Suggested citation:

Davis, S., R. McCormick, and L. Ford. 2015. Bureau of Land 

Management Soil Resource Program Strategy: Focus on the 

Challenge, 2015-2020. U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of 

Land Management, Washington Office, Washington, DC.

Production services provided by the BLM National Operations Center’s 

Information and Publishing Services Section in Denver, Colorado.

BLM/WO/GI-16/00#+7400
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

Soil Resource Program Strategy:

Focus on the Challenge

2015-2020

Authors:

Scott Davis, Soil Scientist

BLM National Operations Center, Denver, CO

Ron McCormick, Ecologist

BLM Washington Office, Washington, DC

Larisa Ford, Soil, Water, and Air Program Lead

BLM Washington Office, Washington, DC

OCTOBER 2015

BLM SOIL RESOURCE PROGRAM STRATEGY 2015–2020

i

SOIL, WATER, and AIR 

PROGRAM

Mission Statement

We maintain and improve foundational processes to ensure resilience 

of our watersheds and other landscapes and to promote ecosystem 

integrity by protecting, maintaining, and improving the quality of 

soil, water, and air resources on public lands in partnership with 

communities and stakeholders. 

Vision Statement

The Soil, Water, and Air Program seeks to improve the quality and 

effectiveness of decisions made by the Bureau of Land Management by:

(1) Integrating natural resource conservation and sustainable use 

principles in soil, water, and air activities and functions.

(2) Providing effective engagement with other programs, partners, 

and stakeholders.

(3) Striving to make soil, water, and air resources knowledge and 

expertise accessible throughout the BLM.

Principles

Guiding principles for Soil, Water, and Air Program personnel when 

evaluating assessments and making decisions include:

(1) Using integrated and holistic systems approaches, including the 

BLM landscape approach.

(2) Collecting and analyzing information at multiple scales.

(3) Keeping a strong basis in science.

(4) Expanding partnerships.

(5) Ensuring transparency and open communication at all levels.

(6) Choosing purposeful outcomes and measurable effects.

(7) Fostering the continued evaluation and improvement of all 

aspects of the program.

Soil Resource Program’s Challenge

Improving the capacity of soils to provide a supporting matrix for vital 

ecosystem processes that sustain plants, animals, and human societies 

through BLM land management decisions.
BLM SOIL RESOURCE PROGRAM STRATEGY 2015–2020

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Table of Contents

Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

2. Emphasis, Perspective, and Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2.1 A Soils Emphasis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2.2 BLM Perspectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2.3 Goods and Services from Soils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

3. Status of Soils Science in the BLM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

4. Collaboration in Managing Soil Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

4.1 Bureau of Land Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

4.2 Federal Partners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

4.3 Tribes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

5. Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

6. Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
BLM SOIL RESOURCE PROGRAM STRATEGY 2015–2020

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Executive Summary

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Soil, Water, and Air Program 

has established 5-year strategies for all three program elements to 

support BLM professionals in meeting conservation challenges posed by 

increasing societal demands for access to ecological resources on public 

lands. This strategy highlights the management challenges particular to 

soil resources, describes the diverse roles and responsibilities of federal 

agencies, and outlines a set of overarching goals specific to the BLM 

Soil Resource Program for implementation over the next 5 years.

The overarching goals in this strategy include: (1) Update Soil 

Resource Program policy guidance documents; (2) Assess all 

planning actions with respect to the chemical and physical 

properties of soils provided in soil surveys, and outline 

recommended design features and the planned actions to avoid 

based on soil map unit limitations; (3) Institute as standard practice 

the use of regional (e.g., ecoregion, Major Land Resource Area) 

landscape boundaries to assess cumulative and continuing effects on 

soil resources from all project actions proposed within the boundaries. 

(Follow BLM landscape approach guidance where applicable); (4) 

Improve the effectiveness of soil parameter measurements and analyses 

efforts; (5) Limit environmental contamination from unnecessary or 

undue transport of soils into waters or the atmosphere; (6) Improve 

relationships with other programs, agencies, and stakeholders; (7) 

Enhance the BLM’s technical expertise relevant to understanding, 

assessing, and managing soil resources; and (8) Continue to coordinate 

Soil, Water, and Air Program activities with other BLM programs 

responsible for decisions on and management of use authorizations, 

other resource uses, and resource conservation and protection actions.

