Bureau of Land Management, Interior.
Proposed rule.
This proposed rule would update the regulations of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that tell how to obtain recreation permits for commercial recreational operations, competitive events and activities, organized group activities and events, and individual recreational use of special areas.
The proposed rule is needed to remove from the regulations inconsistencies with the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (REA), which authorizes the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to establish, modify, charge, and collect recreation fees at Federal recreation lands and waters for the next 10 years.
You should submit your comments by January 23, 2006. BLM will not necessarily consider comments postmarked or received by messenger or electronic mail after the above date in the decisionmaking process on the proposed rule.
Mail: Director (630), Bureau of Land Management, Administrative Record, Room 401-LS, Eastern States Office, 7450 Boston Boulevard, Springfield, Virginia 22153.
Personal or messenger delivery: Room 401, 1620 L Street, NW., Washington, DC 20036.
Federal eRulemaking Portal:
Internet e-mail:
Lee Larson at (202) 452–5168 as to the substance of the proposed rule, or Ted Hudson at (202) 452–5042 as to procedural matters. Persons who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may contact either individual by calling the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at (800) 877–8339, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
If you wish to comment, you may submit your comments by any one of several methods.
• You may mail comments to Director (630), Bureau of Land Management, Administrative Record, Room 401 LS, Eastern States Office, 7450 Boston Boulevard, Springfield, Virginia 22153.
• You may deliver comments to Room 401, 1620 L Street, NW., Washington, DC 20036.
• You may comment on the rule at the Federal eRulemaking Portal:
• You may also comment via e-mail to:
Please make your comments on the proposed rule as specific as possible, confine them to issues pertinent to the proposed rule, and explain the reason for any changes you recommend. Where possible, your comments should reference the specific section or paragraph of the proposal that you are addressing.
BLM may not necessarily consider or include in the Administrative Record for the final rule comments that BLM receives after the close of the comment period (see
Comments, including names and street addresses of respondents, will be available for public review at the address listed under “
Individual respondents may request confidentiality, which we will honor to the extent allowable by law. If you wish to withhold your name or address, except for the city or town, you must state this prominently at the beginning of your comment. We will make all submissions from organizations or businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.
The REA was passed in the 2005 Omnibus Appropriations bill signed into law on December 8, 2004. The Act provides authority for 10 years for the Secretaries of the Interior and
Section 13 of REA repealed certain admission and use fee authorities, including Section 4(a) through (i) of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460
Under REA, BLM will—
• Reinvest a majority of fees back to the site of collection to enhance visitor services and reduce the backlog of maintenance needs for recreation facilities (including trail maintenance, toilet facilities, boat ramps, hunting blinds, interpretive signs and programs);
• Participate in an interagency fee program that reduces the number of national passes from four to one allowing visitors access to all Federal recreation lands and sites;
• Provide more opportunities for public involvement in BLM's determination of recreation fee sites and fees; and
• Provide for cooperation with gateway communities through fee management agreements for visitor and recreation services, emergency medical services, and law enforcement services.
BLM does not and will not charge a fee for many recreation activities and sites on public lands. The REA includes additional provisions that build on BLM's past experiences in the recreation fee program and improve the fee program by clarifying the circumstances in which fees may be charged. Under the Act, BLM will not charge standard or expanded amenity recreation fees for—
• General access to BLM areas;
• Horseback riding, walking through, driving through, or boating through public lands where no facilities or services are used;
• Access to overlooks or scenic pullouts;
• Undesignated parking areas where no facilities are provided; or
• Picnicking along roads or trails.
In addition, individuals under 16 will not be charged an entrance or standard amenity fee.
Under the REA, BLM will form and use Recreation Resource Advisory Committees for BLM sites and areas, or in lieu of a Recreation Resource Advisory Committee, may use a Resource Advisory Committee under another provision of law, to give communities additional opportunities to provide input on the establishment of a specific recreation fee site or the implementation of a fee, and will provide other opportunities for notice and public participation before establishing a new fee. We will also keep the visiting public informed on how we are using fee revenues to improve visitor facilities and services.
