Activity Plan Working Groups (APWG) consisting of local, state, and federal governments will be formed for new projects when circumstances dictate. Cooperating agencies in these APWGs will assist the BLM in developing alternatives and preparing environmental analyses. APWGs will serve in a recommending capacity as the BLM cannot relinquish its decision-making authority or responsibility. As an example, travel management plans would be developed with an APWG.
The objectives of APWGs include:
Minimizing analysis and decision making controversy by being proactive rather than reactive to public land use and resource conflicts.
Providing effective, cost-efficient, and collaboratively-based solutions to resource conflicts.
Improving resource conditions by recommending practices appropriate to special situations.
Streamlining public land authorizations, increasing implementation flexibility, and notifying public land users of required practices.
All APWG meetings where recommendations are made to the BLM will be open to the public, and will provide for specific and helpful public involvement. This includes providing web-based information to the public prior to any APWG meetings; such that members of the public can provide input to the working session, both early and mid-way through the scheduled meetings.