The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM)  Northern California Integrated Resource Management Plan (NCIP) determines how nearly 400,000 acres of public lands will be managed and protected for the next 15-20 years. Public participation in this planning process is particularly important now that Republican Congressional leaders are pushing for energy development and the wholesale disposal of federally-owned public lands.

The BLM is seeking public input on the future management of federally managed public lands in northwest California (Butte, Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity Counties). These diverse lands include such iconic landscapes as redwood forests, rocky coastlines and beaches, oak woodlands, serpentine soils supporting rare plant communities, and several rivers and streams supporting salmon and steelhead.

Because the BLM will use public comments to draft the NCIP, we encourage local residents and anyone who cares about public lands in northwest California to get involved in this important process. Please make your voice heard!

More Background.

Scattered throughout north-central and northwest California, the BLM lands are a source of clean drinking water for local communities and provide important habitat for fish, wildlife and plants, including many threatened and endangered species. The lands also offer outstanding opportunities for outdoor recreation for locals and visitors alike and help support the local tourism-based economy. In addition, the BLM lands are rich in historic sites and Native American cultural resources.

BLM guidelines require the agency to identify and recommend free-flowing streams and rivers with outstandingly remarkable values as Wild and Scenic Rivers. The agency is also required to include in the plan protection for existing Wilderness Study Areas and to identify additional lands with wilderness characteristics. In addition, the plan will consider continued protection of Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) for public lands that possess important riparian corridors, critical habitat for threatened and endangered species, unique and scenic landscapes, and sensitive cultural and archeological resources, as well as the establishment of new ACECs.

Because the BLM will use public comments to draft the NCIP, we encourage local residents and anyone who cares about public lands in northwest California to get involved in this important process. Please make your voice heard!

Write a letter.

Please use the sample email with key talking points on your right. We encourage you to mention specific areas described in the letter, particularly if you have any personal experience visiting these areas. It is equally important for to let the BLM know why these public lands are important to you and what activities you enjoy on these lands.  

The deadline to submit comments is February 3, 2017.

You can submit comments by mail or email.

• Via mail: BLM Redding Field Office | 6640 Lockheed Drive |Redding, CA, 96002
• Via email: NCIP_comments@aecom.com