These strategic goals will enable the BLM to continue to protect soil 

resources while applying the Federal Land Policy and Management Act’s 

multiple-use mandate for managing public lands. A critical aspect of 

this soils strategy is using a landscape approach based on ecoregional 

boundaries or the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Major Land 

Resource Areas, as applicable. By placing program emphasis on proactive 

measures to reduce erosion, improve management of permafrost soils to 

reduce human impact and deal with the effects of changing climate, improve 

regional salinity reduction assessments, design and implement monitoring 

plans, and improve data management, the Soil Resource Program will 

ensure a focus on elements critical to its success. Also, collaborative 

relationships with other agencies and stakeholders, plus strengthening the 

soil expertise within the BLM, are equally critical elements. This strategy 

offers opportunities for continual learning to inform BLM soil resource 

professionals, as well as to support other resource management efforts.

BLM SOIL RESOURCE PROGRAM STRATEGY 2015–2020

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1. Introduction

Soils provide a foundation for 

all ecosystem services. They 

are comprised of a mixture of 

minerals, water, air, organic 

matter, and organisms. Soils are 

a renewable resource, but they 

are dependent on duration and 

level of degradation (e.g., topsoil 

erosion, nutrient depletion). 

Soils support and deliver many 

ecosystem services vital to human 

societies but, in the process, are 

subjected to erosion, organic 

matter decline, contamination, 

salinization, compaction, soil 

biodiversity loss, thermokarst, 

landslides, and flooding. Recent 

reports suggest there has been 

a significant increase of soil 

degradation around the world; 

there is evidence that it will 

continue if no action is taken to 

reverse the degradation.1

The BLM will review proposed 

land management actions to 

recommend ways rangeland 

and forestry practices, industrial 

activities, and other development 

and recreational activities can 

prevent soils capacity reduction. 

This, in turn, will help provide 

crucial ecological functions and 

supply ecosystem services vital to 

society. However, this does not 

prevent unauthorized use from 

degrading these same lands. In the 

United States, the Soil and Water 

Resources Conservation Act of 

1977, as amended, provides the 

U.S. Department of Agriculture 

broad strategic assessment 

and planning authority for the 

conservation, protection, and 

enhancement of soil, water, and 

related natural resources. The BLM 

has no singular piece of legislation 

that provides for soil protection. 

However, soils are intricately linked 

to the Clean Water Act and Clean 

Air Act, and soil conservation is 

specifically cited in the National 

Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA), Federal Land Policy and 

Management Act (FLPMA), Taylor 

Grazing Act of 1934, BankheadJones Farm Tenant Act of 1937, 

and Farmland Protection Policy Act 

of 1981.

Other legislation important to the 

requirement of maintaining soil 

sustainability includes the:

Wild Free-Roaming Horses 

and Burros Act of 1971, Public 

Rangelands Improvement Act of 

1978, Federal Noxious Weed Act 

of 1974, Watershed Restoration 

and Enhancement Agreements 

(Wyden Amendment), Fish and 

Wildlife Coordination Act of 1934, 

Water Resources Reform and 

Development Act of 2014, Surface 

Mining Control and Reclamation 

Act of 1977, Healthy Forests 

Restoration Act of 2003, Federal 

Lands Recreation Enhancement 

Act of 2005, and Alaska National 

Interest Lands Conservation Act 

of 1980.

1 R. Michael Lehman et al., “Understanding and Enhancing Soil Biological Health: The Solution for 

Reversing Soil Degradation,” Sustainability 7 (2015): 988-1027.
BLM SOIL RESOURCE PROGRAM STRATEGY 2015–2020

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In addition to the legislation 

applicable to soils, the BLM is 

required to follow standards 

and guidelines consistent with 

the fundamentals of rangeland 

health (43 CFR 4180.1). Soils 

are intricately linked to the 

attainment of the fundamentals of 

rangeland health, which include: 

(1) watershed function (upland, 

riparian, and aquatic functioning 

in watersheds), (2) ecological 

processes (hydrologic cycle, 

energy flow, nutrient cycle), (3) 

water quality, and (4) habitat 

quality for threatened and 

endangered and other 

special status species.

This strategy establishes 

a framework for the BLM’s 

role in protecting soils, in 

general, and for conserving 

those environmental, economic, 

social, and cultural functions 

specific to:

n Producing biomass (forestry)

n Storing and filtering nutrients, 

substances, and water

n Providing for the diversity of 

species and the complexity of 

their habitats

n Providing raw materials

n Sequestering carbon

n Serving as the archive of 

geological and archaeological 

heritage

The primary goal of this strategy 

is to build on the existing policy 

of the BLM’s fundamentals 

of rangeland health and land 

health standards and to establish 

a common approach for the 

protection and sustainable use of 

soils. The approach focuses on 

working with other BLM programs 

on soil resource concerns by 

establishing policies promoting 

sustainable soil functions, reducing 

threats to soil resources, and 

restoring degraded soils to a 

suitable level of functionality.
BLM SOIL RESOURCE PROGRAM STRATEGY 2015–2020

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2. Emphasis, Perspective, 

and Services

2.1 A Soils Emphasis

Soils and soil processes provide 

the structural landscape and 

functional ecosystem context for 

BLM land management decisions. 

