ASPRS/ACSM (1994), copyright ASPRS/ACSM
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is responsible for sustained and productive management of 270 million acres of diverse public lands and an additional 300 million acres of subsurface mineral rights. The BLM has initiated a shift in its land management model from "multiple use" to "ecosystem management." BLM's nine "Ecosystem Management" principles take into consideration the total environment instead of the localized land use planning now in existence under multi-use management. Successful ecosystem management requires the collection of data that is depicted in terms of location, descriptive characteristics, and /Spatial relationships to land tenure systems. The BLM's Public Land Survey Program can aid in accomplishing the ecosystem management principles by adoption of the "Boundary Management" concept. The concept expands the traditional role of the land surveyor from a field measurement scientist to a /Spatial land information analyst and manager, and recognizes that the key role of the surveyor is facilitating the collection, conversion, and display of accurate multi-purpose digital geographic data. The expanded "Boundary Management" role will be the key component in successful ecosystem management and sustainable development implementation.
In the management of the Nation's public lands there is a shift from the traditional "multiple use" management model to a large scale "Ecosystem Management" paradigm in the BLM and other Federal land management agencies. Conventional natural resource disciplines are indeed the foundation of resource planning design; however, the multiple-ownerships and enlarged physical land areas incorporated in ecosystem management will present severe challenges to current management methodologies. As the natural resource management methodology undergoes evolution, so will the role of the traditional land and cadastral surveyor in the BLM.
[End Page 27]
In ecosystem management, a prime function in the land planning process is obtaining basic information on the structure and function of the ecosystem. Through the Public Land Survey Program, the boundary management concept can be applied to any resource planning models. The Program, as envisioned under the Strategic Plan for Managing the Public Land Survey System, provides a interdisciplinary and integrated approach to the management of boundaries. The automation of geographic information is founded on the principle of a direct relationship between administrative land patterns and the natural resources. Just as with other resource management programs, boundaries and their derivatives (such as land status consultation, legal descriptions, training, etc.) need to be managed for long term sustainable development which is the goal of ecosystem management. Through this approach, scientifically-derived information about the ecosystem will be key to evaluating and monitoring the ecosystem. /Spatial data collection will be the most effective and efficient method to acquire the necessary data and analysis.
Ecosystem management represents a fundamentally new approach to managing federal lands by sustaining "...the integrity, diversity, and productivity of ecological systems while continuing to provide resource products, uses, values, and services for present and future needs." Ecosystem management is defined as:
"...a process that considers the total environment. It is the skillful use of ecological, economic, social, and managerial principles in managing ecosystems to produce, restore, or sustain ecosystem integrity and diverse conditions, uses, products, values, and services over the long-term."
In comparing this to past management philosophies a significant difference can be seen as shown in Table 1.
In applying ecosystem management to the BLM, nine principles were developed to guide the BLM's approach, as adopted by the Concept Paper:
[End Page 28]
[End Page 29]
Historically, the BLM's statutory role has been to maintain and reestablish the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) and act as the Federal Government's surveyor for all land transactions. With the continuing application of new technologies and the enlarged importance of /Spatial land information, this role has been evolving from that of a field measurement scientist to a /Spatial land information data analyst and manager.
The boundary management concept encompasses this new vision and philosophy. The concept broadens the traditionally narrow view of land and cadastral surveying to include advisory services and data management activities as shown in Figure 1. The Boundary Management concept has three basic functions: (1 ) The determination and management of the legal delineation between public and non-public lands, (2) the determination and management of the delineation between two land ownerships, and (3) delineation for special land use areas (i.e. wilderness, riparian, etc.).
Boundary management activities includes: (1) establishing and/or reestablishing land boundaries, (2) maintaining accurate land descriptions, (3) on the ground identification and perpetuation of boundaries, (4) the storage, retrieval, and dissemination of land records and /Spatial land information, (5) the graphic portrayal and automated mapping of land boundaries for the purposes of managing the Nation's natural and cultural resources and ecosystems, and (6) defining new and better processes and technology to accomplish 1-5 above.
