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SO NOW THAT WE'VE GONE OVER THE BASIC CONSIDERATIONS IN STEP 1,
WE'RE GOING TO GO THROUGH SOME EXAMPLES.
SINCE BRAD AND HIS INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM
RECENTLY DID AN IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY FOR TAOS,
WE'RE GOING TO GET INTO THE SPECIFICS OF WHAT THEY DID
FOR EACH OF THE RESOURCES.
THEN AFTER THAT, WE'LL GET REM AND JOE BACK IN HERE,
AND WE'LL TALK GENERALLY
ABOUT THEIR SUCCESSES AND LESSONS LEARNED
SINCE THEY'VE BEEN IMPLEMENTING THEIR PLAN FOR A FEW YEARS.
NOW, OF COURSE, MEGAN, YOU CAN CHIME IN ANY TIME
WITH YOUR EXPERIENCES AS WELL.
SO, BRAD, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY
WAS THE MOST CHALLENGING ASPECT OF STEP 1
AND HOW DID YOU OVERCOME IT?
THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE FOR ME
WAS FIGURING OUT HOW THE RMP DECISIONS
TRANSLATE TO DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONAL PATHS OR ACTIONS.
I FELT TO A LARGE EXTENT
THAT WE HAD TO CONSIDER HOW THE RMP LANGUAGE
TRANSLATED TO PROJECT ELEMENT LANGUAGE
BY IDENTIFYING THE APPLICABLE PE CODES.
THIS GOT TO BE A BIT EASIER
AS WE BECAME MORE FAMILIAR WITH THE PE CODES,
AND YOU'LL HAVE THE BENEFIT OF USING THE EXAMPLE SPREADSHEET
AS A STARTING POINT.
IT'S GOING TO SEEM LIKE A DAUNTING TASK,
AND MANY OF YOU MAY SPEND A LOT OF TIME
CONCERNED ABOUT WHERE EACH PROJECT GOES
AND HOW YOUR WORK FITS INTO THE SHEET.
JUST REMEMBER TO GET IT ALL OUT THERE DURING THIS STEP
AND NOT TO WORRY TOO MUCH ABOUT LUMPING OR SPLITTING.
THESE THINGS WILL FALL INTO PLACE MORE
AS YOU GO THROUGH THE STEPS.
SO, BRAD, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY
ARE SOME OF THE BENEFITS THAT YOU EXPERIENCED
WHILE DOING STEP 1?
NO QUESTION, DEVELOPING THE IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY
ALLOWED US TO BETTER FOCUS OUR RMP'S VISION,
THAT IS, THE EXERCISE ENABLED OUR FIELD OFFICE
TO SEE MORE CLEARLY WHAT WE NEED TO DO
TO MEET THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE PLAN.
JUST AS IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
WHEN IT'S IMPERATIVE THAT YOU IDENTIFY ALL THE TASKS
AND SUBTASKS NECESSARY TO REACH A MILESTONE,
THE IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY ALLOWED US
TO IDENTIFY AND DEFINE ALL THE TASKS NECESSARY
TO MEET THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE PLAN
AND UNDERSTAND THE CRITICAL PATH FOR ITS IMPLEMENTATION.
ALSO, VERY IMPORTANTLY,
THIS STRATEGY GIVES OUR FIELD OFFICE COLLECTIVELY
AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT OUR PRIORITIES ARE.
CERTAINLY PRIORITIES SHIFT,
AND AT TIMES WE'VE STRUGGLED TO UNDERSTAND THEM COLLECTIVELY,
BUT THE STRATEGY ALL BUT ELIMINATES
ANY QUESTION OF PRIORITIES.
AND THEY'RE WRITTEN DOWN.
SO IN MORE PHILOSOPHICAL TERMS,
THE STRATEGY PROVIDES A SHARED VISION FOR OUR FIELD OFFICE.
BRAD'S RIGHT, DURING STEP 1,
MANY SPECIALISTS WHO DON'T OFTEN GET TOGETHER
ARE ABLE TO SEE HOW INTERCONNECTED
THE WORK THEY DO IS
AND ARE ABLE TO ADDRESS THIS MORE STRATEGICALLY.
BRAD, YOU FINISHED YOUR STRATEGY ABOUT SIX MONTHS AGO OR SO.
