Our Heritage Our Future low res

2017·21.3 MB·English

by  Bureau of Land Management

Our Heritage, Our Future
The BLM and America’s Public Lands
Dedication
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) dedicates
this book to all of its employees—past and present.
BLM employees serve the American public with
enthusiasm, perseverance, creativity, conviction,
and commitment, and it is through their vision that
future generations will be able to experience, value,
and enjoy our treasured public land heritage.
Suggested citation:
U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 2017. Our heritage, our future: The BLM and
America’s public lands. Bureau of Land Management, Office of Communications, Washington, DC.
Copies available from:
Bureau of Land Management
National Operations Center
Printed Materials Distribution Services
Denver Federal Center, Building 50
P.O. Box 25047
Denver, CO 80225
P-267
www.blm.gov/history
The mention of company names, trade names, or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or
recommendation for use by the federal government.
BLM/WO/GI-18/002+1701 Fort Ord National Monument in California.
Acronyms and Abbreviations Contents
Foreword __________________________________________________________________ix Chapter 2:
AIM Assessment, inventory, and monitoring
The Bureau Embraces Ecosystem Management, 1990–2000 _______________________41
Acknowledgments __________________________________________________________xi
BLM Bureau of Land Management An Interdisciplinary Approach Guides the Planning Process ___________________41
Ecosystem Management Creates Challenges _______________________________43
Prologue: Management of the Public Domain Evolves, 1776–1976 __________________1
EIS Environmental impact statement A Threatened Species Influences Northwest Forest Management ______________43
Chapter 1: A Forest Summit Leads to the Development of the Northwest Forest Plan _______44
FLPMA Federal Land Policy and Management Act The Federal Land Policy and Management Act Guides the Way, 1976–1990 ___________3 Science and Politics Merge in the Interior Columbia Basin ____________________47
Land Use Planning Enters A New Era _______________________________________3 Rangeland Conditions Improve __________________________________________49
GIS Geographic information system Forest Management Generates Debate ____________________________________7 Fish and Wildlife Habitat Improvements Help Restore Populations _____________51
Range Policy Changes Focus _____________________________________________9 “Riparian–Wetland Initiative for the 1990s” Establishes Restoration Goals ________51
GLO General Land Office
Riparian Resource Management Finds Common Ground _____________________10 The War on Weeds Gets Underway _______________________________________54
Fish and Wildlife Inventories Lead to Habitat Protection ______________________12 Abandoned Mine Cleanups Recover Lost Landscapes ________________________54
NEPA National Environmental Policy Act
Cultural and Heritage Resources Face Growing Threats _______________________15 “Recreation 2000” Ushers In New Programs and Sites ________________________54
Designated Recreational Areas Increase ___________________________________17 Cultural and Paleontological Resources Comprise the
NLCS National Landscape Conservation System
The Wilderness Inventory Process Begins __________________________________20 “Great Outdoor Museum” _______________________________________________57
Energy and Minerals Management Focuses on Independence _________________23 The President, Congress, and the Bureau Recognize Special Places _____________61
O&C Oregon and California
Public Land Disposal Authority Expands ___________________________________27 The Wild Horse and Burro Program Addresses Controversy____________________63
Congress Provides Law Enforcement Authority _____________________________30 Energy and Minerals Management Considers Environmental Changes __________65
REA Rapid ecoregional assessment
Changes Influence Fire and Aviation Management __________________________34 Wildland Fire Management Reaches a Turning Point _________________________68
RMP Resource management plan Wild Horse and Burro Inventories Identify Issues ____________________________38 Congress Passes Realty Management Reforms ______________________________71
The Bureau Develops a Professional Law Enforcement Program ________________71
Notes _______________________________________________________________40
Notes _______________________________________________________________74
Adobe Town Wilderness Study Area in Wyoming.
