To take your class or department on a trip to public lands, FLC needs to acquire permits from the agency that manages that land. Use these pages and forms to facilitate the process.
In short, land management agencies are tasked with different sets of priorities and goals for the land they manage. The US Forest Service (USFS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM), for instance, manage often competing interests in the use of the land (e.g. energy development and cultural resource preservation). Additionally, tracts of land within and across spans of BLM or USFS land may carry wilderness or other designations that indicate additional usage parameters.
As individuals, we have access to these lands with a wide degree of latitude. As groups, however, we impact the land, and other people using the land, more heavily and require special consideration.
In addition to whatever content you’ll cover on your trip, you’ll need to do some research about the place you intend to go in order to submit a successful request for a permit. Read these tips.
Get your request into the FLC Permitting Coordinator at least 6 months before the start of your trip. More advance notice is better in the event we need to make modifications.
You’ll need to be able to articulate to the land management agency the value of your proposal as it relates to their mission—similar to a grant proposal. You will want to speak to the following points:
Land management agencies require exact locations. In order to facilitate FLC’s communication with land agencies, we’ve implemented an internal procedure for this aspect. When you submit your form to our Permitting Coordinator, you’ll be asked to use a specific online mapping tool, CalTOPO. Please watch this video for instructions and tips.
FLC’s Permitting Coordinator is the liaison between the College and land management agencies. Use the form on this site to provide the Permitting Coordinator with sufficient information to submit your permit application. The form is designed to prompt you for the commonly required information, but we may request additional information.
Submit permit request
It may be several months before we hear back from the land management agency. It may require additional time and information before a permit is issued. Additionally, the permit request may be denied. If your request is denied, we’ll work with you to resubmit an updated and edited version.
Following your trip, you’ll be asked to submit a very brief form that describes any differences in how the trip actually played out from what you’d planned (e.g. actual number of people on the trip after any cancellations) and any incidents or near-misses.
Submit post-trip form