FOIA Repository – U.S. Bureau of Land Management

U.S. Bureau of Land Management FOIA Requests + Responses

Organized by date.

2016 requests and responses >>

2017-1-12: Request to Washington Office for records related to agency’s denial of petition to prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement for the onshore oil and gas leasing program.

2017-1-30: Requests for records related to Bureau of Land Management interaction and communication with the Western Energy Alliance.

2017-2-2: Request to Colorado State Office for records related to March 2017 oil and gas lease sale in Colorado.

2017-2-2: Requests for records related to Bureau of Land Management response to issue of coal leases being approved by employees without delegated authority.

2017-2-24: Request to Wyoming State Office for records related to Bureau of Land Management proposed list of actions that are “presumed to conform” with the Clean Air Act.

2017-2-24: Request to multiple Bureau of Land Management State Offices for GIS data related to oil and gas pipeline rights of way.

2017-3-10: Request to multiple Bureau of Land Management State Offices for data related to spills and discharges associated with oil and gas pipeline rights of way.

2017-3-11: Request for records related to January 25, 2017 oil and gas lease sale in New Mexico.

2017-3-11: Request for records related to February 2017 oil and gas lease sale in Wyoming.

2017-3-13: Request for records related to the approval of oil and gas-related activities in the Farmington Field Office of New Mexico since February 25, 2014.

2017-4-11: Request for records related to the Bureau of Land Management’s new website. Requests sent to Washington Office and every State Office.

2017-4-11: Request for records related to the Bureau of Land Management’s ePlanning website. Requests sent to Washington Office and every State Office.

2017-4-11: Request to Montana State Office for records related to Spring Creek coal leasing environmental review.

2017-4-23: Request to Washington Office for records related to issuance of Greens Hollow coal lease and press release from Secretary of the Interior.

2017-4-23: Request to Washington Office of the BLM for records related to “Priority Work” list and “Key Messages” document.

2017-4-25: Request for records related to BLM reporting under Secretarial Order 3349, which orders Interior Department agencies to assess “burdens” to the oil, gas, and coal industry.

2017-5-3: Request for records related to BLM petition to the Interior Department’s Office of Hearings and Appeals to reverse the Interior Board of Land Appeals’ ruling overturning federal coal leases.

2017-5-3: Request for records related to June oil and gas lease sale in Nevada.

2017-5-15: Request for oil and gas lease GIS data in Nevada.

2017-5-15: Request for oil and gas lease GIS data in Arizona.

2017-5-16: Request for records related to coal leases in Colorado.

2017-5-16: Request for records related to coal leases in Montana.

2017-5-16: Request for records related to coal leases in Utah.

2017-5-16: Request for records related to coal leases in Wyoming.

2017-5-21: Request for records regarding BLM decision to withdraw Grand County, Colorado oil and gas lease parcels.

2017-6-2: Request for records related to June 2017 BLM oil and gas lease sale in Montana.

2017-6-2: Request for records related to June 2017 BLM oil and gas lease sale in Wyoming.

2017-6-9: Request for records related to pending coal lease applications in Utah.

2017-6-9: Request for records related to pending coal lease applications in Wyoming.

2017-6-10: Request for records related to pending coal lease applications in Colorado.

2017-6-16: Second request for records related to BLM online oil and gas lease sales.

2017-6-16: Second request for records related to June 2017 BLM oil and gas lease sale in Nevada.

2017-6-19: Request for records related to authorized oil and gas leases in Arizona.

2017-7-7: Request for communication records for Acting BLM Director and Acting BLM Deputy Director for Operations.

2017-7-7: Request for communication records for BLM Colorado Acting Deputy State Director, Deputy State Director, and Solid Minerals Branch Chief.

2017-7-7: Request for communication records for BLM Montana Deputy State Director.

2017-7-7: Request for communication records for BLM Utah Deputy State Director, Green River District Manager.

2017-7-7: Request for communication records for BLM Wyoming Deputy State Director, Fluid Minerals Branch Chief.