ii Our Heritage, Our Future | The BLM and America’s Public Lands Our Heritage, Our Future | The BLM and America’s Public Lands iii
Featured Stories
Chapter 3: Chapter 4: Chapter 1 __________________________________________________________________3 Chapter 2 _________________________________________________________________41
Collaborative Management Helps Address 21st Century Challenges, 2000–2009 _____75 National Concerns Lead the Bureau in a New Direction, 2009–2012 ________________137 The Transforming Effect of the Natural Resources Defense Council Consent Decree Ecosystem Thinking Comes to the Public Lands
The Secretary Establishes the National Landscape Conservation System _________75 America Invests in Jobs _______________________________________________137 By D. Dean Bibles _________________________________________________9 By Mike Dombeck _______________________________________________42
Public Lands Experience Record Fire Seasons _______________________________82 Energy and Minerals Programs Undergo Changes __________________________138 Grazing Fees: The Next Generation Creating Options in Western Oregon
A National Energy Policy Emerges ________________________________________87 Initiatives Address Climate Change on Public Lands ________________________141 By Judy Nelson __________________________________________________11 By Mike Benefield ________________________________________________44
The President Launches the Healthy Forests Initiative ________________________95 The National Landscape Conservation System Becomes Permanent ___________144 Evolution of a Biologist The Road Less Traveled
The Bureau Revises Its Western Oregon Plans ______________________________96 Recreation Demands Continue to Grow __________________________________150 By Tim Carrigan _________________________________________________14 By Gloria Brown _________________________________________________46
The Secretary Announces the Healthy Lands Initiative _______________________97 Partners, Youth, and Volunteers Pitch In __________________________________151 Working Underground for the Bureau of Land Management The Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project
Habitat Assessments Take a Landscape Approach ___________________________99 Large-Scale Efforts Require a Strategic Planning Approach ___________________153 By James Goodbar _______________________________________________16 By Cathy Humphrey ______________________________________________48
The Bureau Focuses on Healthy, Sustainable Rangelands ____________________105 Wildlife Habitat Conservation Stretches Across Landscapes __________________153 Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River The First Resource Advisory Council Meeting—The First Broadcast
The Wild Horse and Burro Program Reaches a Critical Crossroads ______________107 Fire Policy Allows Management for Multiple Objectives _____________________155 By Theresa Herrera _______________________________________________18 By Chip Calamaio _______________________________________________50
Cultural and Paleontological Resources Take the Spotlight ___________________109 A Task Force Revisits Northwestern Forest Issues ___________________________157 The Battle to Conserve the “Crown Jewels” The Evolution of Aquatic Resource Management in the BLM
Recreation Management Focuses on Outcomes ___________________________112 The Rangeland Program Addresses Drought Conditions _____________________158 By Cecil D. Andrus _______________________________________________22 By Mike Crouse __________________________________________________53
The Lands and Realty Program Tackles Challenges _________________________114 The Secretary Develops a New Wild Horse and Burro Strategy ________________158 The Year of Three Agencies The Fortymile National Wild and Scenic River
Law Enforcement Collaborates with Local Partners _________________________118 Lands, Realty, and Cadastral Survey Programs Support Bureau Priorities ________160 By Larry Bauer __________________________________________________25 By Gene Ervine __________________________________________________55
A New West Leads to a Renewed Planning Emphasis _______________________123 Law Enforcement Officers Protect Against Resource Damage Northern Futures Leading by Example: Volunteers and Friends Groups
The Bureau Develops a 21st Century Workforce ____________________________127 and Threats to Public Safety ____________________________________________165 By Bob Faithful __________________________________________________28 By Dave Hunsaker _______________________________________________56
The Secretary Designates the National System of Public Lands _______________131 Public Lands Provide Economic and Intrinsic Value _________________________166 A Long Tradition of Federal Resource Protection Who Owns Big Al?
By Steven Martin ________________________________________________30 By John P. Lee ___________________________________________________57
Notes ______________________________________________________________133 Notes ______________________________________________________________169
The Sagebrush Ceiling The Bisti Beast: The First Paleontological Excavation in BLM Wilderness
Epilogue: The Bureau Looks to the Future, 2013 and Beyond _____________________173 By Lynell Schalk _________________________________________________33 By Pat Hester ___________________________________________________58
Firefighting: Then and Now Environmental Education on the Ground: Native Plant Restoration at
Appendix: Directors of the Bureau of Land Management ________________________174
By The BLM’s National Interagency Fire Center External Affairs Staff _________36 Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
Adoptions Place Mustangs in Good Homes By Beth Kampschror______________________________________________60
Index ____________________________________________________________________177
By Sarah Beckwith _______________________________________________39 Reminiscences of Wilderness and Training
Compiled by Jim Foote ____________________________________________62
Managing the BLM’s Helium Program
By Leslie A. Theiss ________________________________________________67
From Chains to Lasers and Global Satellites
By Robert Casias ________________________________________________70
Continental Divide National Scenic Trail in Colorado.