HOW HAVE YOU BEEN USING IT SINCE THEN?
WELL, THIS IS A WORKING DOCUMENT,
SO WE CONTINUE TO MAKE REFINEMENTS AND ADJUSTMENTS
TO BETTER IDENTIFY AND DEFINE
THE IMPLEMENTATION TASKS AND ACTIONS
TO KEEP OUR PRIORITIES FRESH.
WE ALSO USE IT TO PROJECT OUR WORKLOAD MEASURES
FOR THE UPCOMING FISCAL YEAR.
SO LET'S GET MORE SPECIFIC.
WE'RE GOING TO WALK THROUGH THE RESOURCE CATEGORIES OUTLINE,
AND IF YOU WANT TO FOLLOW ALONG IN YOUR PARTICIPANT GUIDE,
IT MIGHT HELP YOU TRACK WITH WHAT WE'RE DOING.
BRAD, WHAT TYPES OF PROJECTS DID YOUR TEAM COME UP WITH
IN THE NATURAL RESOURCES CATEGORY?
FOR PHYSICAL RESOURCES SUCH AS AIR, WATER AND SOIL,
WE MADE SURE TO INCLUDE ASSESSMENTS AND MONITORING
FOR EACH RESOURCE.
FOR WATER, WE IDENTIFIED THE NEED TO DEVELOP WATERSHED PLANS
AND TO ALSO OBTAIN WATER RIGHTS
TO THE SANTA FE RIVER, FOR EXAMPLE,
TO SUPPORT SOME OF OUR OTHER RESOURCE PROGRAM OBJECTIVES.
IN SOILS, WE IDENTIFIED THE NEED
TO DEVELOP SOILS STABILIZATION PROJECTS.
THAT SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD MIX OF REGULAR PROJECTS
AND SOME SPECIAL PROJECTS.
AND HOW DID YOU DEAL WITH THE WORKLOAD FOR HABITAT MANAGEMENT?
FIRST, WE RECOGNIZED THE NEED TO COMPLETE LAND HEALTH ASSESSMENTS
AS PART OF OUR REGULAR WORKLOAD.
THE NEXT STEP WOULD BE
TO INDICATE THE APPROPRIATE TREATMENTS
BASED ON THESE ASSESSMENTS,
WHICH WE IDENTIFIED IN A FEW DIFFERENT WAYS.
UNDER GRASSLANDS AND SHRUBLANDS, WE DESCRIBE THIS AS
"MAINTAIN NATIVE AND DESIRABLE AND NONNATIVE PLANT COMMUNITIES
IN NON-FORESTED AREAS."
THIS IS CONSISTENT WITH THE GOAL IN OUR PLAN
AND COMBINES THE USE OF MULTIPLE PE CODES
THAT ADDRESS VEGETATION AND TREATMENTS.
WE FOUND THAT THIS IDENTIFIES THE WORKLOAD
AND ALLOWS FOR FLEXIBILITY AND AVAILABLE METHODS.
AS WE LEARN MORE IN THE OUT YEARS,
WE'LL BE ABLE TO BE MORE SPECIFIC.
IN FORESTRY, HOWEVER, WE IDENTIFIED THE WORKLOADS
AS TREATING AREAS OUTSIDE THE WUI
TO MEET FOREST MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES
AND TO SHIFT CERTAIN AREAS
FROM FIRE REGIME CLASS CONDITION 2 AND 3 TO CLASS 1 AND 2.
AGAIN, WE USED A COMBINATION OF PE CODES,
BUT EACH WAS DIRECTLY RELATED TO OUR PLAN OUTCOMES.
FOR FISH AND WILDLIFE AND SPECIAL-STATUS SPECIES,
IN ADDITION TO INVENTORY AND MONITORING,
WE ALSO IDENTIFY COOPERATING WITH PARTNERS,
CONSULTATIONS WITH TRIBES AND CERTAIN AGENCIES,
AND MEETING WITH WORKING GROUPS IN CERTAIN PROJECTS.
THERE ISN'T A SPECIFIC PE CODE
PROVIDED FOR THESE TYPES OF ACTIVITIES,
BUT THIS IS A LARGE WORKLOAD FOR OUR OFFICE
AND WE FELT IT NEEDED TO BE CAPTURED.