2017-7-7: Request for records related to Western Energy Alliance lawsuit against BLM, as well as communication records between BLM and Western Energy Alliance.

2017-7-11: Request for records related to BLM Colorado September 2017 oil and gas lease sale.

2017-7-11: Request for records related to BLM New Mexico September 2017 oil and gas lease sale.

2017-7-28: Request for records related to BLM Utah December 2017 oil and gas lease sale.

2017-8-18: Request for records related to the West Antelope III coal lease application in Wyoming.

2017-8-22: Request for records from every BLM office related to the implementation of Secretarial Order 3354, which directed the BLM to streamline oil and gas and coal leasing.

2017-8-28: Request for records related to the Normally Pressured Lance oil and gas project from the Wyoming State Office of the BLM.

2017-8-29: Request for records related to Black Butte Coal Company lease modification from the Wyoming State Office of the BLM.

2017-8-30: Request for records related to BLM Montana December 2017 oil and gas lease sale.

2017-8-30: Request for records related to BLM New Mexico December 2017 oil and gas lease sale.

2017-8-30: Request for records related to BLM Utah March 2018 oil and gas lease sale.

2017-8-31: Request for records of communications between the BLM and the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

2017-8-31: Request for records related to reports of oil and gas incidents and “undesirable events” in Colorado, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming.

2017-8-31: Request for records related to oil and gas pipeline rights of way in Montana.

2017-8-31: Request for records related to the cost of BLM oil and gas leasing in the State of Nevada.

2017-8-31: Request for communication records for Pecos District Manager in the New Mexico State Office of the BLM.

2017-9-26: Request for records related to BLM New Mexico’s proposed March 2018 oil and gas lease sale.

2017-10-5: Request for records related to BLM Utah’s September 12, 2017 oil and gas lease sale.

2017-10-5: Request for records related to federal coal lease readjustments in Montana.

2017-10-5: Request for communication records for BLM state and local government liaison.

2017-10-5: Request for records related to September 21, 2017 conference about loosening environmental standards.

2017-10-5: Request for records around any effort to limit FOIA requests or otherwise change how FOIA is implemented by the BLM.

2017-10-6: Request for records demonstrating that there is an oil and gas drilling permit “backlog” in the New Mexico State Office of the BLM.

2017-10-7: Request for records regarding Bureau of Land Management proposal to approve a federal coal lease modification for the Decker coal mine in Montana.

2017-10-8: Request for records regarding Bureau of Land Management proposal to approve a new federal coal lease application for the Decker coal mine in Montana.

2017-10-9: Request for records related to South Fork federal coal lease modifications in Utah.

2017-10-10: Request for records related to October 6, 2017 press release regarding oil and gas leasing.

2017-10-11: Request for records related to Bureau of Land Management decision to stop sharing data regarding idled oil and gas drilling permits with the public.

2017-10-12: Request for records related to the Rosebud federal coal lease modification in Montana.

2017-10-13: Request for records related to BLM Montana’s proposed March 2018 oil and gas lease sale.

2017-10-14: Request for records related to BLM Colorado’s proposed March 2018 oil and gas lease sale.

2017-10-15: Request for records related to BLM Wyoming’s proposed March 2018 oil and gas lease sale.

2017-10-16: Request for records from the BLM Utah State Office related to the Uinta Basin ozone nonattainment area.

2017-10-17: Request for records from the BLM regarding changes to the availability of public data on the Automated Fluid Minerals Support System Reports website.

2017-10-18: Request for records from the BLM Colorado State Office related to the December 2017 oil and gas lease sale.

2017-10-19: Request for records related to appearance and presentation by Interior Department official, Kathleen MacGregor, and Grand Junction Petroleum and Mining Council meeting scheduled for November 16, 2017.

2017-10-20: Request for records related to BNI Coal lease application to expand Center coal mine in North Dakota.

2017-10-21: Request for GIS data for proposed March 2018 oil and gas lease sale in Nevada.

2017-10-22: Request for communication records for Timothy Spisak, Acting Assistant BLM Director for Energy, Minerals, and Realty.

