Bureau of Land Management
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The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is a federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior tasked with managing more than 245 million surface acres of federal land. The bureau also administers approximately 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate.[1]
The bureau's enacted budget for fiscal year 2024 was $1.53 billion. In fiscal year 2024, the BLM employed approximately 9,777 full-time employees.[2]
History
In 1812, Congress created the General Land Office, a predecessor to the BLM. The office was tasked with overseeing lands acquired from Spain, France, and other nations. Throughout the 19th century, the federal government promoted settlement in newly-held federal lands through the Homestead Act of 1872 and the General Mining Law of 1872.[3]
The first national parks, national forests, and national wildlife refuges were established in the late 19th century on federal land. The Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 permitted the leasing, exploration, and production of coal, oil, and natural gas on federal land. The Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 established the U.S. Grazing Service, which was tasked with managing cattle grazing on federal land.[3]
The General Land Office and the U.S. Grazing Service merged in 1946 to form Bureau of Land Management (BLM). In 1976, Congress passed the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, which declared that existing federal lands would remain under public ownership. The law also established a multiple-use management policy, which is defined as the "management of the public lands and their various resource values so that they are utilized in the combination that will best meet the present and future needs of the American people."[3]
Structure
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| Read more about the administrative state on Ballotpedia. |
Mission
BLM's mission statement is as follows:[4]
| “ | It is the mission of the Bureau of Land Management to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.[5] | ” |
| —U.S. Bureau of Land Management | ||
Responsibilities
The bureau is responsible for managing its land for the following purposes:[6]
- Commercial activities, such as oil, natural gas, and coal exploration and development; livestock forage; and production of forest products
- Recreation, such as hunting, fishing, and other outdoor recreational activities
- Conservation, such as the preservation of natural resources like land and water, archaeological artifacts, and endangered species
For a comprehensive list of the bureau's activities, click here.
Multiple use management
The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) sets out a multiple use management policy for the BLM in which the agency would balance its management of the land to meet diverse needs, including recreation, grazing, timber and mineral production, fish and wildlife protection, and oil and gas production.[7][8]
The act mandated a multiple-use management policy for federal lands and required the BLM to implement this policy:[7]
| “ | The Congress declares that it is the policy of the United States that goals and objectives be established by law as guidelines for public land use planning, and that management be on the basis of multiple use and sustained yield unless otherwise specified by law.[5] | ” |
| —Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976[7] | ||
The act further elaborated on multiple use management:[7]
- The federal government must make a periodic adjustment in the use of federal lands to meet changing needs and conditions.
- The government must consider "a combination of balanced and diverse resource uses that takes into account the long-term needs of future generations for renewable and nonrenewable resources, including, but not limited to, recreation, range, timber, minerals, watershed, wildlife and fish, and natural scenic, scientific and historical values."
The BLM has adopted several management programs to fulfill the act's multiple use demand, including programs for grazing on federal lands, oil and natural gas development, coal production, management of paleontology resources, recreation, wildlife management, and more. According to the BLM, "If it can be done on public lands, there is probably a program for it."[9]
These programs apply specific management decisions depending on the specific area of land and its use. The programs take into account several different aspects of a regulated area, such as topographical features, county boundaries, construction features (such as roads and fence lines), and more. Sometimes certain lands are used for multiple purposes. For example, some lands may be used for grazing, mineral extraction, and recreation. These lands may also contain wildlife or archaeological artifacts.[9]
Staff
The director of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management is appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate.[10]
For a listing of current staff, click here.
Budget and finance
The table below summarizes BLM appropriations and the agency's equivalent of full-time employees (FTEs) for fiscal years 2014 (actual) through 2025 (requested).
| BLM appropriations and FTEs, FY 2014 - 2025 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Appropriations ($ in thousands) | FTEs |
| 2014 (actual) | $1,198,898 | 9,711 |
| 2015 (actual) | $1,138,584 | 9,451 |
| 2016 (actual) | $1,252,359 | 9,641 |
| 2017 (actual) | $1,447,495 | 9,411 |
| 2018 (actual) | $1,224,404 | 8,349 |
| 2019 (actual) | $1,589,510 | 9,454 |
| 2020 (actual) | $1,383,942 | 9,555 |
| 2021 (actual) | $1,336,274 | 9,527 |
| 2022 (actual) | $1,432,535 | 9,488 |
| 2023 (actual) | $1,520,826 | 9,633 |
| 2024 (enacted) | $1,528,733 | 9,777 |
| 2025 (requested) | $1,555,456 | 9,881 |
| Sources: blm.gov, "Budget Justifications and Performance Information Fiscal Year 2025 - Bureau of Land Management," accessed June 17, 2025 | ||
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term Bureau + Land + Management
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ U.S. Bureau of Land Management, "Who We Are, What We Do," accessed August 18, 2014
- ↑ blm.gov, "Budget Justifications and Performance Information Fiscal Year 2025 - Bureau of Land Management," accessed June 17, 2025
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 U.S. Bureau of Land Management, "A Long and Varied History," accessed August 18, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Bureau of Land Management, "Our Mission," accessed June 17, 2025
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ U.S. Bureau of Land Management, "The Bureau of Land Management," accessed August 18, 2014
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 U.S. Bureau of Land Management, "The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 as Amended," accessed August 20, 2014
- ↑ Danver, S.L. (2013). Encyclopedia of Politics of the American West. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Reference/CQ Press.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 U.S. Bureau of Land Management, "Appendix 24: Multiple Use Requires Multiple Management," accessed March 2, 2017
- ↑ Science, "To Lead USGS, Obama Turns to Agency Veteran," January 9, 2014
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