Township, Range, Section list of public lands an outfitter has use permits on?

[mtmiller]

BLM lady called me back actually. She said she talked to her boss and apparently had already given me too much information and that she wont be able to give me a yes or no on the TRS's I had asked about.

She went on to say that I will have to make a FOIA request and that before it is approved they will have to check with the Outfitters in question to make sure giving such information away doesn't hurt in her words their "marketability". So the outfitter gets to decide if its ok? This whole thing is getting weirder by the phone call.

At first I was only kind of curious but now Im just baffled and determined to get the info just out of principle. This seems like it should be public knowledge? Why such secrecy? After all they are guiding on the public's land.

Anyhow.. FOIA request is in.

Surprised with the response you received.

This will not be as simple as just a shape file or map from BLM, but you can find some stuff through eplanning.blm.gov

Below is a quick query from 2020-2023.

I queried "Recreation/Visitor Services" in "Montana" "Miles City Field Office"

Make sure you uncheck the "Show only open participation periods" and "Show only active projects"

Here is the list I got. Not all of these are Outfitter SRPs, but you can find some info. Most outfitter permits are for 10 years, so not a simple task to find all the info, but it is available. Not sure why you were not given the info, but it is not my wheelhouse either. It is public information.

Once you open the "Project Name" <click> "Documents" on lefthand side.

EplanningUi

eplanning.blm.gov

 

[Luke_with_a_lab]

Surprised with the response you received.

This will not be as simple as just a shape file or map from BLM, but you can find some stuff through eplanning.blm.gov

Below is a quick query from 2020-2023.

I queried "Recreation/Visitor Services" in "Montana" "Miles City Field Office"

Make sure you uncheck the "Show only open participation periods" and "Show only active projects"

Here is the list I got. Not all of these are Outfitter SRPs, but you can find some info. Most outfitter permits are for 10 years, so not a simple task to find all the info, but it is available. Not sure why you were not given the info, but it is not my wheelhouse either. It is public information.

Once you open the "Project Name" <click> "Documents" on lefthand side.

View attachment 270090

EplanningUi

eplanning.blm.gov

You are awesome! kind of crazy the BLM wouldn't have referred me to this. I definitely think thins will help. Thank you.

 

[kwyeewyk]

Not sure why you were not given the info, but it is not my wheelhouse either. It is public information.

It is public information and a FOIA request is the avenue to obtain it in the format he first asked for since the government doesn't publish this information and really has no need to format the information the way he asked for it. Like I mentioned in my first post ePlanning is probably the easiest way to scour for it in a published format.

I understand the frustration but there are groups that would use information requests as a way to shut down government action and there has to be a process that applies to everyone the same.

 

[mtmiller]

I understand the frustration but there are groups that would use information requests as a way to shut down government action and there has to be a process that applies to everyone the same.

I can't agree with this. The Government decision process should be transparent as long as there are not PII issues.

Heck, I can go to this site and find out information on livestock permits, fluid mineral leases, mining claims, etc.... Other than staffing issues, I don't see why this can not be incorporated at some point.

Services: Geospatial Program | Bureau of Land Management

Managing 245 million acres of land and 700 million acres of mineral estate is a big task. The BLM recognizes that geospatial information is a critical tool for managing public lands. We’ve already made great strides in creating national datasets, supporting almost every program in the Bureau...

www.blm.gov

 

[kwyeewyk]

I can't agree with this. The Government decision process should be transparent as long as there are not PII issues.

Heck, I can go to this site and find out information on livestock permits, fluid mineral leases, mining claims, etc.... Other than staffing issues, I don't see why this can not be incorporated at some point.

Services: Geospatial Program | Bureau of Land Management

Managing 245 million acres of land and 700 million acres of mineral estate is a big task. The BLM recognizes that geospatial information is a critical tool for managing public lands. We’ve already made great strides in creating national datasets, supporting almost every program in the Bureau...

www.blm.gov

The decision process occurs during the NEPA process which is transparent and published on ePlanning. I agree it could and maybe it should be included on the spatial portal, but until it is the proper channel to obtain is through a FOIA request. Staff can't just choose what information and which request to respond to when someone calls looking for something that isn't published.

The best approach would probably be to find a contact at the State Office level in your state of interest and begin dialog about getting this info into the spatial portal. I suspect it's a pretty rare ask compared to things like grazing, O&G, minerals so the answer might be that there just isn't enough demand for the info to be included.

 

[2rocky]

If i was in Idaho I would just ask the IOGA...Reason being that they have clearly delineated areas.

https://elitepublic.oglb.idaho.gov/OGLBPortal/Home.aspx

One guiding area is available there and they posted the boundaries online....




FWIW In most cases (99%) any public land worth hunting is going to have an outfitter in it. Just hunt anyway....