2017-10-23: Request for communication records for Kristin Bail, Assistant BLM Director for Resources and Planning.

2017-10-24: Request for records from the BLM Wyoming State Office for records related to the December 2017 oil and gas lease sale.

2017-10-25: Request for records related to royalty rate reduction approved for Arch Coal’s West Elk coal mine in western Colorado.

2017-10-26: Request for records related to BLM’s involvement in the development and implementation of Interior Department “Energy Burdens” report.

2017-10-27: Request for records from BLM Eastern States Office regarding the agency’s involvement in the development and implementation of Interior Department “Energy Burdens” report.

2017-10-27: Request for records from BLM Montana State Office regarding the agency’s involvement in the development and implementation of Interior Department “Energy Burdens” report.

2017-10-27: Request for records from BLM New Mexico State Office regarding the agency’s involvement in the development and implementation of Interior Department “Energy Burdens” report.

2017-10-27: Request for records from BLM Colorado State Office regarding the agency’s involvement in the development and implementation of Interior Department “Energy Burdens” report.

2017-10-28: Request for records from BLM Wyoming State Office regarding the agency’s involvement in the development and implementation of Interior Department “Energy Burdens” report.

2017-10-28: Request for records from BLM Utah State Office regarding the agency’s involvement in the development and implementation of Interior Department “Energy Burdens” report.

2017-10-29: Request for records from BLM Alaska State Office regarding the agency’s involvement in the development and implementation of Interior Department “Energy Burdens” report.

2017-10-30: Request for records from BLM California State Office regarding the agency’s involvement in the development and implementation of Interior Department “Energy Burdens” report.

2017-10-30: Request for records from BLM Nevada State Office regarding the agency’s involvement in the development and implementation of Interior Department “Energy Burdens” report.

2017-10-31: Request for records related to oil and gas leasing in the Ruby Mountains on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada.

2017-11-10: Request for records related to December 2017 oil and gas lease sale in Nevada.

2017-11-29: Request for GIS data related to federal coal leases in the Powder River Basin of northeastern Wyoming.

2017-11-30: Request for the BLM Montana State Office’s delegation of authority manual.

2017-12-5: Request for records related to Rawhide and West Antelope coal lease modifications in Wyoming.

2017-12-5: Request for records related to royalty rate reduction application submitted to BLM Wyoming State Office by Kiewit with regards to the company’s Buckskin coal mine.

2017-12-13: Request for records related to March 2018 oil and gas lease sale in Nevada.

2017-12-13: Second request for records related to December 2017 Utah oil and gas lease sale.

2017-12-15: Second request for records related to December 2017 Montana oil and gas lease sale.

2017-12-16: Records related to agency compliance with Secretarial Order 3355.

2017-12-25: Request for communication records for Steven Hall, Communications Director for the Colorado State Office.

2017-12-25: Request for records for Steven Wells, current Colorado Associate State Director and former Fluid Minerals Branch Chief.

2017-12-25: Request for records for Brian Steed, Acting BLM Director.

2018-1-17: Request for records from the New Mexico State Office of the BLM related to the agency’s amendment of the Farmington Field Office Resource Management Plan.

2018-1-19: Request for records related to oil and gas drilling permits in the Tres Rios Field Office of Colorado.

2018-1-19: Request for records related to Tres Rios Field Office policy of refusing to provide oil and gas drilling permit information to the public.

2018-1-19: Request for records related to oil and gas drilling permits for horizontal shale wells in southeastern Montana.

2018-1-19: Request for records from the BLM Washington Office related to the agency’s amendment of the Farmington Field Office Resource Management Plan.

2018-1-29: Request for records from the BLM New Mexico State Office related to the agency’s decision to change the location of the Farmington District Resource Advisory Council meeting.

2018-1-30: Request for records from the BLM Wyoming State Office related to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit’s ruling overturning four coal leasing decisions.

2018-1-30: Request for records from BLM Colorado State Office related to Bill Barrett 58 well oil and gas drilling project in Denver Metro Area.

