Onshore Access
In Brief

Access to Federal Lands Onshore

Production of resources from multi-use, non-park federal lands is essential to providing the energy resources necessary to
grow the U.S. economy, enhancing U.S. energy security, spurring the creation of new high-paying American jobs, increasing
revenue to the federal and state governments, and improving the U.S. balance of trade.

API Position
The following guidelines should be taken into account when addressing specific land access issues:
• U.S. federal lands should be managed in a multiple-use manner that does not exclude exploration and production of
natural resources.

• Land use decisions should recognize that oil and natural gas exploration and production activities can be carried out
without adverse consequences to the regional environment.

• Government land use decisions should be based on the best scientific evidence available at the time. It should be
recognized that new scientific evidence may justify a change in previously made land use decisions. Moreover,
government decisions should be made within a specific, well-defined timeframe.

• Policy initiatives are needed to address the vulnerability of permits to litigation and ensure adequate resources (staff and
funding) are made available to the regulatory agencies for environmental studies and issuance of permits.

• Government should ensure that adequate resources (staff and funding) are made available to the regulatory agencies to
meet their responsibilities, fulfill their statutory mandates to complete timely NEPA reviews of projects and regional
planning documents, and to issue permits required for exploration and production operations.

• Government should take the steps necessary to ensure coordination between regulatory agencies, thus avoiding
inefficiencies and duplication of effort. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) pilot office program—co-locating
professionals from U.S. Fish and Wildlife and other agencies with BLM land management professionals in select BLM
field offices in the West—has increased efficiency in permit decision-making and should be made permanent and
expanded to include all BLM offices.

January 2011