THAT'S A GOOD POINT, BRAD.
IF THERE'S A SIGNIFICANT WORKLOAD OR AN ACTIVITY
THAT DOESN'T HAVE AN ASSOCIATED PE CODE,
IT STILL NEEDS TO BE CAPTURED ON THE SPREADSHEET,
AND THEN YOU CAN ASK YOUR STATE LEAD
IF THEY CAN RECOMMEND A CODE
OR POSSIBLY TALK ABOUT WHETHER TO CREATE A NEW CODE.
SO HOW DID YOU DEAL WITH CULTURAL RESOURCES?
A LOT OF THE CULTURAL WORK
FOCUSED ON SURVEYS REQUIRED UNDER SECTION 106
OF THE NATIONAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION ACT,
AND THEN OUR PROACTIVE WORK,
OUR ARCHAEOLOGISTS ADDED THINGS LIKE
CONDUCT PROACTIVE INVENTORIES
AND DEVELOP FIELD SCHOOL OPPORTUNITIES
AND OTHER EDUCATIONAL AND OUTREACH OPPORTUNITIES.
SO HOW ABOUT SPECIAL DESIGNATIONS?
WE DESIGNATED AND EXPANDED SEVERAL ACEC'S IN THE RMP.
SO WE CREATE A ROW FOR EACH ACEC
AND THEN LOOKED AT THE MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES
TO IDENTIFY SPECIFIC PROJECTS TO UNDERTAKE WITHIN EACH.
SINCE SO MANY ACEC'S REQUIRE ACTIVITY PLANS,
"DEVELOP AN ACTIVITY PLAN"
WAS THE FIRST ITEM WE MIGHT HAVE USED.
I IMAGINE WE'LL FILL IN THE PROJECTS
THAT COME OUT OF THESE PLANS ONCE THEY'RE COMPLETED.
AND DEPENDING THE RELEVANT IMPORTANT VALUES OF THE ACEC'S,
DIFFERENT SPECIALISTS WOULD LIKELY BE INVOLVED
IN IDENTIFYING THE PROJECTS FOR ACEC.
A COUPLE EXAMPLES ARE TO "ACQUIRE LANDS WITHIN ACEC'S"
OR "IMPLEMENT ROAD CLOSURES
BY SIGNING OR DECOMMISSIONING ROADS".
ACTIVITIES UNDER ACEC'S WERE MORE DETAILED
THAN FOR NATURAL RESOURCES
AND HAD CROSS REFERENCES WITH A LOT OF OTHER PROGRAMS.
ACEC'S ARE OFTEN YOUR FOCAL AREAS, ANYWAY,
AND FORTUNATELY YOU'RE ABLE TO BE SPECIFIC
ABOUT WHAT PROJECTS YOU HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH,
WHETHER THEY BE VEGETATION TREATMENTS, CULTURAL SURVEYS,
OR TRAIL WORK.
SO HOW ABOUT DEMAND-DRIVEN WORK SUCH AS ENERGY AND MINERALS
OR LANDS AND REALTY?
HOW DID YOU DO THAT?
WE MADE SURE TO CAPTURE
ALL THE WORK ASSOCIATED WITH THESE PROGRAMS
FROM APPLICATION OR NOMINATION
THROUGH INSPECTION AND MONITORING.
WE ALSO INCLUDED COOPERATING WORKLOADS WHERE APPROPRIATE.
MOST OF OUR PROJECTS ADDRESSED ACTIONS SUCH AS "PROCESS APD'S"
AND "CONDUCT INSPECTIONS FOR OIL AND GAS"
OR "PROCESS MINING CLAIMS FOR LOCATABLE MINERALS".
FOR RIGHTS-OF-WAYS IN THE DIRECT COMMUNITY SERVICE TAB,
IT WAS SIMILAR.
"PROCESS NEW RIGHTS-OF-WAYS"
AND "CONDUCT COMPLIANCE AND INSPECTIONS"
WERE TWO MAJOR WORKLOADS.
SO DID YOU ADD GEOGRAPHIC SPECIFICITY TO THESE
OR DID YOU JUST LEAVE IT PLANNING AREA-WIDE?