2018-1-30: Request for records from the BLM Washington Office related to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit’s ruling overturning four coal leasing decisions.

2018-1-31: Request for records from the BLM Wyoming State Office related to West Antelope II South coal lease modification.

2018-2-1: Request for records related to Instruction Memorandum 2018-034, which rolled back reforms around federal oil and gas leasing.

2018-2-2: Request for records from BLM related to oil and gas drilling permits and compliance with methane venting and flaring control and reporting requirements.

2018-2-9: Request for records related to BLM “streamlining” report.

2018-2-9: Request for records related to oil and gas leasing “expressions of interest” in Arizona.

2018-2-16: Request for all communication records from BLM employees of the Tres Rios Field Office of southwestern Colorado.

2018-2-16: Request for all communication records from BLM employees of the Farmington Field Office of northwestern New Mexico.

2018-2-16: Request for all records related to BLM Wyoming State Office proposal to exempt certain activities from Clean Air Act conformity requirements in western Wyoming.

2018-2-16: Request for all Instruction Memoranda approved by the BLM that are not posted online.

2018-2-22: Request for records related to King II coal lease modification and lease application in Colorado.

2018-2-23: Request for records from BLM Nevada State Office related to June 2018 oil and gas lease sale.

2018-2-23: Request for records from BLM Wyoming State Office related to Converse County oil and gas development project.

2018-2-24: Request for records related to BLM compliance with the Freedom of Information Act.

2018-3-9: Request to BLM Washington Office for records related to decision to cancel March 2018 oil and gas lease sale in New Mexico.

2018-3-9: Request to New Mexico State Office for records related to decision to cancel March 2018 oil and gas lease sale.

2018-3-16: Request to Colorado State Office for records of communications between BLM and the oil and gas companies, SG Interests and Gunnison Energy.

2018-3-16: Requests to multiple BLM Offices for records of communications between BLM and the Western Energy Alliance.

2018-3-16: Requests to multiple BLM Offices for oil and gas industry Incident of Noncompliance reports.

2018-3-16: Request to Montana State Office for records related to deferral of lease parcels for March 2018 oil and gas lease sale.

2018-3-21: Request to BLM Washington Office for records related to deferral of lease parcels for March 2018 oil and gas lease sale.

2018-3-23: Request to Colorado State Office for records related to June 2018 oil and gas lease sale.

2018-3-23: Request to Montana State Office for records related to June 2018 oil and gas lease sale.

2018-3-23: Request to Utah State Office for records related to June 2018 oil and gas lease sale.

2018-3-23: Request to Wyoming State Office for records related to June 2018 oil and gas lease sale.

2018-3-30: Requests to BLM offices for records related to reports from EnergyNet.

2018-5-13: Request to BLM Colorado State Office for records related to coal propaganda video.

2018-5-18: Request to BLM Utah State Office for records related to Greater Chapita oil and gas project.

2018-5-21: Request to BLM Montana State Office for records related to cancellation of June 2018 oil and gas lease sale.

2018-5-21: Request to BLM Colorado State Office for records related to North Fork Mancos Master Development Plan oil and gas project.

2018-5-21: Request to BLM New Mexico State Office for records related to Farmington District Office oil and gas lease expressions of interest.

2018-6-22: Request to BLM Colorado State Office for records related to September 2018 oil and gas lease sale.

2018-6-22: Request to BLM Nevada State Office for records related to September 2018 oil and gas lease sale.

2018-6-22: Request to BLM New Mexico State Office for records related to September 2018 oil and gas lease sale.

2018-6-22: Request to BLM Utah State Office for records related to September 2018 oil and gas lease sale.

2018-6-22: Request to BLM Wyoming State Office for records related to September 2018 oil and gas lease sale.

2018-8-16: Request for records related to September 2018 oil and gas lease sale deferral in Colorado.