Resilient soils across a landscape 

provide a number of beneficial 

(ecosystem) services, including 

buffering nutrient concentrations 

for long-term productivity, 

improving water and air quality, 

and regulating flood waters, while 

also supporting other resource 

uses on BLM-managed public 

lands. A considerable amount 

of BLM management decisions 

require reliable and readily 

accessible soils information, as 

well as interpretation expertise; 

ecological site descriptions 

greatly assist with assessment and 

interpretation expertise.

To help the BLM meet its multipleuse mission, BLM soil scientists 

are assigned to select geographic 

areas within BLM public lands; 

these soil scientists serve as 

subject matter experts and address 

soil resource support needs. The 

BLM depends on professionals 

in the physical sciences or on a 

network of partners to support the 

needs of state and field offices that 

do not have a soil scientist on staff.

BLM soil scientists provide 

the following support for soil 

resources:

n Consult and coordinate with 

partners regarding soil type, 

soil quality, and ecological site 

descriptions.

n Assess potential effects on soils 

(rangeland health assessments, 

soil surveys, etc.), such as the 

potential for erosion, surface 

dust, and soil compaction, for 

a wide variety of permitted 

activities on BLM lands.

n Review ecological effects 

analyses in NEPA documents 

to ensure proper and adequate 

assessment of soil changes 

driven by land use actions, 

climate change, fires, droughts, 

floods, and transitions to 

different plant communities.

n Develop site-specific procedures 

and reporting to implement 

BLM-wide policies.

n Address protests, appeals, and 

litigation regarding soil issues 

and effects from current or 

proposed activities.

n Work with outside partners and 

providers, including with the use 

of interagency agreements, on 

an array of management issues 

involving soils.
BLM SOIL RESOURCE PROGRAM STRATEGY 2015–2020

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n Coordinate with other 

stakeholders and agencies that 

could be affected, such as the 

Agricultural Research Service, 

Environmental Protection 

Agency, National Park Service, 

Natural Resources Conservation 

Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. 

Geological Survey, and state 

agencies and universities.

n Provide basic soils classes at the 

National Training Center, and 

provide online courses previously 

developed, with modules on 

soil quality and indicators and 

with the use of web-based 

soil surveys, ecological site 

descriptions, and regional case 

studies.

n Develop and distribute soils 

information via websites.

2.2 BLM Perspectives

The BLM’s management of 

public lands contributed $114 

billion to the national economy 

and supported 467,000 jobs 

nationwide in fiscal year 2014. 

Energy production is not the only 

way in which the BLM contributes 

to local communities and the 

economy. The combined economic 

effects of timber, grazing, and 

mineral production activities on 

BLM lands totaled more than 

$13.5 billion in fiscal year 2014. 

More than 61 million recreationrelated visits occurred on BLM 

lands in 2014, contributing more 

than $5 billion to local economies.2

The BLM must construct a system 

to measure and promote 

integrated and diversified 

resource-related skills in soil 

science to support activities that 

benefit society.

The BLM must continue to 

engage managers, partners, and 

stakeholders when obtaining and 

using soils information from an 

operational aspect. Soils experts 

within the BLM can assist in 

policy development, education, 

outreach, technical work on soil 

protection, and the integration 

of many diverse disciplines. New 

developments in understanding 

permafrost, deserts, biological 

soil crusts, soil salinity, landslides, 

and erosional processes are vital 

as the BLM assesses the effects of 

land use changes in concert with 

climate change. Improved internal 

and external education about 

the BLM Soil Resource Program 

is essential for furthering the 

contributions of soils experts in 

interdisciplinary teams formulating 

management plans and decisions.

Soils training and recruitment 

through universities and 

professional societies can enhance 

the BLM’s soils science capacity. 

Also, training and recruitment 

increases the BLM’s ability to 

provide cross-disciplinary and 

integrative interactions with the 

greater land use community, while 

encouraging critical thinking, 

landscape management, and 

2 Bureau of Land Management, “The BLM: A Sound Investment for America 2015” (Washington, 

DC: Bureau of Land Management, 2015).
BLM SOIL RESOURCE PROGRAM STRATEGY 2015–2020

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ecological integrity. The BLM Soil 

Resource Program can use soils 

science to form closer ties during 

restoration activities with programs 

such as mining, engineering, 

wildlife, invasive weed 

management, fire rehabilitation, 

socioeconomics, and forest, range, 

and recreation management.

