Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) may best be described as a small agency with a big mission: To sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. It administers more public land – over 245 million surface acres – than any other Federal agency in the United States. Most of this land is located in the 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also manages 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation.
The BLM’s multiple-use mission, set forth in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, mandates that we manage public land resources for a variety of uses, such as energy development, livestock grazing, recreation, and timber harvesting, while protecting a wide array of natural, cultural, and historical resources, many of which are found in the BLM's 27 million-acre National Landscape Conservation System. The conservation system includes 221 Wilderness Areas totaling 8.7 million acres, as well as 16 National Monuments comprising 4.8 million acres.
The BLM does its complex and challenging work with an annual budget of more than $1 billion and a workforce of about 10,000 full-time employees. The BLM is one of a handful of Federal agencies that generates more revenue for the United States than it spends. For example, in Fiscal Year 2012, nearly $5 billion will be generated by activities on BLM-managed lands, including an estimated $4.3 billion from onshore oil and gas development, with about half of those revenues going to the states where the mineral leasing occurred.
The BLM is focusing on the following priorities:
By strengthening existing and forging new partnerships with stakeholders, the BLM will ensure that the nation’s public lands are managed and conserved for future generations of Americans to use and enjoy. BLM is responsible for managing a large spectrum of natural resource values. Below are listed links to other of our natural resource management and administrative support programs:
About the BLM's History Project
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), created in 1946 through a merger of the General Land Office (GLO) and the U.S. Grazing Service, has roots going back to the creation of the GLO in 1812. In celebration of 200 years of land management, the BLM presents this website -- a collection of the stories, traditions and heritage that make up our unique history. BLM employees, current and retired, have contributed to this labor of love and many more will continue to add their unique histories over time.
The challenge of managing public lands started as soon as America established its independence and began acquiring additional lands. Initially, these public lands were used to encourage homesteading and westward migration, and the General Land Office (GLO) was created to support this national goal. Over time, however, values and attitudes regarding public lands shifted. Many significant laws and events led to the establishment of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and laid the foundation for its mission to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.
1812 - General Land Office is established within the Treasury Department to oversee disposition of ceded and acquired lands. As the successor agency to the original GLO, the Bureau of Land Management maintains more than nine million historic land documents:
Many of these records can be found at: www.glorecords.blm.gov
The life of a surveyor was hard. Many oral and written accounts by surveyors tell the story of discovery, hardship, excitement, misery and financial loss. One 1852 field note record of an Iowa survey reads, "one of my men was accidently shot yesterday and died almost instantly." The field notes continue with bearings and distances to the grave of deceased surveyor Ivy Johnson.
1824 - Office of Indian Affairs is established in the Department of War and is later transferred to the Department of the Interior.
1837 - On its 25th anniversary, the General Land Office has 65 district land offices.
1843 - “Great Migration” on the Oregon Trail begins.
1844 - First geological surveys of public lands are initiated by the General Land Office in Michigan.
1849 - Department of the Interior is established and the General Land Office is transferred to the new department.
1850 - First railroad land grants are made in Illinois, Alabama, and Mississippi.
1862 - Homestead Act entitles settlers to 160 acres of public land after they reside on and cultivate the land for 5 years. By 1934, over 1.6 million homestead applications were processed and more than 270 million acres—10 percent of all U.S. lands—passed into the hands of individuals.
1862 - Transcontinental Railroad Act gives railroad companies rights-of-way and alternate sections of public domain lands along both sides of their railroads.
1869 - First transcontinental railroad is completed at Promontory Summit, Utah.
1872 - General Mining Law identifies mineral lands as a distinct class of public lands subject to exploration, occupation, and purchase under stipulated conditions.
1872 - Establishment of Yellowstone National Park marks a shift from disposition to conservation and protection of federal lands.
1877 - Desert Land Act authorizes the disposition of 640-acre tracts of public lands to homesteaders upon proof of reclamation of the lands by irrigation.
1878 - Timber and Stone Act authorizes the negotiated sale of lands that are valuable for either logging or mining and otherwise unfit for cultivation.
1889 - Oklahoma Land Rush begins the disposal of federal public domain lands in Oklahoma.
1894 - Carey Act authorizes transfer of up to 1 million acres of public desert land to states for settling, irrigating, and cultivating purposes.
1897 - Forest Management “Organic” Act transfers fire protection responsibilities for forest reserves from the Department of Army to the General Land Office.
1898 - Congress extends homestead laws to Alaska.
1906 - Antiquities Act preserves and protects prehistoric, historic, and scientifically significant sites on public lands and creates national monuments.
1911 - Weeks Act permits the federal purchase of private land to protect the headwaters of rivers and watersheds and calls for cooperative fire protection efforts.
1916 - Stock Raising Homestead Act authorizes homesteads of 640 acres and separates surface rights from subsurface (mineral) rights.
1920 - Mineral Leasing Act authorizes federal leasing of public lands for private extraction of oil, gas, coal, phosphate, sodium, and other minerals.