iv Our Heritage, Our Future | The BLM and America’s Public Lands Our Heritage, Our Future | The BLM and America’s Public Lands v
Chapter 3 _________________________________________________________________75 Chapter 4 ________________________________________________________________137
Establishment of the National Landscape Conservation System Paleontological Resources Preservation Act of 2009 From Alaskan Sourdough to Little Miss Sunshine
By Tom Fry _____________________________________________________77 By Lucia Kuizon ________________________________________________110 By Linda Resseguie ______________________________________________140
The National Landscape Conservation System Extends to the Subtropics Managing a Modern Day Fossil Bone Rush The BLM Takes a Landscape Approach
By Bruce Dawson ________________________________________________79 By Alan L. Titus _________________________________________________111 By Kit Muller and Barry Rose ______________________________________143
Pulling Together to Preserve History Travel Management Is Everyone’s Business Owyhee Canyonlands: A Lesson in Perseverance
By Mike Abel ___________________________________________________81 By Mark Goldbach ______________________________________________112 By Robin Fehlau ________________________________________________145
Great Basin Restoration Initiative Shelf Road Climbing Area: The BLM and the Climbing Community Scale the Celebrating Science in the National Landscape Conservation System
By Mike Pellant__________________________________________________82 Heights of Partnership By Marietta Eaton ______________________________________________147
Invasive Species Alter Fire Regimes and Fire Operations By Mark Hesse _________________________________________________113 Celebrating the Legacy and Centennial of the Iditarod National Historic Trail
By Ken Frederick _________________________________________________84 New Century Brings New Funding for Land Acquisitions By Kevin Keeler _________________________________________________149
Life on a BLM Engine By David Beaver ________________________________________________115 America’s Backyard: The Growth of Outdoor Recreation on BLM Lands
By Kari Boyd-Peak _______________________________________________85 Alaska Land Transfer By Bob Ratcliffe and David O. Howell ________________________________151
Milford Flat: Utah’s Largest Fire Rehabilitation Project By Ramona Chinn and Christy Favorite ______________________________116 Technological Changes Enhance Safety, Operations in Wildland Firefighting
By Lola Bird ____________________________________________________86 Stones and “Bones” Set by William (Billy) Octavius Owen in Wyoming By Sheri Ascherfeld _____________________________________________156
Powder River Basin Resurveys: 20 years—16,000 Monuments By J.D. “Sam” Drucker ____________________________________________117 Land and Water Conservation Fund Acquisitions
By Joel T. Ebner__________________________________________________89 Special Agents Work with Resource Specialists to Uncover Fraud and Theft By David Beaver ________________________________________________162
The Legendary Roan Plateau By Joe Nardinger _______________________________________________119 The Road to Resolution: Revised Statute 2477
By Jamie Connell, with David Boyd __________________________________91 BLM Investigative Work Leads to Arson Convictions By Jeff Holdren _________________________________________________164
Just How Big Is That Right-Of-Way Grant? By Kyle Gandiaga _______________________________________________120 The Value of the BLM’s Wild Side: Western Communities Benefit
By Tom Hurshman _______________________________________________93 The BLM Meets the Counterculture at the Burning Man Festival from Open Landscapes
The BLM’s Innovative Approaches to Renewable Energy Development in Arizona By Doran Sanchez ______________________________________________122 By Luther Propst ________________________________________________167
By Kathy Pedrick ________________________________________________94 Tribal Consultation Is Democracy Compatible with Conservation?
Restore New Mexico: A Model for the Nation By James G. Kenna ______________________________________________126 By Patricia Nelson Limerick _______________________________________168
By Jesse Juen ___________________________________________________98 The Changing Face of the BLM
Looking Beyond the Strutting Grounds: Changing the Way the BLM Manages By Melissa Dukes _______________________________________________127
Wildlife Habitat The Maturing of the BLM’s Tribal Relationships
By Dale Tribby _________________________________________________100 By Cheryle Cobell Zwang _________________________________________129
Lake Havasu Fisheries Improvement Program 1992–2011 Back to the Future: Changes in the BLM’s Organization in the 21st Century
By Lori Cook ___________________________________________________102 By Rebecca Mack and Alexandra Ritchie _____________________________130
The Native Plant Materials Development Program and Seeds of Success A Director’s Perspective: 2007-2009
By Peggy Olwell ________________________________________________104 By James L. Caswell _____________________________________________132
Terror Comes to the High Desert: BLM Wild Horse and Burro Corrals
Are Firebombed
By Joseph Fontana ______________________________________________108
White Mountains National Recreation Area in Alaska (L and R photos).
vi Our Heritage, Our Future | The BLM and America’s Public Lands Our Heritage, Our Future | The BLM and America’s Public Lands vii
Rogue River Ranch National Historic Site in Oregon.
Foreword

This book highlights the recent history of the being good neighbors and recognizing traditional shifted, and Congress merged the GLO and another
BLM and serves as a sequel to “Opportunity and uses of public lands. agency, the U.S. Grazing Service, creating our
Challenge: The Story of BLM,” released in 1988. It agency in 1946.
reviews significant changes that occurred within We do this through the Federal Land Policy and
the agency through 2012 and explains how those Management Act, passed by Congress in 1976. This This book is unique in that it draws largely from the
changes affect public lands today. Together, the law enables us to promote multiple uses of public firsthand experiences of current and former BLM
two books present a brief history of public land lands so that they may best meet the present and employees. They are not historians, but they have
management, from the creation of the General future needs of the American people. lived a specialized history, implementing evolving
Land Office (GLO) in 1812 to the 200th anniversary public land management direction and meeting
of the GLO in 2012. Applying multiple use management requires broad the late 20th and early 21st century challenges of
knowledge and skill. This is because of the breadth multiple use management in the face of increasing
While the book recognizes the Bureau’s evolution and diversity of today’s public land resources and demands for public land uses. In short, they are
from the GLO, we also consider this work a what they mean to the public. But the BLM has real Americans working to turn public policy into
reflection of how well suited the BLM is to considerable experience to rely on. reality on the ground.
address the Trump administration’s priorities.