2.3 Goods and Services 

from Soils

The Millennium Ecosystem 

Assessment (2001-2005) presented 

an analysis of possible consequences 

from a changing environment 

by appraising conditions and 

trends of the world’s ecosystems 

and the services the ecosystems 

provide to society.3

 As noted in 

the reports, soils offer supporting 

services (e.g., nutrient cycling, soil 

formation, and primary production) 

and provisioning services (e.g., 

food, water, wood, fiber, and fuel). 

Soils support landscapes that 

provide cultural, educational, and 

recreational activities. Aesthetic 

and spiritual pursuits are equally 

vital to individual human health 

and social cohesion—both of which 

are included in the United Nations 

definition of basic human wellbeing and extends beyond a 

simple sufficiency of food, water, 

and shelter.

The management of ecological 

resources supporting the 

production of clean air, water, 

and food is essential; they are 

the basic ecological services on 

which society is wholly dependent. 

The Soil Resource Program 

recognizes that soils are a vital 

component of management and 

use in society. An intact socialecological landscape offers other 

services as well, from the aesthetic 

value of wildlands to protecting 

communities and building 

environments (e.g., mitigating 

effects from large storm events by 

retaining and slowly releasing flood 

waters). Infrequent but expensive 

events, such as landslides and 

floods, have a noticeable effect 

on local and regional economies 

by the damage caused. The daily 

ability (or lack thereof) of soils to 

offer services has long and farreaching economic consequences. 

It is much more economical 

and efficient to prevent water 

pollution naturally by protecting 

and restoring wetlands and rivers 

versus mechanically and chemically 

treating contaminated waters to 

reestablish them for human use 

standards.

Soils are also a primary 

component of our life support 

and recycling system. Soils host 

biogeochemical cycles and store 

the largest terrestrial stock of 

organic carbon. In addition, soils 

contain a vast majority of insect, 

microbial, and fungal species in 

a complex matrix and integrate 

earth system processes while 

providing for and supporting 

important ecosystem services.

3 Rashid Hassan, Robert Scholes, and Neville Ash, eds., Ecosystems and Human Well-being: 

Current State and Trends, Volume 1 (Washington, DC: Island Press, 2005),

http://www.milleniumassessment.org/documents/document.766.aspx.pdf.
BLM SOIL RESOURCE PROGRAM STRATEGY 2015–2020

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Modern soils science follows 

an interdisciplinary approach 

that covers a broad spectrum 

of environmental, economic, 

and social considerations. 

Transdisciplinary groups working 

on land use plans or other 

resource management issues 

must understand soil capacity and 

limitation issues. Soils expertise 

is important to the team—

assembling, interpreting, and 

presenting soils information to 

these groups, thereby improving 

the overall quality of environmental 

assessments, mine reclamation and 

site restoration plans, ecological 

evaluations (including BLM 

land health assessments), and 

engineering suitability evaluations. 

It is vital to understand the 

capacity and function of soils when 

conducting environmental hazards 

investigations, including hazardous 

waste sites; evaluating nutrient 

or chemical fate and transport 

processes; and developing suitable 

site remediation alternatives.
BLM SOIL RESOURCE PROGRAM STRATEGY 2015–2020

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3. Status of Soils Science 

in the BLM

Soils science is evolving into a 

more diverse and transdisciplinary 

field, with a focus on integration of 

emerging societal challenges, such 

as adapting to a changing climate. 

Soils science positions in the BLM 

are commonly staffed by others in 

the physical sciences, most often 

natural resource specialists with a 

less general knowledge of soils. 

Other staff may have detailed 

site-specific knowledge of soils 

limitations regarding specific 

activities such as planning, decision 

support, and NEPA, as well as 

range, forest, mineral, and energy 

management resource issues.

Under this strategy, coordination 

and collaboration between 

BLM soils specialists, program 

managers, and field generalists 

should continually improve 

since many policy issues have 

specific ties to soils science. This 

includes, but is not limited to, 

healthy landscapes reporting, 

vegetation and wildlife 

management, hazardous materials 

and abandoned mine lands 

investigations, water/air quality 

monitoring, energy program 

support, and environmental 

education activities. 

The BLM’s work begins and ends in 

the field and local program offices. 

The BLM must reassess staffing 

needs and seize the opportunity to 

assemble staff trained to confront 

and find viable solutions to diverse 

and divisive issues. The proper 

assessment depends on the type 

of activities, plans, litigation, and 

expanding resource constraints 

in the areas of clean water, air 

regulations, and threatened and 

endangered species management. 

