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TheU.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is a federal agency within theU.S. Department of the Interior tasked with managing more than 245 million surface acres offederal 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 theGeneral 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 ofcoal,oil, andnatural 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 theFederal 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

Administrative State
Read more about theadministrative state on Ballotpedia.

Mission

BLM's mission statement is as follows:^[4]

Responsibilities

The bureau is responsible for managing its land for the following purposes:^[6]

• Commercial activities, such asoil,natural gas, andcoal 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, andendangered species

For a comprehensive list of the bureau's activities, clickhere.

Multiple use management

See also:Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976

TheFederal 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 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 andnatural 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 thepresident with the advice and consent of theSenate.^[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).

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the termBureau + Land + Management

See also

• 

  Federal land policy

• 

  Grazing permits on federal land

• 

  Federal land ownership by state

• 

  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Footnotes

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United States Terms Adjudication (administrative state) •Administrative judge •Administrative law •Administrative law judge •Administrative state •Arbitrary-or-capricious test •Auer deference •Barrier to entry •Bootleggers and Baptists •Chevron deference (doctrine) •Civil servant •Civil service •Code of Federal Regulations •Codify (administrative state) •Comment period •Compliance costs •Congressional Record •Coordination (administrative state) •Deference (administrative state) •Direct and indirect costs (administrative state) •Enabling statute •Ex parte communication (administrative state) •Executive agency •Federal law •Federal Register •Federalism •Final rule •Formal rulemaking •Formalism (law) •Functionalism (law) •Guidance (administrative state) •Hybrid rulemaking •Incorporation by reference •Independent federal agency •Informal rulemaking •Joint resolution of disapproval (administrative state) •Major rule •Negotiated rulemaking •Nondelegation doctrine •OIRA prompt letter •Organic statute •Pragmatism (law) •Precautionary principle •Promulgate •Proposed rule •Publication rulemaking •Regulatory budget •Regulatory capture •Regulatory dark matter •Regulatory impact analysis •Regulatory policy officer •Regulatory reform officer •Regulatory review •Rent seeking •Retrospective regulatory review •Risk assessment (administrative state) •Rulemaking •Separation of powers •Significant regulatory action •Skidmore deference •Statutory authority •Substantive law and procedural law •Sue and settle •Sunset provision •Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions •United States Code •United States Statutes at Large Bibliography "Administrative Law - The 20th Century Bequeaths an 'Illegitimate Exotic' in Full and Terrifying Flower" by Stephen P. Dresch (2000) "Confronting the Administrative Threat" by Philip Hamburger and Tony Mills (2017) "Constitutionalism after the New Deal" by Cass R. Sunstein (1987) Federalist No. 23 by Alexander Hamilton (1787) "From Administrative State to Constitutional Government" by Joseph Postell (2012) "Interring the Nondelegation Doctrine" by Eric A. Posner and Adrian Vermeule (2002) "Rulemaking as Legislating" by Kathryn Watts (2015) "The Checks & Balances of the Regulatory State" by Paul R. Verkuil (2016) "The Myth of the Nondelegation Doctrine" by Keith E. Whittington and Jason Iuliano (2017) "The Progressive Origins of the Administrative State: Wilson, Goodnow, and Landis" by Ronald J. Pestritto (2007) "The Rise and Rise of the Administrative State" by Gary Lawson (1994) "The Study of Administration" by Woodrow Wilson (1887) "The Threat to Liberty" by Steven F. Hayward (2017) "Why the Modern Administrative State Is Inconsistent with the Rule of Law" by Richard A. Epstein (2008) Agencies Administrative Conference of the United States •United States Civil Service Commission •U.S. Government Accountability Office •U.S. Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs •U.S. Office of Management and Budget