The management of boundaries has significant long-term beneficial outcomes in the planning processes of the nations public lands. Additionally, the unique professional expertise of the Public Land Survey Program include:
A fundamental principal of the ecosystem management philosophy is that the recognition of land ownership and administrative/political boundaries is tempered by a parallel recognition of those boundaries determined by ecological processes and structures. The challenge for the land managers then becomes one of understanding the relationships of the intertwined pattern of land ownership and developing increased dialogue and collaborative planning for federal, tribal, state, and private lands. In applying boundary management to the principles of ecosystem management, significant added value to the planning process is
[End Page 30]
[End Page 31]
produced. As shown in Figure 1, there are specific beneficial outcomes of integrating boundary management with ecosystem management principles. By supplying these advisory services, land survey operations, and data management inputs of the Public Land Survey Program through the ecosystem planning process produces:
Geographic information systems are based on /Spatial referenced (coordinate based) locations of the desired resource. The Public Land Survey Program has the capability of providing /Spatial data with varying degrees of accuracies and from a variety of computational/collection methods:
Protection of the resources and the title and cultural rights associated with land ownership is necessary for sustainable development. Accurate information is needed to provide methods of evaluation and monitoring the progress of ecosystem management.
Increase technological capabilities allowing collection of environmental changes through a variety of sources:
Using /Spatially referenced data as delineating information in the decision making process, significantly decreases the likelihood of land status problem later in the planning process.
The ecosystem management user relies on accurately portrayed /Spatial land, boundary, and resource data/information during planning and other activities to avoid management conflicts. The /Spatial validity of base data, including the PLSS compilation, through
[End Page 32]
use of global positioning systems and photogrammetric triangulation provides non-traditional means of obtaining high accuracy /Spatial land information data/information.
In conjunction with the Realty Specialists in the BLM, the Public Land Survey Program has staff expertise in land ownership and tenure issues. When this expertise is applied in the planning process color of title, trespass, and title issues can be greatly reduced providing sizable downstream benefits.
The principal registration unit of the public domain lands is the Public Land Survey System. Through the current Geographic Coordinate Data Base project, the vast majority of the public land grid system is scheduled to be calculated with coordinates by 1996. The /Spatial land and boundary issues of ecosystem management go beyond traditional geopolitical units and should include all Federal, State, and County administrative boundaries that impact resource management activities.
Accuracy of both the land and its resources is a key ingredient to successful ecosystem management. By applying boundary management process and integrating the expertise of the Public Land Survey Program in the ecosystem paradigm, key base information from which all other decisions can be referenced to is established, thereby providing maintainability of the public lands.
The available cadastral survey records contain historical data of the existing vegetation, streams/rivers, topographic layout, and general environmental conditions at the time of the surveys. These records contain on-the -ground observations that have and can be used in planning and monitoring, such as; compilation of historical vegetation maps, comparison of current environmental and stream conditions with those one to two hundred years ago, and confirmation of cultural events/places.
A true ecosystem is managed as a whole and not along political jurisdictional lines. The whole is defined by the natural boundaries, such as drainage basins and environmental zones. The inter-ownership of a defined ecosystem will require a balanced and broad view of land ownership patterns and management boundaries to examine the effects of planned land uses. The /Spatial data representing the resources and land tenure status is one of the primary tools in
[End Page 33]
effective ecosystem management. The future challenge is to adjust organizational efforts in traditional land surveying functions, emphasizing those which aid in the collection and displaying of /Spatial resource and land data. The Public Land Survey Program has a both the skills and resources necessary to provide accurate /Spatial data, boundary management, and land tenure expertise for sustainable development management.
Bureau of Land Management. 1993. Ecosystem Management Concept Paper, Washington, DC: Bureau of Land Management.
Bureau of Land Management. 1993. Strategic Plan for Managing the Public Land Survey System, Washington, DC: Bureau of Land Management.
Copies of either the Ecosystem Management Concept Paper or the Strategic Plan for Managing the Public Land Survey System may be obtained by writing:
[End Page 34]