Using public litigation records to identify priority science and data needs for the Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages a large area of public lands in the western U.S. for multiple uses and values. Because some of these uses and values may conflict, the agency’s decisions can be controversial and are often challenged. We analyzed public legal records to help identify priority information needs that could strengthen science-based decision-making in the BLM
The BLM manages a large area of federal public lands in the western United States and is frequently challenged on its planning and management decisions. As a part of a greater project to identify priority science needs for the BLM, the USGS worked together with the BLM to study a subset of recent challenges to BLM decisions to identify priority science needs for the agency. Specifically, we searched publicly available case documents challenging BLM decisions in the Department of Interior (DOI) Office of Hearings and Appeals and in federal courts.
Approach
We developed and applied a structured, repeatable method for analyzing litigation records to meet the following objectives:
1. Describe characteristics of case documents challenging the BLM’s use of science,
2. Identify how and where the BLM is commonly challenged on its use of science (e.g., allegations that BLM failed to adequately analyze the impacts of energy development on big game species), and
3. Use the challenges and associated information from case documents to identify priority science needs (e.g., new data about the presence or condition of big game species).
Anticipated Benefit
Through this process we identified a set of priority information needs for the BLM, which the agency may use to prioritize actions, such as funding new research or science syntheses, to strengthen its science-foundation for decision-making.
