Permits - Alaska

Bureau of Land Management

Timeline & Form: The required BLM form is 2920-1, and processing can take 60-90 days. The BLM requests that the 2920-1 form be submitted as soon as possible once the NSF has recommended a project for funding.
 
Fees: The fees associated with the BLM permit will vary from project to project, but some general guidelines are below. Note that research projects based out of the University of Alaska system do not pay the processing fee or monitoring fee.

• Processing Fee:
  • ~$400 for a Category 2 classification
  • This fee is contingent on the number of processing hours estimated by the BLM for the permit. In general, most research projects at Toolik fall under ‘category 2’ for processing permits.
• Monitoring Fee:
  • ~$100/year for a Category 1 classification
  • This fee is contingent on the number of monitoring hours estimated by the BLM for the project. In general, most research projects at Toolik fall under ‘category 1’ for monitoring.
• Site Rental Fee:
  • ~$200.00/site/year
  • This fee is contingent on how many sites a research project has. This is determined by the BLM on a case-by-case basis. If sampling locations are relatively close together and have the same general activities at each location the BLM will likely classify this as one site. The BLM will likely classify sampling locations as separate sites if they are separated by a relatively large distance geographically or if there are different activities/land-use impacts at each location.

Completing the 2920-1 Form: Filling out the 2920-1 form in a way that emphasizes the potential impacts and hazard mitigation of activities being proposed will facilitate the BLM permitting process. When completing the 2920-1 form, keep the details regarding potential land-use impacts to technical specifications of the activities being performed; specifically, attention should be given to:
 

• Ground disturbances – this is anything that disturbs the vegetation or the soil (e.g., digging holes, trail formation)
  • Digging: If any digging is required, provide estimates of:
    • Number of sites
    • Area (m²) of disturbance
    • Depth into soil
    • Location of digging    
  • Boardwalks: The BLM may require boardwalks as part of the permit in order to mitigate trail formation or damage to vegetation. The researcher may identify/request the need for boardwalks in the permit application, but the BLM will make the final decision as to whether boardwalks are required.
    • Boardwalks may be required if:
      • There is frequent (e.g., daily) travel by multiple individuals.
      • Travel is over the same path (e.g., walking transects).
      • Travel to access field sites is for an extended period of time (e.g., months/years).
      • Heavy field equipment will be transported to the field site.
    • Boardwalks may be unnecessary if:
      • Travel to a field site is infrequent (e.g., biweekly, monthly).
      • Few individuals are walking to a given site.
      • Walking route to the field site can be varied each trip.
• Equipment specifications – If gear or equipment will be left on the tundra, the following information should be provided:
  • Amount of gear/equipment, including size, this should include both size (area of footprint) and weight.
  • Any equipment that uses hazardous materials (e.g. gasoline for a generator, caustic or corrosive chemicals for sample preservation, lead-acid batteries to supply power, etc.).
  • How long equipment will be deployed.
  • How equipment will be staged and retrieved.
  • How potential impacts of equipment will be mitigated (e.g. secondary containment for batteries, platforms for heavy equipment, bear fence to prevent harm by or to wildlife, etc.).
• Location – The BLM requires researchers to identify the locations of their sampling sites in order to determine the cumulative land-use impacts or potential impacts to archeological/historically sensitive locations from a given activity. This can be problematic because often plot-level locations are difficult or impossible to ascertain without on-the-ground surveying of the suitability of different locations. Due to the remoteness of Arctic research sites, pre-field season site surveying trips are generally cost-and-time prohibitive. The following are some tips for providing locations in the 2920-1 form.
  • Go big:
    • If the proposed activity needs to be in a general area (~100-500 m²), then designate the potential area instead of specific sites. Caution: Great care should be exercised when designating an area for sampling if this is the method used. The larger the proposed area the greater the chance of this area overlapping an archeological site or other research projects.
  • The more the merrier:
    • List more potential sites than necessary; therefore, if a site is evaluated as unsuitable by the researcher in the field, there are other permitted sampling locations from which to choose. For example, if a researcher wants to collect 10 soil cores based on a broad classification (e.g., landscape age, aspect, elevation), they may wish to indicate 30 potential sites to the BLM. Caution: Listing more potential sites increases the probability of encountering archeological sites. In addition, the number of sites listed should be reasonable. For example, listing 100+ sites will add time to the permitting process, as the BLM will have to evaluate each site.
  • For projects based out of Toolik Field Station, work with the Toolik GIS office to find potential field sites that will not impact other research or sensitive vegetation.

