On Monday, May 5, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced that the agency will begin refining planning processes that impact 245 million acres of federal land primarily located in the western United States. Many of the nation’s sportsmen and women rely on these lands for access to hunting, angling, recreational shooting and trapping.
BLM first began developing Resource Management Plans (RMPs) after Congress passed the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. These RMPs serve as the foundation for all land use decisions occurring within a specified planning area and have a significant impact on fish and wildlife conservation and sportsmen’s access, often for decades at a time.
The agency’s effort to review and improve the way that these plans are crafted, named “Planning 2.0,” provides an opportunity for the sportsmen’s community to offer input that will be used to update existing planning regulations as well as the BLM planning handbook used by land managers for the development of RMPs.
“Federal land management has a tremendous impact on our ability to enjoy the nation’s public lands. ‘Planning 2.0’ represents a chance for the sportsmen’s community to work with BLM to improve the RMP process so that everyday hunters and anglers can better track and participate in the decision making that impacts our collective outdoor heritage,” noted CSF Western States Manager Andy Treharne.
According to BLM, “Planning 2.0” will target changes allowing the agency to:
• Conduct effective planning across landscapes at multiple scales and clearly define the boundaries for different types of decisions.
• Create a dynamic and durable planning process that is responsive to change, allowing BLM to keep plans current through amendments.
• Create an efficient planning process that reduces the amount of time it takes to complete RMPs.
The first step in this process includes a request for public input. Those interested in submitting comments on potential improvements to the RMP development process are encouraged to submit them by clicking here.
For more information, contact CSF’s Western States Manager Andy Treharne, at andy@sportsmenslink.org.
Studies conducted at both the state and federal level have found that the number of hunters and trappers have been on a generally declining trend over the past several decades. To increase recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) of hunters and trappers, which initiative do you think would have the greatest impact?
