Oklahomans Can Help Guide Bureau Of Land Management Plan

The Bureau of Land Management wants help from the public in determining how its resources should be used in Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas.

The BLM has been holding what it calls public scoping meetings throughout the region, and the final two are this week:

• Tulsa: 6 p.m. Tuesday, January 14, Doubletree Downtown
• Pawhuska: 6 p.m. Wednesday, January 15, Pawhuska City Library.

The BLM is seeking input as it develops its Resource Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement for the land it oversees in the three-state region.

The BLM says its Resource Management Plan provides a framework for managing its land over the next 15 to 20 years. The Federal Land Policy and Management Act  requires the Bureau to develop RMPs and update or revise them when appropriate.

The area includes 104,000 acres of surface land, 593,000 acres of private land where the it has mineral interests and 5,270,000 acres of land where it has mineral interests but the land is managed by other federal agencies.

The BLM says the issues raised at the meetings can include mineral resource development as well as recreational use of public land and even livestock grazing on federal land.

The public scoping period ends January 31, 2014.

Visit the project's web site for more information.