BLM hears comments on Split Estate Issues
Public comment accepted by e-mail until April 1
March 25, 2006
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) held two listening sessions in Casper on Friday, March 24, on how to manage the "split-estate" issue, the situation of managing federal mineral resources that lie beneath private land.
The BLM manages 700 million acres of subsurface mineral estate nationwide, including approximately 58 million acres where the surface is privately owned. In many cases, surface rights and mineral rights were severed under the terms of Federal homesteading laws, such as the Stock Raising Homestead Act of 1916.
Managing the Federal mineral estate, along with 261 million surface acres, gives the BLM a central role in implementing the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The BLM acts as steward of numerous energy resources including coal, oil and gas, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind, and biomass energy resources.
If you missed the listening sessions, but still wish to have input into the BLM’s decision-making process, comments may be submitted by e-mail splitestate@blm.gov until April 1, 2006.
A BLM team will carefully consider all ideas and recommendations received by e-mail and at the listening sessions in preparing a report to Congress summarizing the review. The BLM will consider all the suggestions during a two-day, closed-door session in Denver beginning April 11.
Background information on split estate issues is available on the BLM Split Estate website: www.blm.gov/bmp.
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