In the past, a soils expert was 

an integral part of the BLM’s 

range, forestry, soil, water, and 

air programs. In recent years, 

budget and program changes have 

decreased or eliminated these 

essential connections.

This soils strategy brings attention 

to the skills needed for BLM soils 

science positions (GS 470) and 

seeks to improve internal and 

external partner cooperation in 

response to management needs. 

The time has come for the BLM to 

broaden its soil science education 

within the BLM and ensure that 

ecological systems thinking is 

incorporated when addressing the 

many and varied issues in using 

goods and services provided 

by supporting social-ecological 

landscapes.
BLM SOIL RESOURCE PROGRAM STRATEGY 2015–2020

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BLM SOIL RESOURCE PROGRAM STRATEGY 2015–2020

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4. Collaboration in 

Managing Soil Resources 

Federal, state, tribal, and local 

agencies take different roles and 

responsibilities in managing soil 

resources. Soil types and ecological 

systems can cross geographic 

and political boundaries and are 

important to numerous government 

entities and interest groups. 

Therefore, the BLM must collaborate 

with all levels of government, 

stakeholders in the private and 

nonprofit sectors, and members of 

the public to protect and use soil 

resources on public lands.

The Soil Resource Program will 

continue to coordinate its activities 

with other BLM programs responsible 

for decision and management of 

use authorizations, resource uses, 

and resource conservation and 

protection. The program will focus 

on collaboration with other federal 

agencies on common issues and 

cooperation with federal and state 

agencies responsible for compliance, 

monitoring, and enforcement of 

water and air quality regulations 

and long-term soil productivity 

and sustainability.

4.1 Bureau of 

Land Management

The BLM manages the 

public lands under the principles 

of “multiple use” and “sustained 

yield” as described in FLPMA, 

which directs the BLM to manage 

the public lands in a manner that 

will protect the quality of soil 

values, among others. One way 

in which the BLM manages soil 

resources is by establishing goals 

and objectives in land use plans.

The BLM maintains partnerships 

and coordinates efforts with 

other federal agencies that have 

responsibilities, such as:

n Managing federal lands, natural 

resources, and tribal trust 

resources.

n Permitting and oversight of 

surface mining, oil and gas 

development, and other actions.

n Overseeing federal 

environmental legislation.

n Researching earth and 

agricultural sciences research.

n Assisting private agricultural 

producers.

n Managing and conserving 

resources for multiple use and 

sustained yield on public lands 

used for the following:

- Renewable and conventional 

energy and mineral development

- Forestry management and 

timber and biomass production

- Wild horse and burro 

management

- Domestic livestock grazing

- Recreation and resource 

protection 

- Fish and wildlife habitat 

management
BLM SOIL RESOURCE PROGRAM STRATEGY 2015–2020

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4.2 Federal Partners

U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency 

(EPA): The EPA is the 

lead federal agency 

for the protection of human health 

and the environment, using tools 

such as the Clean Water Act and 

the Clean Air Act and performing 

risk assessments at contaminated 

sites. The BLM complies with 

federal environmental laws in 

its management of lands and 

resources just as any other entity 

and thus communicates with and 

occasionally partners with EPA 

offices and officials. 

U.S. 

Geological 

Survey (USGS):

 The USGS conducts scientific 

research regarding ecosystems, 

climate and land use change, 

mineral assessments, environmental 

health, and water resources to 

inform effective decisionmaking 

and planning. The agency 

evaluates data to increase 

understanding of natural hazards 

such as earthquakes, volcanoes, 

and landslides. The agency also 

conducts research on oil, gas, 

and alternative energy potential, 

production, consumption, and 

environmental effects, while 

providing access to natural 

science information to support 

decisions about how to respond to 

natural risks and manage natural 

resources. The USGS also leads the 

effort on climate change science 

research for the Department 

of the Interior.

U.S. Forest Service 

(USFS): The USFS is 

often a partner with the 

BLM because of the 

close proximity of many national 

forests and grasslands to BLMadministered lands. For example, 

the BLM and Natural Resources 

Conservation Service partner 

with the USFS to implement 

interagency policy for developing 

ecological site descriptions.

National Park Service 

(NPS): The NPS also 

manages many tracts 

of land adjacent to 

land the BLM considers for 

permitting: for example, a coalbed methane well. The BLM 

will often solicit concerns from 

another agency if the potential 

effects appear to be significant 

for the management objectives of 

that agency. Stipulations for the 

well development may include 

provisions that are deemed critical 

to protect adjacent resources.