1926 - Recreation and Public Purposes Act allows conveyance or lease of public lands to state and local governments for outdoor recreation purposes.
1934 - Taylor Grazing Act authorizes grazing districts, grazing regulation, and public rangeland improvements in western states (excluding Alaska) and establishes the Division of Grazing (later renamed the U.S. Grazing Service) within the Department of the Interior.
1937 - Oregon and California (O&C) Revested Lands Sustained Yield Management Act requires O&C Railroad lands to be managed for permanent forest production and provides for watershed protection, regulation of stream flow, and recreational facilities.
1939 - Alaskan Fire Control Service is created within the General Land Office to prevent and suppress fires on Alaska public lands.
1942 - Extensive withdrawals of public lands for military and defense use begin, with more than 13 million acres withdrawn in 2 years.
1946 - Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is established within the Department of the Interior through the consolidation of the General Land Office and the U.S. Grazing Service.
1953 - Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to lease mineral lands more than 3 miles offshore; the BLM assumes responsibility for leasing through competitive sales.
Oil well operation
1954 - Recreation and Public Purposes Act amends the 1926 act and allows the sale and lease of public lands for other purposes in addition to recreation.
1954 - The BLM reorganizes and creates a state office system.
1955 - Multiple Surface Use Act withdraws common varieties of minerals from entry as mining claims and allows claim owners to use the surface for mining operation purposes only.
1960 - Public Land Administration Act allows the use of donations and cooperative agreements to improve and better manage public lands.
1964 - Public Land Law Review Commission is established to study public land laws and make long-term recommendations for public land use.
1964 - Wilderness Act protects undeveloped federal land to preserve its natural condition.
1965 - Land and Water Conservation Fund is established for federal acquisition of outdoor recreation areas.
1966 - National Historic Preservation Act expands protection of prehistoric and historic properties.
1968 - Wild and Scenic Rivers and National Trails System Acts preserve sites with outstanding natural, cultural, scenic, historic, and recreational significance.
1969 - National Environmental Policy Act requires federal agencies to assess the impacts of their actions on the environment.
1971 - Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act provides for settlement of aboriginal land claims of Alaskan Natives and Native groups; the BLM is tasked with the largest U.S. land transfer effort ever undertaken.
1971 - Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act provides for the protection and management of these animals on federal lands.
1973 - Endangered Species Act requires the conservation of threatened and endangered plants and animals and the ecosystems upon which they depend.
1975 - Energy Policy and Conservation Act addresses energy demands and establishes a strategic petroleum reserve.
1976 - Federal Land Policy and Management Act requires that public lands be managed for multiple uses and sustained yield through land use planning.
1976 - Management of the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska is transferred to the BLM.
1977 - Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act ensures environmental safeguards for mining and reclamation of mined areas.
1977 - Trans Alaska Pipeline System begins transporting oil 800 miles from Alaska’s North Slope to the Port of Valdez.
1978 - Public Rangelands Improvement Act requires inventory, determination of trends, and improvement of public rangelands.
1979 - Archaeological Resources Protection Act requires permits for excavation or removal of these resources from federal lands and provides stringent criminal and civil penalties for violations.
1980 - Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act designates and conserves public lands in Alaska as national parks, wildlife refuges, wild and scenic rivers, wilderness, and forests and provides for subsistence use by rural Alaska residents.
1980 - The BLM completes its first resource management plan, covering the California Desert Conservation Area, and designates its first areas of critical environmental concern in Utah and California.
1983 - The BLM transfers responsibility for offshore leasing to the Minerals Management Service.
1987 - Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Reform Act establishes a new leasing system and changes certain operational procedures for onshore resources on federal lands.
1990 - Northern spotted owl is listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, leading to an enjoinment of all timber sales on federal lands within its range.
1992 - Energy Policy Act increases focus on alternative energy sources, energy efficiency, and reducing the country’s reliance on foreign fuel sources.
1993 - Presidential summit leads to the development of the Northwest Forest Plan to address human and environmental needs in areas within the northern spotted owl region.
1994 - BLM Summit, the first ever gathering of all BLM managers, resulted in the development of a new strategic vision for the BLM.
1994 - Rangeland Reform ’94 amends grazing regulations and establishes Resource Advisory Councils.
1996 - Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is designated by Presidential proclamation as BLM’s first national monument.
2000 - National Landscape Conservation System is established.
2000 - Executive Order 13175 mandates consultation and collaboration with tribal officials in developing federal policy that has tribal implications.
2005 - Energy Policy Act ensures energy efficiency and the production of secure, affordable, and reliable domestic energy.
2008 - BLM-managed lands are officially designated as the National System of Public Lands.
2009 - Omnibus Public Land Management Act authorizes the 26-million-acre National Landscape Conservation System and establishes permit requirements and penalties for unauthorized removal of paleontological resources from federal lands.
(Link: https://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/more.html)