Public Lands Policy Recommendations
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Develop agency-wide leadership at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Forest Service (USFS), and National Park Service (NPS) that will manage public lands responsibly and take public lands stewardship into consideration with an emphasis on the preservation and protection of historic and cultural resources.
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Withdraw the oil and gas lease sale proposed by the Utah State Office of the BLM that includes tracts in and around areas with significant cultural and natural resources, including Nine Mile Canyon, Desolation Canyon and Arches and Canyonlands National Parks.
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Provide adequate funding and staff for agencies to survey, identify, manage, interpret, and protect historic and cultural resources.
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Ensure the BLM Conservation System includes all worthy lands and is adequately funded through an effective and transparent budget structure.
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Direct all applicable federal agencies to address the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s concerns about energy corridors before granting any final approvals.
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Ensure that amendments to the 1872 Mining Law include a prohibition on the location of claims within the following areas: 1) units of the System; 2) sacred sites; and 3) properties eligible for or listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
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Direct BLM, NPS, and USFS to develop timetables for complying with Section 14 of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act, which Congress passed in 1988 and requires these agencies to develop plans and schedules to identify and survey public lands that are likely to contain the most scientifically valuable archaeological resources.
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Pursue buyouts or exchanges of valid existing rights in public lands and resources where developing these interests will lead to significant and unavoidable impacts on nationally important historic and cultural resources.
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Support designations that will enhance legal protection for nationally important historic and cultural resources.
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Reopen the Western Office of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.