U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers (USACE):

The USACE is the lead 

federal agency for permitting work 

in navigable waters and wetlands 

of the United States; therefore, 

it is important for the BLM and 

those seeking permits to conduct 

relevant activities on BLM land 

to work in coordination with the 

USACE. Relevant activities that 

may require coordination with 

the USACE include any work in 

navigable waters and wetlands, 

such as placing dredge or filled 

material into navigable waters 
BLM SOIL RESOURCE PROGRAM STRATEGY 2015–2020

11

(e.g., road fills or riprap bank 

protection).

Bureau of 

Reclamation 

(BOR): The 

BOR is a partner with the BLM 

in its role as the lead agency in 

the Colorado River Basin Salinity 

Control Program, in which the 

BLM reduces salt loading to the 

Colorado River by plugging saline 

wells and performing nonpoint 

source sediment and salinity 

control efforts. The BOR is also 

often a partner in management of 

dispersed outdoor recreation at 

major federal reservoirs.

Bureau of Indian 

Affairs (BIA): The BIA 

and numerous tribal 

councils are assisted by 

the BLM in several ways, including 

the BLM’s technical support to the 

Department of the Interior’s tribal 

trust management responsibilities 

(e.g., in the assessment, leasing, 

and development of energy 

resources).

U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service (USFWS): The 

USFWS is the lead 

federal agency for 

compliance with the Endangered 

Species Act. The USFWS 

frequently assists the BLM in 

providing biological consultations 

on planning and NEPA documents. 

They also assist the BLM in 

the development and review 

of habitat conservation plans 

and may partner on mutually 

beneficial vegetative or watershed 

management projects where 

USFWS refuge lands lie adjacent to 

BLM-administered lands.

Office of Surface 

Mining Reclamation 

and Enforcement 

(OSMRE): The OSMRE 

is the lead agency in preparing 

environmental impact 

statements in compliance 

with NEPA for certain coal 

mine expansions. The BLM 

is often a cooperating 

agency in the development 

of the environmental impact 

statement. The OSMRE also 

protects the environment during 

coal mining through federal 

programs, grants to states and 

tribes, and oversight activities. 

The agency also ensures the 

land is reclaimed afterwards 

and mitigates the effects of past 

mining by pursuing reclamation of 

abandoned coal mine lands.

Natural 

Resources 

Conservation 

Service (NRCS): The NRCS 

delivers a wide variety of program 

services, technical assistance, and 

federal cost sharing to private 

landowners on western landscapes 

in which the BLM is sometimes a 

manager of lands above or below 

the targeted private lands. The 

NRCS also leads the partnership 

of the National Cooperative 

Soil Survey. The BLM has a 

longstanding relationship with the 

NRCS, including the determination 

and delineation of ecological site 

descriptions, implementing soils 

standards and procedures, and 

addressing the interactions of soil 
BLM SOIL RESOURCE PROGRAM STRATEGY 2015–2020

12

characteristics and properties tied 

to management needs and issues.

Agricultural 

Research 

Service 

(ARS): The ARS is a major research 

arm of the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture and has research 

capabilities in the areas of livestock 

grazing systems, rangeland 

hydrology and water quality, and 

soil science, including soil erosion 

and water movement through 

soils. The BLM has partnered 

with the ARS in many studies and 

continues to cooperate with them 

on topics of mutual interest.

National Cooperative 

Soil Survey (NCSS):

The NCSS is a 

partnership of 

federal, regional, state, and local 

agencies and private entities 

and institutions that works 

to describe, classify, map, 

interpret, and promote the 

use of soil information. 

BLM Manual Section 7100, “Soil 

Resource Management,” directs 

the BLM to participate in the NCSS 

and adopt NCSS standards for 

collecting and interpreting soils 

and ecological site description data.

4.3 Tribes

Indian tribes exercise inherent 

sovereign powers over their 

members and territory. The 

BLM works with tribes on a 

government-to-government basis 

to address any water-related 

matters affecting specific Indian 

tribes using BLM lands or tribes 

affected by activities on these lands.
BLM SOIL RESOURCE PROGRAM STRATEGY 2015–2020

13

5. Goals

The mission of the BLM is to sustain 

the health, diversity, and productivity 

of the public lands for the use and 

enjoyment of present and future 

generations. The BLM manages 

lands in every type of ecosystem, 

from arid to tundra, while balancing 

multiple uses of the lands against 

an ever-changing set of societal 

demands for ecological goods and 

services. In addition, the BLM must 

learn to manage or mitigate effects 

from a changing climate, including 

drought, floods, invasive species, 

and wildland fire fuels density. 