WELL, FOR MOST OF THE DEMAND-DRIVEN WORK,
YOU WON'T KNOW THE GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION
UNTIL THE PROPOSAL GETS IN THE DOOR.
SO WE LEFT THIS PLANNING AREA-WIDE.
SO I IMAGINE THAT THE WORKLOADS IN MANY OF THESE CATEGORIES
WOULD BE SIMILAR FOR MOST BLM OFFICES,
AND THAT'S WHY WE THINK THE EXAMPLE SPREADSHEET
WOULD BE HELPFUL,
BECAUSE IT'S PRETTY INCLUSIVE ON MOST AREAS.
HOW ABOUT RANGE MANAGEMENT, WAS THAT FAIRLY STANDARD AS WELL?
YOU KNOW, IS IT SIMILAR TO WHAT WAS IN THE EXAMPLE SPREADSHEET?
YES, ONCE WE SEPARATED RANGE MANAGEMENT
FROM VEGETATION TREATMENTS,
MOST OF THE WORK ASSOCIATED WITH RANGE MANAGEMENT
IS ADMINISTRATIVE.
WE INCLUDED "PROCESS PERMIT RENEWALS",
"DEVELOP ALLOTMENT MANAGEMENT PLANS",
AND "EVALUATE STANDARDS FOR RANGELAND HEALTH".
HOW ABOUT MANAGEMENT OF FOREST PRODUCT SALES?
AGAIN, THIS WAS PRETTY STANDARD.
SO IT ENDED UP BEING CLOSE TO THE EXAMPLE SPREADSHEET.
WE INCLUDED "IDENTIFICATION OF AREAS AVAILABLE FOR SALE",
"PREPARING PERMITS AND CONTRACTS",
AND THEN "MONITORING SALE AREAS".
TAOS IS BIG FOR RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES.
HOW DID YOU FIT THAT HUGE WORKLOAD INTO THE SPREADSHEETS?
WELL, WE DESIGNATED A LOT OF SRMA'S AND RMA'S
IN THE LAND USE PLAN.
SO JUST AS WE DID WITH ACEC'S, WE CREATED A LINE FOR EACH ONE.
FOR MANY OF THE AREAS,
THE ACTIONS WERE PRETTY MUCH THE SAME
AS WE INTEND TO PREPARE ACTIVITIES PLANS FOR EACH.
THIS MEANS AN INVENTORY IS NECESSARY
BEFORE DEVELOPING A RECREATION AREA PLAN.
ALSO INCLUDED WERE
"DESIGN AND CONSTRUCT FACILITIES WHERE APPROPRIATE"
AND "PUBLISH MAPS AND OTHER INTERPRETIVE MATERIALS".
SOME AREAS HAD MORE SPECIFIC ACTIONS SUCH AS
"CLOSE THE AREA TO SHOOTING" OR "OBTAIN EASEMENTS".
OF COURSE, YOU DON'T WANT TO FORGET
THAT YOU'LL NEED TO ENTER MORE PROJECTS INTO THE SPREADSHEET
AFTER YOU'VE COMPLETED THE RECREATION AREA PLANS.
YOUR PLANNING ENVIRONMENTAL COORDINATOR
SHOULD BE ABLE TO HELP YOU WITH THIS.
SO WHAT KIND OF ACTIVITIES DID YOU HAVE
THAT WERE PLANNING AREA-WIDE?
WE IDENTIFIED "PROCESS AND MANAGE RECREATION USE PERMITS"
AS AN AREA-WIDE PROJECT,
BUT THEY COULD ALSO BE SRMA SPECIFIC.
HOW ABOUT RMP OBJECTIVES FOR TRAVEL MANAGEMENT?
RMP DIVIDES THE PLANNING AREA INTO TRAVEL MANAGEMENT UNITS,
AND A SEPARATE ROW WAS ADDED FOR EACH UNIT,
AS THEY CAN BE PRIORITIZED LATER.
EACH UNIT HAS IDENTICAL PROJECTS LISTED,
INCLUDING "INVENTORY ROADS AND TRAILS AND DEVELOP A PLAN".
FOLLOWING TRAVEL MANAGEMENT PLANS, PROJECTS INCLUDE
"CLOSE NON-DESIGNATED ROADS"
AND "CONSTRUCT AND MAINTAIN ROADS AND TRAILS",
AND "MONITOR ROADS AND TRAILS".
