§ 2861.2 What is the objective of the BLM's Communications Uses program?

It is the BLM's objective to authorize and administer communications uses under Title V of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 and the regulations in this part to qualified individuals or business or governmental entities and to direct and control communications uses on public lands in a manner that: (a) Protects the natural resources associated with public lands and adjacent lands, whether private or administered by a governmental entity; (b) Facilitates the orderly development of communications uses on BLM-administered lands and provides for a safe and high-quality communications environment for the public; (c) Prevents unnecessary or undue degradation to public lands; (d) Collects fair market value for communications uses that occupy BLM-administered lands through the collection of annual rental fees; (e) Promotes the expansion of communications uses in rural America and use of rights-of-way in common wherever practical, considering engineering and technological compatibility, national security, and land use plans; and (f) Coordinates, to the fullest extent possible, all BLM actions under the regulations in this part with State and local governments, Tribes, interested individuals, and appropriate quasi-public entities.