COORDINATION 101 SEMINAR TAKES ON EVEN MORE IMPORTANCE IN VIEW OF PRESIDENT TRUMP’S SIGNING INTO LAW A REPUDIATION OF THE BLM RULE THAT WOULD DIMINISH THE MEANINGFUL INVOLVEMENT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN LAND MANAGEMENT DECISIONS.
Fred Kelly Grant March 28, 2017

Yesterday, the President signed into law Joint Resolution 44 which nullifies a Bureau of Land Management Rule that would greatly diminish the opportunity for local governments to insist on coordination with the BLM which leads to consistency between federal plans, policies and actions and local policies.

As a result, Congress has nullified the BLM’s attempt to water down the coordinate position of local governments in land management decisions. The current rule recognizing broad local government opportunities remains in place and will be featured at the Coordination 101 Seminar in Woodland, CA on May 8-9. (See attached flyer) The fact that the current rule will remain in effect makes the Seminar all the more important for local officials who want to step into the coordination arena to protect their citizens.

The rule, BLM Planning Rule 2.0 was issued in the Federal Register in December, 2016 just prior to the end of the Obama administration. Even though the BLM personnel attempted to disguise the impact of the changes, it was clear to a whole multitude of western counties and to American Stewards of Liberty that local governments would be deprived of the same level of meaningful coordination involvement available under the current rules.

American Stewards of Liberty assisted counties in attacking the rule and in pointing out the loss to local governments of meaningful involvement. Among the counties submitting comments opposing the rule change were Baker County, Oregon, Modoc County, California and Custer County, Idaho—all counties that have engaged BLM in the coordination process.

In signing the Joint Resolution, President Trump strikingly remarked that it is never a good thing to take any element of control or involvement from the local level and give it to Washington DC.

As a result of the signing in the Roosevelt Room of the White House yesterday, Congress has declared the Rule change invalid and of no effect. The rules for coordination by BLM with local governments therefore continue as currently in effect.

Interestingly enough, a county that stood imminently at the forefront of moving the coordination process to a high level in the early to mid-1990s, Owyhee County, Idaho, was not listed as one of the coalition of counties opposing the new rule. Perhaps the County submitted its own individual comments—one would hope so.

The signing remarks by President Trump demonstrate the reason that local governments should move promptly by demanding coordination in every major federal action that impacts their citizens. Often I hear that “well, we’re waiting for the right time to call for coordination.” The ONLY RIGHT TIME is at the very beginning of any federal major action—before the die is cast in the minds of the federal agency. That is what Congress mandated and that is what the Council on Environmental Quality has ordered—early involvement through coordination. Any local government that does not take advantage of the coordination process from the earliest days of a major decision process is not acting in the best interests of its citizens. The only way for those citizens’ rights to be protected against federal major actions is through their local government exerting its coordination authority.

“He who hesitates is lost”. To hesitate and delay coordination results in a tremendous loss of opportunity to influence policy and actions.