As urban populations grow, the 

demand for open space recreation 

and resource extraction activities 

on public and private lands is 

anticipated to increase. As a result, 

BLM managers and decisionmakers 

will be further challenged in 

sustaining the delivery of clean 

water, clean air, and productive soils 

valued by users of the system of 

public lands.

The Soil Resource Program’s 

goals focus on maintaining or 

improving the integrity of the soil 

ecosystem consistent with the four 

fundamentals of rangeland health. 

Through continued development of 

internal and external partnerships, 

this strategy will continue to enhance 

the BLM’s understanding and 

management of all soil resources.

Goal 1: Update Soil 

Resource Program policy 

guidance documents.

In support of this goal, the Soil 

Resource Program will:

n Complete the BLM soils 

handbook.

n Produce directives, when 

appropriate, to identify 

training opportunities or new 

technologies and processes.

n Use BLM Manual 1734, 

“Rangeland Interagency 

Ecological Site Manual,” and 

BLM Handbook H-1734-1, 

“Interagency Ecological Site 

Handbook for Rangelands,” to 

guide development of ecological 

site description manuals for 

wetlands, riparian areas, and 

forest lands.

n Work with cooperators on 

development of the ecological 

site description implementation 

plan.

Goal 2: Assess all planning 

actions with respect to 

the chemical and physical 

properties of soils provided 

in soil surveys, and outline 

recommended design 

features and the planned 

actions to avoid based on 

soil map unit limitations.

In support of this goal, the Soil 

Resource Program will:

n Where current soil information 

is lacking, use broader land unit 
BLM SOIL RESOURCE PROGRAM STRATEGY 2015–2020

14

information such as that found 

in ecological site descriptions 

or a statewide database (e.g., 

STATSGO or Web Soil Survey).

n Follow and participate in the 

interagency ecological site 

description memorandum 

of understanding and 

implementation plan.

Goal 3: Institute as standard 

practice the use of regional 

(e.g., ecoregion, Major Land 

Resource Area) landscape 

boundaries to assess 

cumulative and continuing 

effects on soil resources from 

all project actions proposed 

within the boundaries. 

(Follow BLM landscape 

approach guidance where 

applicable.)

In support of this goal, the Soil 

Resource Program will:

n Support development and 

implementation of the BLM’s 

landscape approach by 

completing the soil, water, 

and air landscape assessment 

handbook.

n Include anticipated effects 

of climate change in broadscale assessments, incorporate 

rapid ecoregional assessment 

information where available, and 

integrate ecosystem services 

valuation into all planning and 

management decisions.

n Encourage the use of 

collaborative watershed or 

ecoregion workgroups and 

transdisciplinary science teams 

to fully assess problems and 

develop iterative solutions.

Goal 4: Improve the 

effectiveness of soil 

parameter measurements 

and analyses efforts.

In support of this goal, the Soil 

Resource Program will:

n Incorporate soil quality principles 

and thresholds into resource 

management plans.

n Improve the use of soils 

data, and link the data to 

plants and roots, transitions 

in soil formation, and soil 

vulnerabilities.

n Select parameters as part of 

a soils monitoring program to 

enable the BLM to follow trends 

in and project the potential 

occurrence of short-term and 

long-term soil degradation 

processes, including:

- Erosion by water or wind.

- Organic matter loss, such as a 

steady downward trend in the 

organic material fraction of the 

soil or decline in soil biomass.

- Compaction, such as an 

increase in bulk density or a 

decrease in soil porosity.

- Salinization, such as through the 

accumulation of soluble salts.

- Gross changes to soil structure, 

as a result of vegetative cover 

loss, unusual mixing of soil and 

water, or vehicular activities on 

vulnerable soils.
BLM SOIL RESOURCE PROGRAM STRATEGY 2015–2020

15

Goal 5: Limit environmental 

contamination from 

unnecessary or undue 

transport of soils into waters 

or the atmosphere.

In support of this goal, the Soil 

Resource Program will:

n Modify proposed actions to 

protect surface soil organic 

matter and subsurface aggregate 

stability to reduce erosion and soil 

compaction by wind and water.

n Provide a system to track and 

report undesired effects, results 

of mitigation actions, and soil 

stabilization successes.

Goal 6: Improve relationships 

with other programs, 

agencies, and stakeholders.

