Public Sales

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) amends its procedural regulations pertaining to the time allowed for the segregation of public lands proposed for sale. Under existing regulations, the BLM may segregate these lands from the operation of the public land and mineral laws for a period up to 270 days following publication of a Notice of Realty Action in the Federal Register. The Department of the Interior has imposed this time constraint under its discretion and not as a requirement of law. The current segregation period compresses the time necessary to address comments or protests the BLM receives after publication of a Notice of Realty Action. In order to address comments or protests in the normal course of business, as to future proposed sales, this final rule allows the BLM to segregate lands initially for a period of up to two years with the option to extend, if necessary, the initial period of segregation up to two additional years on a case- by-case basis. The BLM also is amending its segregation regulation at 43 CFR 2091.2-1 so that it will be consistent with the changes made in the BLM's public sale regulations.