The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is inviting the public to share their opinions about nominating public lands that are inaccessible but could provide opportunity for hunting, fishing and other recreational activities.
The John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management and Recreation Act of 2019 requires public input on identifying lands where there is no legal public access or with restricted access to help create a list of areas to be improved, according to a May 23 news release. Interested members of the public may utilize a new online system intended for the public to nominate public lands to be made more accessible.
“It is clear the American public is passionate about increasing access to public lands," Bureau of Land Management Director Tracy Stone-Manning said in the release. "People responded strongly when we asked for their help in identifying places to open. This new technology to gather nominations will help us organize what we anticipate will be an equally robust response in 2022.”
Valid suggestions must include the location of the nominated land or parcel, the total acreage of the nominated parcel, a description or narrative describing the lack of access and any additional information the BLM should consider, according to the release.
This project is part of BLM's attempts to coalesce the second group of nominations, according to the news release. In 2020, BLM got more than 6,000 responses.
The Dingell Act consists of more than 100 individual bills introduced by 50 senators and several House members, including Utah's Emery County Public Lands Management Act, according to the BLM website.
