Jennifer Meineke, M.Sc. (Former Employee)

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires federal agencies to assess potential impacts of proposed actions as part of their decision-making processes. Assessing potential cumulative effects is a challenging component of NEPA analyses. The USGS is working with the Bureau of Land Management to develop a process that public land managers can use to strengthen cumulative effects analyses.

Resource management decisions need to be informed by up-to-date, quality science and data. However there is sometimes an overwhelming number of scientific publications for managers to consider in their decisions. This project provides concise summaries of recent, peer-reviewed science and data products about different resources and topics of management concern, integrated into a searchable tool.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is committed to using science-informed decision making for the public lands and resources that it manages. Uses on these lands are varied, and decisions are complex. USGS and BLM are working together to identify specific needs for data, science, methods, and mitigation actions that can strengthen the science foundation for BLM planning and management decisions.

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