Contact

lbarnett@wildearthguardians.org

Leia Barnett

Greater Gila Campaigner

Born and raised in the foothills and arroyos of the Sangre de Cristo mountains, Leia is thrilled to bring her love and deep reverence for the high desert country of the Southwest to the Greater Gila campaign. Leia graduated summa cum laude from the University of New Mexico’s cultural anthropology program, where she focused on the ways the more-than-human world can be reimagined through anthropological theory and practice. When she’s not endeavoring to understand the complexities of a successful conservation campaign, Leia can be found mountain-side or river-side, praising the feathered and four-legged ones, and planning her next epic snack.

Contact

lnino@wildearthguardians.org
(575) 288-6304

Luciana Nino

Field Organizer

Luciana Nino grew up in Las Cruces, New Mexico where she became passionate about government and criminal justice. She spent 2 years studying Criminal Justice and another 4 working on her Bachelors in Government. When she’s not learning, Luciana spends most of her time working to elect progressive candidates around southern New Mexico. Luciana developed a passion for the environment and native wildlife while living near the peaks of the Organ Mountains. As an Organizer for WildEarth Guardians, Luciana works with residents in southern New Mexico who care about protecting wildlife, conserving water, and the threats posed by the border wall. Currently she lives on a half acre land where she has chickens, rabbits, goats, and her fur babies.

Contact

nnadow@wildearthguardians.org
978-501-7045

Nadine Nadow

Policy Advocate

Nadine joined WildEarth Guardians in 2019 as the Colorado Policy Advocate for the Energy and Wildlife Programs. She has dedicated her career to promoting environmental law and policy initiatives and works passionately to protect wild places. She spent the last few years between the Green Mountains of Vermont and the Rocky Mountains of Montana. She received her J.D. from Vermont Law School and her B.A. from University of Vermont. Nadine loves spending time with her family, husband and adventure dog, playing in the mountains, deserts, and in the beautiful landscapes between.

Contact

nnadow@wildearthguardians.org

Nadine Nadow

Colorado Policy Advocate

Contact

jschwartz@wildearthguardians.org
503-780-8281

Jennifer Schwartz, J.D.

Staff Attorney

Jennifer Schwartz joined WildEarth Guardians in 2019 as a Staff Attorney with a focus on protecting the American West’s wondrous, yet imperiled native species. A long-standing biodiversity advocate and lover of wild places, Jennifer has worked with numerous environmental groups for over two decades. Though her social justice and civil litigation interests are varied, she has spent most of her career as a litigator defending the Pacific Northwest’s grasslands, forests, river canyons, and sagebrush steppe ecosystems from destructive logging, livestock grazing, road-building, and motorized recreational abuse.

Jennifer holds a J.D. from Lewis & Clark law school and a B.A. in Politics from U.C. Santa Cruz. After becoming a mother in 2012, Jennifer started her own solo practice representing non-profits and neighborhood groups in their quests to protect Oregon’s invaluable natural resources.

Jennifer enjoys traveling, learning about natural and cultural history, and teaching her young son to be a respectful inhabitant of planet Earth.

Contact

rwhittlesey@wildearthguardians.org
530-370-6955

Reid Whittlesey

Restoration Director

Reid Whittlesey grew up in rural Northern California in a Blue Oak woodland near a perennial stream called Dry Creek. As a young adult, he began noticing the negative impacts of invasive species on the health of the riparian ecosystem and began several studies on his family’s property analyzing the effects of different treatments on greater ecosystem health. In his early twenties, after leaving UC Berkeley to see first-hand the landscapes and natural processes he was learning about in class, he discovered that restoration was a career. At that moment he became certain it was the career he wanted to pursue. Reid has worked in the restoration ecology field since 2009 on over 30 riparian and upland restoration projects in the Southwest and California. He has extensive experience in managing large-scale riparian restoration projects specializing in native vegetation recovery and post-fire restoration. He is also a qualified heavy equipment operator with over 1,000 operating hours.

Reid holds a B.S. in Environmental Science and Ecological Restoration from Humboldt State University and has cumulatively spent years of his life studying in the Ansel Adams and David Brower School of Wilderness Appreciation also known as the High Sierra. Outside of restoration, his passions include rock climbing, trail running and skiing with his (very) charismatic dog Bear, and appreciating the wildness that remains in the west.