The proposed rule makes changes in the existing regulations on permits for recreation on public lands in order to bring them into conformance with the law, including the REA. This section of the preamble describes the changes made in each section of the regulations.
The proposed rule would amend this section to remove references to the repealed authority, portions of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act, 16 U.S.C. 460
In this section, which covers prohibited acts and penalties related to special recreation permits, the proposed rule would amend paragraph (b)(3) by removing reference to the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act and adding the REA in its place.
Section 12(d) of the REA establishes limits on penalties for failure to pay recreation fees established under the Act. It provides for such failures to be punishable as Class A or Class B misdemeanors, but limits fines for a first offense to $100. (Under 18 U.S.C. 3571 and 3581, a Class A misdemeanor is subject to a penalty of not more than $100,000 for an individual ($200,000 for an organization) or one year in jail. A Class B misdemeanor is subject to a fine of not more than $5,000 for an individual ($10,000 for an organization) or six months in jail.) We have also revised paragraph (b) of section 2932.57 to reflect this provision of the REA.
The proposed rule would amend this section, which states prohibitions and imposes penalties related to recreation use permits, by removing references to the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act, and substituting REA, where appropriate. To conform the prohibited acts in paragraph (a) of the section with the table of penalties in paragraph (d), we have added a provision to paragraph (a) requiring compliance with recreation use permit stipulations and conditions. The proposed rule would also remove unnecessary internal cross-references in this section, and correct inaccurate legal citations.
This document is not a significant rule and was not subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order 12866.
(1) This rule will not have an effect of $100 million or more on the economy. It will not adversely affect in a material way the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, public health or safety, or state, local, or tribal governments or communities.
(2) This rule will not create a serious inconsistency or otherwise interfere with an action taken or planned by another agency. The rule implements a new statute that affects all land managing agencies. The other agencies are cooperating with BLM in developing general guidelines for implementing the statute.
(3) This rule does not alter the budgetary effects or entitlements, grants, user fees, or loan programs or the rights or obligations of their recipients. It maintains current policies on user fees.
(4) This rule does not raise novel legal or policy issues. It cites new statutory authority that does not have substantially different effects on the program or the public.
During fiscal year 2004, BLM issued just over 109,000 Special Recreation Permits of all kinds, with revenues totaling a little over $8 million deposited into the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), the Fee Demonstration Project, and other
The Department of the Interior certifies that this proposed rule will not have a significant economic effect on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601
This rule is not a major rule under 5 U.S.C. 804(2), the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act. This rule:
• Does not have an annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more. See the discussion under Regulatory Planning and Review, above.
• Will not cause a major increase in costs or prices for consumers, individual industries, Federal, state, or local government agencies, or geographic regions. The rule will have no effect on the 3 percent basic use fee that BLM s fee schedule (set by the 1984 policy, not regulations) requires outfitters to pay.
• Does not have significant adverse effects on competition, employment, investment, productivity, innovation, or the ability of U.S.-based enterprises to compete with foreign-based enterprises. The changes in the regulations required by enactment of the REA will not lead to increases in user fees or any other cost factors that would impel recreationists to travel to comparable foreign recreation destinations.
This rule does not impose an unfunded mandate on state, local, or Tribal governments or the private sector of more than $100 million per year. The rule does not have a significant or unique effect on state, local, or Tribal governments or the private sector. The rule has no effect on governmental or Tribal entities. A statement containing the information required by the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (2 U.S.C. 1531
In accordance with Executive Order 12630, BLM finds that the rule does not have significant takings implications. The proposed rule does not provide for forfeiture or derogation of private property rights. It merely updates the regulations to reflect changes in statutory authorities for the BLM recreation program covered by the regulations. A takings implications assessment is not required.
In accordance with Executive Order 13132, BLM finds that the rule does not have sufficient federalism implications to warrant the preparation of a federalism summary impact statement. The rule does not have substantial direct effects on the states, on the relationship between the national government and the states, or on the distribution of power and responsibilities among the various levels of government. The rule does not preempt state law.