If a project is classified as ‘casual use’ then a BLM permit is not required. However, only the BLM can make the determination that a project is casual use. There are no specific groups of activities that fall under a ‘casual use’ classification. The BLM looks at the cumulative impact of projects in a certain area, so even if a given activity is classified as ‘casual use’ in one area, the exact same activity may require permitting in a separate location due to the proximity/history of other research projects and/or historically/archeologically sensitive sites.

• BLM lands Statewide
  • BLM issues Cultural Resource Use Permits (CRUPs) to individuals or organization that would like to perform research, studies, or fieldwork on BLM-managed public lands.
  • Additional activities fall under three categories:
    • Casual Use: Depending on the proposed sampling plan, activities might be considered 'Casual Use' (defined as activities resulting in no or negligible disturbance of public lands).
      • The time needed for Casual Use Authorization is approximately 1 month, depending on the season and obligations.
      • Examples of Casual Use include plot observations, active layer sampling, hydrological sampling, and minimal destructive sampling.
      • The BLM ultimately makes the final decision on whether activities are considered Casual Use or need to be further reviewed for an Authorization Permit
      • There is no fee association with Casual Use Authorization.
    • Authorization Permit: These permits are short-term authorizations (up to 3 years) in scope. Most permits require an NEPA review, which includes a BLM interdisciplinary team to review and process the proposal.
      • Authorization Permits take longer to process than Casual Use Authorizations due to the NEPA review.
      • Most proposals are categorical exclusion (CX) level NEPA. A CX is a form of NEPA compliance, without the analysis that occurs in an Environmental Assessment (EA). Occasionally, a proposal will require an EA level analysis.
      • Examples of Authorization Permit activities include the installation of infrastructure, extensive destructive sampling, and temporary boardwalks.
      • A small fee is associated with Authorizaton Permits.
    • Right-of-way Authorization: These authorizations are for periods of time greater than 3 years (e.g., construction of boardwalks).
      • These authorizations will undergo similar review as the Authorization Permits but with a more comprehensive NEPA review.
      • Examples of Right-of-Way Authorizations are construction of permanent meteorological stations, greenhouses, snow fences, and other kinds of long lasting infrastructure.
      • A large fee is associated with Right-of-Way Authorizations.

* Note: Boardwalks are required by the BLM in some situations, depending on how often the site will be accessed, the type of landscape, and how many people will be accessing the site. There will be additional costs involved if boardwalks are deemed necessary, in addition to the cost of installing the boardwalks.

Utqiaġvik

• All projects are subject to permitting. Battelle ARO assists with applications and fees for UICS staff who will plan and prepare applications for North Slope Borough (NSB) and UIC Land Use permits.
• Additional permitting may be required for researchers accessing sites on BLM-administered lands or waters in the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska, which includes Elson Lagoon. Please contact Donna Wixon for further information. Researchers should include costs for all BLM permitting direct-to-grant; the estimated BLM land use permit fee is $1000 per year.

Endangered Species Act – Section 7

Endangered species are protected under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act.

• Based on the location and type of work of the proposed project, review by USFWS could be required to determine whether the proposed project could impact endangered species

  • Battelle ARO will complete USFWS Section 7 consultation on behalf of the NSF and the researcher.

• Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act states that each Federal agency shall, in consultation with the Secretary, insure that any action they authorize, fund, or carry out is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of a listed species or result in the destruction or adverse modification of designated critical habitat. 

• Threatened and Endangered Species in Alaska are listed in the following table. All species subject to impact by a research project will need Section 7 consultation from the respective managing agency.  

• To determine if your work will impact any endangered species or their critical habitat, use the USFWS’s Information for Planning and Consultation website, or NOAA’s species distribution mapper 

Marine Mammal Protection Act

• The Marine Mammal Protection Act prohibits any person who is subject to the jurisdiction of the United States or any vessel or other conveyance subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to take any marine mammal on the high seas. 

• MMPA consultation will end with a no effects determination, a Letter of Authorization, or an Incidental Harassment Authorization. 

• USFWS is responsible for the conservation of polar bears, northern sea otters, and Pacific walruses that inhabit Alaskan waters. Any action that could impact these species will be subject to review by USFWS. 

• NMFS is responsible for all other marine mammals. 

Threatened and Endangered Species List

National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) Section 106, State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) Consultation for Projects with Ground Disturbance/Archaeology Work

• Any project with ground disturbance or archaeology work is subject to SHPO Review.  
  • Battelle ARO can assist in the SHPO consultation process if requested by the PI; this consultation process can take 1 to 6 months. SHPO consultation process
• Any Archaeological investigation taking place on federal lands requires an Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA) Permit.
• In the event that an archaeology project leads to the discovery of Native American human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects and objects of cultural property intentionally excavated or inadvertently discovered on Federal or Tribal lands, researchers need to comply with the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990. Those processes are detailed in regulations available here.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

• In general, UAV use is restricted in national parks except as approved in writing by the superintendent but could vary from park to park. Special use permits can be obtained by checking in with the park superintendent.
• The use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS/drones) is no longer allowed for any US Fish and Wildlife Service supported or permitted use. This prohibition applies to the use of drones for commercial filming and scientific research, even if the use of drones was previously authorized via special use permit.
• For more information on UAS permitting, check out these links:
  • Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) (faa.gov)
  • Unmanned Aircraft in the National Parks (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)
  • Unmanned Aircraft Systems (alaska.gov)
• If you plan to use UAS for your research, visit ArcGIS - Alaska DOT&PF Statewide Aviation UAS to search for your research location, and determine if there are any restrictions or additional permits you may need. 

National Park Service Lands

When doing research in a national park, a researcher must obtain an NPS Scientific Research and Collecting Permit. The NPS uses the web served Research Permit and Reporting System (RPRS) to administer scientific studies and collecting activities within units of the National Park System.
For more information on permitting in national parks:  

State Lands

Permits from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (AK DNR) are needed if you are going to (1) place monitoring equipment on the landscape for more than 2 weeks; (2) stage a camp in one or more locations for more than 2 weeks; or (3) conduct off-road travel to reach a study site.

Land use permits are authorizations issued to use state land, on a temporary basis, for a variety of purposes. The permits range in duration from 1 to 5 years. They are intended for temporary, non-permanent uses such as floating lodges, log storage, scientific research, guide camps, equipment storage, and commercial recreation uses.

Archaeology on State Lands needs a State Cultural Resource Investigation Permit (SCRIP) application.

For more information on State permitting, check out the land use permitting page AK DNR Land Use Permit.

Applications typically take 4-6 weeks to process and have a public notice period for review.

Wildlife Refuges (Fish and Wildlife Service)

A Special Use Permit is required for all scientific studies or research activities occurring on National Wildlife Refuges where the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is not an active participant in the activity.

More information can be found at Scientific Research Permits - Arctic - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (fws.gov).

Native Lands

Any research occurring on tribal lands will require consultation with the native tribe, and tribal permission.

Forest Service Land

To apply for a special use permit on Forest Service land, you’ll need to contact the specific forest service office where research will take place.