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Federal Agency Functional Activities

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Federal Agency Functional Activities Appendix B – Federal Agency Functional Activities Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Point of Contact: Wyeth (Chad) Wallace, (720) 407-0638 The mission of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is to enhance the quality of life, to promote economic opportunity, and to carry out the responsibility to protect and improve the trust assets of American Indians, Indian tribes, and Alaska Natives. Divided into regions (see map), the BIA is responsible for the administration and management of 55 million surface acres and 57 million acres of subsurface minerals estates held in trust by the United States for approximately 1.9 million American Indians and Alaska Natives, and 565 federally recognized American Indian tribes. The primary public policy of the Federal government in regards to Native Americans is the return of trust lands management responsibilities to those most affected by decisions on how these American Indian Trust (AIT) lands are to be used and developed. Enhanced elevation data, orthoimagery, and GIS technology are needed to enable tribal organizations to wholly manage significant, profitable and sustainable enterprises as diverse as forestry, water resources, mining, oil and gas, transportation, tourism, agriculture and range land leasing and management, while preserving and protecting natural and cultural resources on AIT lands. Accurate and current elevation data are especially mission-critical for management of forest and water resources. It is the mission of BIA’s Irrigation, Power and Safety of Dams (IPSOD) program to promote self-determination, economic opportunities and public safety through the sound management of irrigation, dam and power facilities owned by the BIA. This program generates revenues for the irrigation and power projects of $80M to $90M annually. Additionally, water rights, mitigation, and all that goes along with water from forestry to fishing, are very important to Native Peoples, and any increase in knowledge of those water sources, watersheds and waterways is invaluable. Similarly, forest products on Native lands are harvested and sold through permits, and forest inventories are conducted to determine and record the volume and value of forest products harvested by ownership and to maintain records to document compliance. The wise stewardship of forests on AIT lands is critical because timber sales have exceeded $100M annually. LiDAR provides vital timber and biomass metrics plus slope data needed for Forest Management Plans and Fire Management Plans. Timber is real property; volumes and fair market values of the timber must be determined with a minimum sampling error of 15% as a part of Realty appraisal and to enhance sustainable forest product sales. BIA managers identified a single, all-inclusive Functional Activity with mission-critical requirements for enhanced elevation data: 101 • Protection and Enhancement of AIT Assets, under multiple Business Uses, but primarily Business Use #1, Natural Resources Conservation BIA managers provided the following assessments of elevation data requirements and benefits received from the enhanced elevation data Quality Level that they identified as mission-critical. Summarized details are provided in the following pages. 102 Protection and Enhancement of American Indian Trust (AIT) Assets Mission-Critical Requirements: QL3 LiDAR is required for management of forest and water resources on AIT lands and watersheds flowing into and out from AIT lands. Update Frequency: 6-10 years Business Use: Multiple Business Uses, but primarily Natural Resources Conservation, BU#1. Estimated program budgets supported by elevation data: Unknown Quantifiable Benefits of Enhanced Elevation Data: Unable to estimate cost savings from improved management of forest and water resources. Agency: BIA Functional Activity: Protection and Enhancement of American Indian Trust (AIT) Assets LiDAR is, by far, the best technology for detailed topographic mapping used for management of water and forest resources and for detecting subtle terrain features such as cultural resources important to Native Peoples. No other technology can accurately map the ground in dense forests while also mapping tree canopies, understory and biomass. Nationwide, foresters demand LiDAR for forest management to include science-based assessments of forest metrics and health. Furthermore, automated procedures for hydrologic and hydraulic (H&H) modeling are now performed, almost exclusively, with LiDAR data. Operational benefits (internal) for BIA of enhanced elevation data for this Functional Activity: Time/cost savings: Major Mission Compliance: Major $ Benefits: Unable to estimate • Improved safety and efficiency in management of irrigation, dam, and power facilities owned by BIA through accurate hydrologic modeling and dam breach modeling and assessments. The BIA monitors more than 430 dams in its IPSOD program with potentially major savings from LiDAR for dam safety assessments alone, but cost savings cannot be estimated. • BIA will not be replacing its continuous forest inventories (CFIs) and will continue to use existing programs and equations. However, LiDAR would supplement those efforts by assisting in computing forest metrics and biomass for estimation of timber volumes available for harvesting and sale. Furthermore BIA could inventory reservations that either have limited resources or are remote or are not actively managing their resources. Cost savings cannot be estimated. • Accurate topographic mapping for other assessments (e.g., wildlife habitat, environmental, agricultural, transportation, mining, and oil and gas development) on AIT lands. 103 • Accurate and consistent elevation data across jurisdictional boundaries enables BIA to perform its mission to protect and enhance AIT assets by efficient management of natural and cultural resources. • Technology and data that enable BIA to do more with limited staff and budget. Customer service benefits (external) to the public from improved BIA products/services: Performance: Major Timeliness: Major Experience: Major $ Benefits: Unknown • Important decisions can be made more quickly when accurate data are available for analysis. • Fire modeling across jurisdictional boundaries is effective and efficient with LiDAR. • Tribes and tribal organizations can wholly manage significant, profitable and sustainable enterprises when accurate and current topographic data are available, and when they learn how to use such data with GIS tools for effective and efficient management of natural and cultural resources. • Watershed mitigation on a large scale – yarder ground (generally more than 35% slope), cat ground (up to 35% slope), and helicopter ground (generally steep ground but usually inaccessible by other logging methods) can be determined, from which timber values are determined and harvest boundaries set; Tribes and tribal organizations can use LiDAR to plan for the future management of their forests. • Irrigation and power projects would be more efficient when using enhanced elevation data for H&H modeling and assessments, but annual dollar benefits cannot be estimated. • For homesite lease preparation, LiDAR would better serve the tribes for right-of-way and leasing benefits. • By embracing 21st century technology, including LiDAR and GIS, Tribes and tribal organizations will be better able to preserve and protect natural and cultural resources for future generations. Other Benefits from BIA’s use of enhanced elevation data for this Functional Activity: Public/Social: Major Environmental: Major Strategic/Political: Major • LiDAR is mission-critical for executing AIT Trust responsibilities to be wise stewards of AIT lands. • Better protection of the natural environment and cultural resources on AIT lands. • Technology transfer that enables tribal programs to stand-up applications of geospatial technology and by extending the reach of these applications by providing rich sources of elevation data from which informed decision making can be enabled. • Improved public interest and better public understanding of environmental issues confronting AIT assets. Better data improves BIA’s ability to relay information on management activity to the public so they can see what is being done instead of being told what is being done. 104 Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Point of Contact: Don Buhler, (202) 912-7353 The BLM’s stated mission is to sustain the health, diversity and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is responsible for stewardship of public lands of approximately 253 million surface acres, about one- eighth of the land area of the United States, as well as approximately 700 million acres of subsurface mineral estate underlying both Federal surface ownerships and privately owned lands. These public lands surface acres are primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska. The BLM is committed to managing, protecting, and improving these lands in a manner to serve the needs of the American people. Management is passed upon the principles of multiple use and sustained yield of our Nation’s resources within a framework of environmental responsibility and scientific technology. Following is a list of some of the natural resource programs and projects currently managed by the BLM that are engaged in using or managing elevation data within the Bureau: Abandoned Mine Lands Forests and Woodlands Asset Management Hazardous Materials Management BLM Enterprise Architecture Information
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