In accordance with Executive Order 12988, the Office of the Solicitor has determined that this rule does not unduly burden the judicial system and meets the requirements of sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2) of the Order.
In accordance with Executive Order 13175, we have found that this final rule does not include policies that have Tribal implications. The rule has no effect on Tribal lands, and affect member of Tribes only to the extent that they use public lands and facilities for recreation. The rule merely updates the regulations to reflect changes in statutory authorities.
This rule is not a significant energy action. It will not have an adverse effect on energy supplies. The rule does not limit land use by energy companies. It applies only to permits for recreational use of public lands, how BLM collects revenues and applies them to the program.
These regulations do not contain information collection requirements that the Office of Management and Budget must approve under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501
BLM has determined that this proposed rule updating the recreation permit regulations to recognize and reflect changes in statutory authorities governing the payment and allocation of permit fees and the penalties for nonpayment is a regulation of an administrative, financial, legal, and procedural nature. Therefore, it is categorically excluded from environmental review under section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act, pursuant to 516 Departmental Manual (DM),
The principal author of this proposed rule is Lee Larson of the Recreation Group, Washington Office, BLM, assisted by Ted Hudson of the Regulatory Affairs Group, Washington Office, BLM.
Penalties; Public lands; Recreation and recreation areas; Reporting and recordkeeping requirements; Surety bonds.
For the reasons explained in the preamble, and under the authority of 43 U.S.C. 1740, we propose to amend chapter II, subtitle B of title 43 of the Code of Federal Regulations as follows:
1. The authority citation for part 2930 is revised to read as follows:
43 U.S.C. 1740; 16 U.S.C. 6802.
2. Revise section 2931.3 to read as follows:
The statutory authorities underlying the regulations in this part are the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, 43 U.S.C. 1701
(a) The Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) contains the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM's) general land use management authority over the public lands, and establishes outdoor recreation as one of the principal uses of those lands (43 U.S.C. 1701(a)(8)). Section 302(b) of FLPMA directs the Secretary of the Interior to regulate through permits or other instruments the use of the public lands, which includes commercial recreation use. Section 303 of FLPMA authorizes BLM to promulgate and enforce regulations, and establishes the penalties for violations of the regulations.
(b) The Federal Land Recreation Enhancement Act (REA) authorizes BLM to collect fees for recreational use in areas meeting certain criteria (16 U.S.C. 6802(f) and (g)(2)), and to issue special recreation permits for group activities and recreation events (16 U.S.C. 6802(h).
(c) 18 U.S.C. 3571 and 3581
3. Amend section 2932.57 by revising paragraph (b) to read as follows:
(b)
(2) If you are convicted of any act prohibited by paragraph (a)(1) of this section, you may be subject to a sentence of a fine not to exceed $100 for the first offense, or a sentence of a fine and or imprisonment for a Class A or B misdemeanor in accordance with 18 U.S.C. 3571 and 3581
(3) You may also be subject to civil action for unauthorized use of the public lands or related waters and their resources, for violations of permit terms, conditions, or stipulations, or for uses beyond those allowed by permit.
4. Amend section 2933.33 by revising paragraphs (a), (b), and (d) to read as follows:
(a)
(1) Fail to obtain a use permit or pay any fees required by this subpart;
(2) Violate the stipulations or conditions of a permit issued under this subpart;
(3) Fail to pay any fees within the time specified;
(4) Fail to display any required proof of payment of fees;
(5) Willfully and knowingly possess, use, publish as true, or sell to another, any forged, counterfeited, or altered document or instrument used as proof of or exemption from fee payment;
(6) Willfully and knowingly use any document or instrument used as proof of or exemption from fee payment, that BLM issued to or intended another to use; or
(7) Falsely represent yourself to be a person to whom BLM has issued a document or instrument used as proof of or exemption from fee payment.
(b)
(d)