Land Management Agencies. Ongoing Initiative to Share Activities and Facilities Needs Management Attention

The organizational and demographic profiles of the Bureau of Land Management BLM, within the Department of the Interior, and the Forest Service, within the Department of Agriculture, are very similar in many respects. The similarities include the agencies missions and goals, the amount of land managed, the purposes for which the land is managed, the types of employees hired, and the location and types of offices maintained. These similarities present opportunities for increasing the cooperation and coordination between the agencies. In March 1996, the Forest Service and BLM announced what they refer to as their Service First initiative, which is aimed at improving customer service and promoting efficiencies and economies in their operations through steps ranging from sharing personnel to colocating offices. The agencies initiated pilot projects in Colorado and Oregon to provide the public with one-stop shopping for the services provided by the agencies. The Congress initially provided the Forest Service and BLM the authority to exercise each others authorities, duties, and responsibilities known as cross-delegation of authority in the pilot locations until fiscal year 2002 to assist the agencies in achieving the goals of the initiative. On October 11, 2000, the cross-delegation of authority was extended agency wide through fiscal year 2005.