The key words in RED match up with the descriptions in the boxes.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), an agency in the U.S. Department of the
Interior, prepares land use plans for public domain lands (referred to as surface tracts) and minerals
administered by the BLM. The BLM's Jackson Field Office is preparing a Resource
Management Plan (RMP) for isolated tracts of Federal land and BLM-administered minerals
in Alabama and Mississippi. The RMP will address the future uses of these tracts and
the (proposed) leasing of BLM-administered minerals. BLM decisions will be based on
the potential uses and resource values on these tracts and adjacent lands.
The RMP will establish the guidance, objectives, policies, and management actions
for lands (surface tracts) and minerals under the administration of the BLM - 19 surface tracts
and about 831,753 acres of BLM administered minerals (oil and gas and coal).
To View a map of the planning area in Mississippi click here.
To View a map of the planning area in Alabama click here.
To view a detailed map of coal in Alabama click here.
The RMP will serve as the analytical basis for making land use decisions for:
Isolated surface tracts of public domain land in Alabama and Mississippi
BLM-administered oil and gas mineral estate in Alabama and Mississippi, and
BLM-administered coal in Alabama
Various resource issues being addressed in the plan include:
Mineral Leasing (oil, gas and coal)
Land Ownership Adjustments
Other resource management concerns, including air quality, soil resources, water
resources, vegetative communities, fish and wildlife habitat, special status species,
wildland fire ecology and management, cultural resources, visual resources, recreation
and travel management, social and economic resources, and hazardous materials.
As part of the plan preparation, a supporting Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
is also being prepared. Both the RMP and EIS are being developed concurrently with
public participation.
An integral component of the Alabama and Mississippi RMP development process is public
involvement. Throughout the plan development, local interests and residents have
opportunities to participate and share their insights and comments.
Check out the
public involvement
page for more information.
This website is your source of information for participating in the planning process.
Here you will find the latest information on the development of the RMP and EIS,
including background documents, maps, meeting announcements, published bulletins,
and other documents.
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Public Domain lands are lands that were added to the United States during westward expansion and are still owned by the Federal Government.
In some cases, the BLM manages the surface land and in other cases just the subsurface minerals (for instance, oil, gas, coal).
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An RMP is a set of comprehensive long-range decisions concerning the use and management of resources administered by the BLM.
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The 19 surface tracts covered by the RMP generally range in acreages between tracts as small as 0.07 acres and as large as 174.25 acres.
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The RMP will address leasing and development (drilling) of BLM-administered oil and gas in AL and MS. The RMP address 313,819 acres of federal minerals in Alabama and 517,934 acres in Mississippi.
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The leasing of BLM-administered coal (about 70,610 acres) will be addressed for the Black Warrior Basin in Alabama, and is limited to underground minable coal.
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Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires Federal Agencies to prepare an EIS, which outlines the predicted environmental effects of a particular action in which the Federal government is involved. An EIS highlights the significant effects of a proposed project and describes alternative actions to that proposed project.
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