieve efficiencies and decrease time to completion.
Creating templates from prior NEPA documents to use for Categorical Exclusions and Determinations of NEPA Adequacy when appropriate;
Prioritize completion of programmatic analyses for large-scale projects and/or projects of a repetitive nature in order to streamline subsequent, project-specific planning documents;
Developing new databases for digital data collection to ensure that the most common information required to complete NEPA analysis is available and in a format that is suitable for analysis.
4) Modernize critical information systems. This includes:
Enhancing web-based public access to resource and geospatial data related to minerals development, as well as energy, grazing, recreation, and other BLM programs;
Enhancing use of electronic systems (e.g., eGIS, etc.) to increase efficiency, supplement workforce needs, continue operations remotely in the event of an emergency or incident, and increase communication throughout the BLM; and
Providing equipment and data management expertise in real-time data collection, database creation, and establishment of data-sharing agreements with partners to efficiently process NEPA documents.

15. BLM Priorities
3) Streamline NEPA processes to achieve efficiencies and decrease time to completion.
Implement S.O – shorter EIS time frames and document page limitations ( pages).
4) Modernize critical information systems.
Completion of the National Mineral Tracking System (NMTS) Allow on the ground staff one database to input all their information (support inspections, etc).
1) Streamline leasing and permitting for hardrock mining. This includes initiatives to:
Ensure adequate resources are available to efficiently process new applications for hardrock mining;
Develop and increase commercial availability of ecologically appropriate plant materials for hardrock mining reclamation, in order to streamline operator ability to meet State reclamation requirements;
Enhance coordination with states, tribes, and other agencies to streamline review and approval of NEPA documents related to coal, other leasable minerals, and hardrock mining; and
Improve agency geospatial sub-surface data and standardize mineral resource data to expedite resource analysis and decision-making.
2) Improve and streamline land use planning to support minerals development and other priority initiatives. This includes efforts to:
incorporate best available information and changes associated with relevant technologies. This includes conducting a thorough review of existing court decisions and making the necessary changes in current planning documents to limit re-litigation of similar issues.
ensure GIS data and land records are up-to-date and accurate, and that critical national, statewide, and local data is accessible to BLM employees and decision makers.
Complete programmatic analyses and comprehensive modeling efforts when possible to minimize the need for multiple smaller-scale studies and planning documents.
3) Streamline NEPA processes to achieve efficiencies and decrease time to completion. We aim to do this in part by:
Creating templates from prior NEPA documents to use for Categorical Exclusions and Determinations of NEPA Adequacy when appropriate, and determine whether categorical exclusions can be done for mineral and energy development, coal permitting, and vegetation treatment projects;
Prioritizing completion of programmatic analyses for large-scale projects and/or projects of a repetitive nature in order to streamline subsequent, project-specific planning documents;
Developing state-specific mitigation strategies in coordination with State agencies to support energy and minerals development and associated rights-of-way activities such as roads and transmission lines; and
Developing new databases for digital data collection to ensure that the most common information required to complete NEPA analysis is available and in a format that is suitable for analysis.
4) Modernize critical information systems. This includes:
Enhancing web-based public access to resource and geospatial data related to minerals development, as well as energy, grazing, recreation, and other BLM programs;
Enhancing use of electronic systems (e.g., eGIS, etc.) to increase efficiency, supplement workforce needs, continue operations remotely in the event of an emergency or incident, and increase communication throughout the BLM; and
Provide equipment and data management expertise in real-time data collection, database creation, and establishment of data-sharing agreements with partners to efficiently process NEPA documents and manage sensitive resources such as cultural properties and sensitive plant and animal species.

16. What Does the BLM Regulate?
NEVADA MINERAL EXPLORATION COALITION
What Does the BLM Regulate?
Nevada Mineral Exploration Coalition – From Rock Hammer to Exploration to Development. NMEC plays a vital role in helping to drive Nevada’s Mining Economy for the Future

17. Bureau of
Land Management
QUESTIONS? COMMENTS?