Policy Review: BLM Manual 6330, Management of BLM Wilderness Study Areas

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior. ACTION: Notice of policy and procedural guidance. SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is seeking public comment on potential updates to BLM Manual 6330—Management of Wilderness Study Areas and is interested in receiving information and recommendations regarding whether updates, clarifications, or other revisions to existing Manual 6330 may be appropriate. DATES: Send your comments on Manual 6330 on or before August 14, 2026. The BLM is not obligated to consider comments received after this date. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods. Please include the words “Management of Wilderness Study Areas” as an identifier in your message. To submit comments electronically, go to https://www.regulations.gov. In the Search-box, enter “BLM-2026-0069” and click the “Search” button. Click the “Comment Now!” button. Comments can also be mailed or hand delivered to: U.S. Department of the Interior, Director (630), Bureau of Land Management, 1849 C St. NW, Room 5646, Washington, DC 20240, Attention: Management of Wilderness Study Areas. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The BLM is seeking public comment on potential updates to BLM Manual 6330—Management of Wilderness Study Areas. The manual provides policy and guidance for managing wilderness study areas (WSAs) to maintain their suitability for potential congressional designation as wilderness, until Congress makes a final determination. It defines the non-impairment standard for WSAs and outlines requirements for BLM managers to manage the resources on these lands in a manner that maintains each WSA's suitability for preservation as wilderness. The WSA policy applies to: (1) WSAs identified by the wilderness review required by section 603 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA); (2) Legislative WSAs established by Congress; and (3) WSAs that were identified and submitted to Congress in Wilderness Study Reports under the authority of section 202 of FLPMA. With respect to certain section 202 WSAs that were identified after the Wilderness Study Reports were submitted to Congress, this policy applies until the designation is changed through BLM's land use planning process. The BLM is interested in receiving information and recommendations regarding whether updates, clarifications, or other revisions to existing Manual 6330 may be appropriate. Before including your address, phone number, email address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. (Authority: 43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) Carla M. Bock, Acting Assistant Director, National Conservation Lands and Community Partnerships.