How to Influence Public Lands Planning
There’s a lot you can do to protect the public lands in your region by getting involved with the land agency’s periodic planning processes.
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How can you help save the places you love?
One of the best ways to advocate for a place or a cause near and dear to your heart is to write a public comment to the elected official or agency responsible. Here are some guidelines on how to do it.
The Power of Land Management Plans
Featuring Vera Smith, Senior Federal Lands Policy Analyst for Defenders of Wildlife, this webinar takes a wide-angle and up-close view at the mysterious realm of land management plans. Yes, those sometimes confusing and often colossal plans that federal agencies use to manage the nearly 640 million acres of our public lands, plans that often last for two to three decades or more.
Many of these plans are coming up for revision, and the public (like you!) has the opportunity to submit comments and influence how public lands are managed for the next 20–30 years.
These revisions are our chance to influence public land management for decades to come and for future generations.
If you’d like to download Vera’s Smith’s slides, click HERE.
More Helpful Resources
National Forests and BLM Lands
How a Federal Land Management Plan is Made and How to Influence It, American Rivers
Wildlife Refuges
Citizens’ Wildlife Refuge Planning Handbook, Defenders of Wildlife
National Forests
- Citizens Guide to Forest Planning
Prepared by the Federal Advisory Committee on Implementation
of the 2012 Land Management Planning Rule - Understanding Your Opportunities for Participating in the National Forest Planning Process
A Guide for State, Local, and Tribal Governments. Prepared by the Federal Advisory Committee
on Implementation of the 2012 Land Management Planning Rule. 2016. - Planning for Diversity: A Guide to National Forest Planning to Conserve America’s Wildlife
- Planning for Connectivity: A Guide to Connecting and Conserving Wildlife Within and Beyond
America’s National Forests, Defenders of Wildlife