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Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976
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The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) stated that federal land should remain under federal ownership and established a regulatory system for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to manage federal lands. The act set 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. In addition, the law affirmed existing grazing rights, water rights, oil and gas leases, and mining claims. The act was passed by the 94th United States Congress in 1975 and signed into law by President Gerald Ford (R) in 1976.[1][2]
Background
According to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Congress established the Public Land Law Review Commission in 1964 to clarify U.S. federal land management and use policies. The commission concluded in 1970 that existing federal land policy lacked appropriate regulations to deal with littering, overuse, and neglect on federal land. Additionally, the report argued that the federal government did not have adequate enforcement authority to manage federal lands. The commission recommended the following:[2][3]
| “ | We ... recommend that the policy of large-scale disposal of public lands reflected by the majority of statutes in force today be revised and that future disposal should be of only those lands that will achieve maximum benefit for the general public in non-Federal ownership while retaining in Federal ownership those whose values must be preserved so that they can be used and enjoyed by all Americans.[4] | ” |
| —Public Land Law Review Commission[2] | ||
In 1971, the Nixon administration proposed legislation to repeal several existing federal laws and allow the BLM to enforce broad policy guidelines in its management of federal land. In Congress, legislators debated bills authorizing the federal government to manage federal lands according to a multiple use strategy. For example, Senate Resolution 3389 of 1970 would have required that federal lands be administered "for multiple use and sustained yield of the several products obtainable therefrom for the maximum benefit of the general public." This definition of multiple use was similar to the definition adopted in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976.[5]
Legislative history
See bill: Federal Land Policy and Management Act
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 |
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| United States Congress |
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| Legislative history |
| Introduced: January 30, 1975 (introduced in the United States Senate) |
| House vote: Approved; July 22, 1976 |
| Senate vote: 78-11; February 25, 1976 |
| Conference vote (House): Approved; September 30, 1976 |
| Conference vote (Senate): Approved; October 1, 1976 |
| President: Gerald Ford |
| Signed: October 21, 1976 |
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Senator Floyd K. Haskell (D-Colorado) introduced the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) in the United States Senate on January 30, 1975. The bill was reported by the Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs on December 18, 1975. On February 25, 1976, the legislation passed the Senate by a 78-11 vote. On July 22, 1976, the United States House of Representatives passed an amended version of the bill. A joint conference committee was convened to reconcile the differences between the two bills. The conference committee filed its report on September 29, 1976. The House agreed to the conference committee report on September 30, 1976, and the Senate followed suit on October 1, 1976. President Gerald Ford (R) signed FLPMA into law on October 21, 1976.[6]
Components
Declaration of policy
In its declaration of policy section, the act stated that U.S. public lands should be retained under federal ownership. The act defined public lands as "any land and interest in land owned by the United States within the several states and administered by the Secretary of the Interior through the Bureau of Land Management, without regard to how the United States acquired ownership." The act exempted "lands located on the Outer Continental Shelf" and "lands held for the benefit of Indians, Aleuts and Eskimos." Additionally, lands managed by other federal agencies were exempted from the act's provisions; these lands include forest reserves, wildlife refuges, and national parks. The act made the following declaration of policy.[1]
| “ | The Congress declares that it is the policy of the United States that the public lands be retained in Federal ownership, unless a result of the land use planning procedure provided for in this Act, it is determined that disposal of a particular parcel will serve the national interest.[4] | ” |
The act made the additional policy declarations:[1]
- The federal government must make an inventory of federal lands and their resources. Further, the government must document the present and future use of federal land during a periodic land use planning process in coordination with federal and state agencies.
- Congress has the authority to designate areas as federal lands for specific purposes and to withdraw areas as federal lands. Further, Congress has the authority to define which lands the president may unilaterally withdraw as federal lands.
- Federal lands must be managed to ensure the lands' scientific, scenic, historical, environmental, ecological, or archaeological value. Where appropriate, the federal government must preserve federal lands in their natural condition, preserve lands in order to provide food and habitat for fish and wildlife, and preserve lands in order to allow for outdoor recreation for the public.
- The federal government must enact uniform procedures for disposing of federal land and acquiring non-federal land for public use.
- The federal government must compensate state and local governments for any burdens resulting from the exemption of federal lands from state and local taxes.
Multiple-use management
The act mandated a multiple-use management policy for federal lands and authorized the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to implement this policy:[1]
| “ | 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.[4] | ” |
| —Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976[1] | ||
The law defines multiple-use management as the "management of 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." Sustained yield is defined as "the achievement and maintenance in perpetuity of a high-level annual or regular periodic output of the various renewable resources of the public lands consistent with multiple use."[1]
The law further elaborated on multiple use management:[1]
- 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."[7]
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. The goal of the BLM is to manage the lands to balance multiple uses of the land.[7]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 U.S. Bureau of Land Management, "The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 as Amended," accessed August 20, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Danver, S.L. (2013). Encyclopedia of Politics of the American West. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE Reference/CQ Press.
- ↑ U.S. Bureau of Land Management, "One Third of the Nation's Land: A Report to the President and to the Congress by the Public Land Law Review Commission," June 1970
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 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 Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976," accessed March 2, 2017
- ↑ The Library of Congress, "Bill Summary and Status - 94th Congress (1975-1976) - S. 507 - Major Congressional Actions," accessed August 20, 2014
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 U.S. Bureau of Land Management, "Appendix 24: Multiple Use Requires Multiple Management," accessed March 2, 2017