SO THE TASKS AND AMOUNTS WOULD BE MORE SPECIFIC
AFTER YOU FINISHED THE TRAVEL MANAGEMENT PLAN
SIMILAR TO THE ACEC'S, RIGHT?
RIGHT.
WE'LL KNOW MORE ABOUT WHERE SIGNS ARE NEEDED
AND ROAD CLOSURES SHOULD TAKE PLACE
ONCE THE PLANS ARE DONE
AND WE'LL ENTER THOSE INTO THE SHEETS.
SO HOW ABOUT THE RESOURCES AND DIRECT COMMUNITY SERVICES?
WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT RIGHTS-OF-WAYS,
BUT WHAT ABOUT LAND TENURE?
THE TAOS RMP RECOMMENDS SEVERAL AREAS FOR WITHDRAWAL.
SO ONE REALTY ACTION IS TO PROCESS THE WITHDRAWALS.
WE'RE ALSO AWARE OF SOME UPCOMING EXCHANGES,
RMPP LEASES AND DISPOSALS.
SO WE INCLUDED THEM SPECIFICALLY AND ADDED PLACEHOLDERS FOR THOSE
AS THEY COME UP IN FUTURE WORKLOADS.
HOW ABOUT FIRE MANAGEMENT?
SIMILAR TO RANGE MANAGEMENT,
WE SEPARATED OUT THE VEGETATION TREATMENTS DONE
TO ADDRESS THE FRCC OUTSIDE THE WUI
AND FOCUSED ON THE FIRE PROGRAM
AND THOSE PROJECTS WITHIN THE WUI.
WE INCLUDE "COMPLETE AND UPDATE BURN PLANS",
"IMPLEMENT FUELS REDUCTIONS IN THE WUI",
"PROVIDE RURAL FIRE AND COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE",
AND "PARTICIPATE IN OTHER COOPERATIVE EFFORTS".
SO HOW ABOUT THE LAST ONE, HOW DID YOU ADDRESS PUBLIC SAFETY?
WE MADE SURE TO INCLUDE
DIFFERENT TYPES OF LAW ENFORCEMENT
AND CRIME INVESTIGATION ACTIVITIES.
FOR HAZARDOUS WASTE, WE INCLUDED
"IDENTIFY HAZ-MAT SITES" AND "RESPOND TO EMERGENCIES".
UNDER ABANDONED MINE LANDS, WE INCLUDED
"INVENTORY SITES", "REMEDIATE SITES",
AND "MONITOR THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE REMEDIATION".
SOUNDS LIKE YOU DID A PRETTY THOROUGH JOB
CAPTURING ALL THE WORK,
BUT SINCE IT'S BEEN DONE,
HAVE YOU FOUND ANYTHING THAT'S MISSING
IN THE WORKSHEETS?
WE DID.
WE PRIMARILY PICKED UP ON SOME INCONSISTENCIES
AMONG CATEGORIES.
FOR EXAMPLE, ACTIVITY-LEVEL PLANNING
FOR WHICH THE DF PROJECT ELEMENT CODE MAY BE USED.
IT WAS WELL CAPTURED UNDER SOME CATEGORIES SUCH AS RECREATION
BUT WAS OVERLOOKED UNDER OTHERS.
RECOGNIZING THE INCONSISTENCIES
HAS ALLOWED US TO ADD MISSING TASKS OR ACTIVITIES
UNDER SOME OF THE PROGRAMS.
WE ALSO ADDED CROSS REFERENCES
THAT WEREN'T ORIGINALLY CONSIDERED.
THANKS FOR SHARING YOUR TAOS STRATEGY WITH US.
I'M SURE THAT'S REALLY GOING TO HELP THE FOLKS OUT IN THE FIELD
WHEN THEY START POPULATING THEIR SPREADSHEETS.
I KNOW WE WENT THROUGH IT PRETTY QUICKLY,
SO YOU MAY WANT TO PLAY THIS VIDEO BACK
TO GET SOME MORE DETAILS.
SO NOW LET'S GET JOE AND REM BACK IN HERE
TO TALK ABOUT CASPER AND PHOENIX.