In support of this goal, the BLM 

Soil Resource Program will:

n Include monitoring requirements 

for soils in all appropriate 

planning documents.

n Use existing or develop new soil 

monitoring methods, and require 

monitoring results be made 

available to regional landscape 

management groups and agencies.

n Increase training of Web Soil 

Survey and other tools and 

databases.

n Ensure that all partners in the 

National Cooperative Soil Survey 

are involved with site visits and 

the use of new soil mapping 

technologies.

n Build a network of and 

communicate with BLM 

personnel who have the 

opportunity to and regularly 

do interact with relevant 

professional societies, including:

- Soil Science Society of America 

www.soils.org

- Society for Range Management 

www.rangelands.org

- Soil and Water Conservation 

Society www.swcs.org

- The Wildlife Society 

www.wildlife.org

- American Fisheries Society 

www.fisheries.org

- Ecological Society of America 

www.esa.org

- American Geophysical Union 

www.agu.org

- The Geological Society of 

America www.geosociety.org

- American Water Resources 

Association www.awra.org

- Weed Science Society of 

America www.wssa.net

- Society of American Foresters 

www.safnet.org

- Society of Outdoor Recreation 

Professionals www.recpro.org

- American Society of Mining 

and Reclamation www.asmr.us

- Air & Waste Management 

Association www.awma.org/

- International Erosion Control 

Association www.ieca.org

Goal 7: Enhance the BLM’s 

technical expertise relevant 

to understanding, assessing, 

and managing soil resources.

In support of this goal, the Soil 

Resource Program will:
BLM SOIL RESOURCE PROGRAM STRATEGY 2015–2020

16

n Improve the presence and 

effectiveness of the Soil 

Resource Program on BLM 

lands by integrating soils 

specialists into prominent and 

transdisciplinary roles in most 

resource management decisions.

n Encourage managers, 

decisionmakers, and other 

resource specialists to plan 

for and actively include soils 

specialists in all resource 

management decisions.

n Position soils experts to 

lead assessment efforts for 

specific programs or initiatives, 

particularly those relating to 

the maintenance of landscape 

condition or enhancement of 

restoration efforts.

n Train BLM natural resource 

personnel in positions outside 

the traditional soils scientist 

classification series in soils 

interpretation skills.

n Develop short courses with 

the National Training Center, 

universities, and other partners 

(e.g., online classes and 

webinars) in soil ecology, erosion 

prevention, landslide mitigation, 

soil carbon dynamics, soils 

remote sensing technologies, and 

soils classification and taxonomy.

n Train the BLM’s current cadre of 

soils professionals in the theory 

and application of landscape and 

ecosystem approaches to soils 

conservation.

n Complete the National Training 

Center introductory soils class (in 

draft 2014).

n Develop additional soils 

training materials, such as the 

use of state-and-transition 

simulation models, ecological 

site descriptions, and field-based 

monitoring and assessment.

Goal 8: Continue to 

coordinate Soil, Water, 

and Air Program activities 

with other BLM programs 

responsible for decisions 

on and management 

of use authorizations, 

other resource uses, and 

resource conservation and 

protection actions.

In support of this goal, the Soil 

Resource Program will:

n Coordinate and enhance 

opportunities to include soil 

information and reporting in 

budget justifications, policy 

documents, and outreach 

materials across BLM programs. 

(Three performance measures are 

tied to the management of soil 

resources in the “U.S. Department 

of the Interior Strategic Plan for 

Fiscal Years 2014-2018.”)4

4 The three performance measures include (1) Percent of DOI acres that have achieved desired 

conditions where condition is known and as specified in management plans; (2) Percent of 

baseline acres infested with invasive plant species that are controlled; and (3) Percent of DOI 

riparian (stream/shoreline) miles that have achieved desired condition where condition is known 

and as specified in management plans.
BLM SOIL RESOURCE PROGRAM STRATEGY 2015–2020

17

6. Summary 

The goals described in this 5-year 

strategy will enable the BLM 

Soil Resource Program to meet 

challenges posed by the increasing 

demand for resource development 

and recreational opportunities 

on public lands. This strategy 

will enable the BLM to continue 

to protect soils resources while 

carrying out FLPMA’s multiple 

use and sustained yield mandate 

for managing public lands. 

New emphasis on improving 

the capacity of soils to provide 

a supporting matrix for vital 

ecosystem processes that sustain 

plants, animals, and human 

societies through BLM land 

management decisions 

will be important to 

the program’s success. 

Collaborative relationships 

with other agencies 

and stakeholders, plus 

heightened soil resource 

expertise within the BLM, 

will be equally important. This 

strategy also offers opportunities 

for continual learning that can 

improve the BLM’s soil resource 

knowledge and increase awareness 

of soil resource areas of concern.
BLM SOIL RESOURCE PROGRAM STRATEGY 2015–2020

18
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