2,000-acre Colorado coal mine expansion blocked, Sunset Roadless Area saved!

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WildEarth Guardians protects and restores the wildlife, wild places, wild rivers, and health of the American West.

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We believe in nature’s right to exist—and thrive. Driven by passion, we’ve tackled some of the West’s most difficult and pressing conservation challenges over the past three decades. Our work is organized around four programs—Wildlife, Public Lands, Rivers and Climate +Energy—bringing people, science, and the law together in defense of the American West.

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Contact

ehoon@wildearthguardians.org
505-988-9126

Eleni Ho-On

Executive Administrative Assistant

Eleni Ho-On hails from the suburbs of Chicago and thanks her lucky stars that she was able to escape city life by spending summers at her grandmother’s home on the lake in northern Michigan. Searching for Petoskey stones, swimming through the clear waters of the lake, rescuing turtles and frogs from the road and getting lost in the stars of the dark night sky fueled her appreciation and respect for nature.

Her past working experiences have included a farm to table inspired bakery, Italian vineyards and the wine making process and most recently some time at the Chicago Patagonia store in Lincoln Park where she first learned of WildEarth Guardians. Within the last few years, Eleni had spent summers in Santa Fe with her partner and was immediately drawn to the juxtaposition of the deeply forested mountains and vast desert landscapes. Never tiring of the southwestern sky, she is thrilled to be a part of Guardians’ commitment to defend the wild places she loves.

Melissa Hailey

Member, Board of Directors

Melissa Hailey is a lawyer practicing at the firm of Keating Wagner Polidori Free, P.C., in Denver, where she represents plaintiffs in civil cases involving personal injury, insurance, and environmental matters. Prior to moving into private practice, Melissa worked as a staff attorney for WildEarth Guardians from 2006 – 2010. Since then, she served for six years on the board of directors for the Southern Plains Land Trust. Melissa’s love of the West began when her family moved to Denver from Memphis, TN in 1991. She is a wildlife enthusiast and all around animal lover. In addition to her work with WildEarth Guardians, Melissa is an active member of the Colorado Women’s Bar, the Colorado Trial Lawyer’s Association, and the Animal Legal Defense Fund. She also serves as pro bono counsel for the board of directors of High Country News.

Rebecca Vitale Mandich

Member, Board of Directors

Rebecca Vitale Mandich of Palo Alto, CA and Tesuque, NM, was called early to the environmental movement to give voice to the voiceless. An advocate since the 70s, she received her degree in Environmental Studies taught by some of the big thinkers of the time such as Paul Ehrlich, Stewart Brand, Dr. Richard Leakey, Alan Chadwick, and Dr. Donald Aitken, who founded the program at SJSUC as one of first in the nation.

Utilizing that education, coupled with commitment and inspiration, Rebecca started taking actions from working in one of the first solar energy homes to working on ballot measures for better public transportation systems in the Bay Area. She assisted in opening the first Spanish-speaking office for Clinton/Gore campaign in 1992 and registered many in the local Hispanic community, hosting then candidate VP Gore to discuss the environment and community issues.

In the meantime, she married Mitch Mandich and has two grown children, Matthew and Madeleine, and various dogs and cats have graced their lives. Having traveled extensively, her favorite escape is camping in our national parks and on public monuments and lands, where she has experienced all manner of wildlife and wild places.

She became acquainted with WildEarth Guardians about six years ago when she read an article in the San Francisco Chronicle about their lawsuit against U.S. Fish and Wildlife services regarding wolves. She sent them a letter and a fast friendship formed over their mutual love of all things wild.

Rebecca sees much hope in the future of the environmental movement that began with “Save the Whales” to now promoting a food and energy paradigm for the sustainability of natural resources. A deep political will and an openness to examine new ideas dictate her thinking. She feels that embracing environmental changes through engagement, both politically and through grassroots efforts, are paramount for the evolution of a responsible species to continue the ride on, what she affectionately refers to as, Spaceship Earth.