This means supporting energy independence You see, the BLM’s roots go back to the early In reading “Our Heritage, Our Future: The BLM
through environmentally responsible development; years after America’s independence, when the and America’s Public Lands,” I am confident you
promoting conservation through shared young nation began acquiring additional lands. will see that as history has shaped public lands
stewardship; making America safe through effective At first, Congress used these lands to encourage and how they are used, our agency has been there
border management; promoting jobs on working homesteading and westward migration. To support to meet the opportunities and challenges that
landscapes; and serving the American family by this national goal, Congress created the GLO. Over accompany change.
time, values and attitudes regarding public lands
Michael D. Nedd
Acting Deputy Director, Operations
Bureau of Land Management
Old homestead in Idaho.
Our Heritage, Our Future | The BLM and America’s Public Lands ix
Gooseberry Mesa National Recreation Trail in Utah.
Acknowledgments
The BLM produced “Our Heritage, Our Future: Derrick Henry, Linda Hill, Dave Hunsaker, The book could not have been written without
The BLM and America’s Public Lands” as part of a Jennifer Kapus, Jeff Kitchens, Jeff Krauss, the assistance and contributions of Brian Amme,
commemoration of two important anniversaries: Elizabeth Rieben, Mitch Snow, Hans Stuart, Joe Ashor, Shayne Banks, Chip Calamaio,
the creation of the General Land Office in 1812 Kyle Sullivan, Twinkle Thompson, and Don Charpio, Glen Collins, Elena Fink,
and passage of the Homestead Act of 1862. The Bev Winston. The team is indebted to the book’s Sam Guagush, Rich Hanson, Dave Harmon,
BLM and numerous partners launched a variety authors: Derrick Baldwin, Bibi Booth, Elaine Brong, Deborah Harnke, Robin Hawks, Antonia Hedrick,
of additional efforts in 2012, including holding Don Buhler, Brianna Candelaria, Bob Casias, Rob Hellie, Sherry Hendren, Doug Herrema,
local and national celebrations and symposia, Elena Daly, Randy Eardley, Shelly Fischman, Michael Hildner, Jeff Jarvis, Marilyn Johnson,
establishing a history website, and developing an Tony Garrett, Kim Harb, Margaret (Megg) Heath, Barbara Klassen, Jerry Magee, Dick Mayberry,
illustrated timeline of major events in the BLM’s Jeff Holdren, Jeff Kitchens, Steve Martin, Dennis McLane, Kim Menning, Ted Milesnick,
history. One such partner, the Public Lands Geoff Middaugh, Jeanne Moe, Elizabeth Rieben, Cynthia Moses-Nedd, Kit Muller, Lauren Pidot,
Foundation, which is largely comprised of BLM Don Smurthwaite, Mitch Snow, Matt Spangler, Bob Ratcliffe, Deb Rawhouser, Linda Rundell,
retirees, provided assistance in developing some of Hans Stuart, Twinkle Thompson, and Deb Salt, Laurie Sedlmayr, Ed Shepard, Tim Spisak,
the material included in this book, and many of its Elizabeth (Betsy) Wooster. Tremendous gratitude Bob Stahl, Joe Stout, Andrew Strasfogel,
members participated in the events described here. goes to these authors as well as the authors of more Mary Tisdale, Jeanne Van Lancker, Bob Wick,
than 200 sidebars for sharing stories that so enrich Davina Wilkins, and Elaine Zielinski.
A BLM history team produced the book, the the BLM’s literary landscape and celebrate our
website, and other educational products. The public land heritage.
team consisted of Celia Boddington, Peter Doran,
Basin and Range National Monument in Nevada.
Our Heritage, Our Future | The BLM and America’s Public Lands xi
Immigrants traveling west.
Prologue | Management of the Public Domain Evolves, 1776–1976
The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM’s) story further settlement followed, including the Timber all vacant, unreserved, and unappropriated public
began with the 1783 Treaty of Paris, marking Culture Act, Desert Land Act, and Stock Raising lands in the West from entry for other than mineral
the end of the Revolutionary War. Great Britain Homestead Act. use so that grazing districts could be set aside and
relinquished its claim to the 13 colonies and ceded the remaining public lands classified for their best
another 237 million acres of land reaching west to At the beginning of the 20th century, President use. The Department of the
the Mississippi River, forming the nation’s original Theodore Roosevelt promoted the idea that land Interior created the Division of
“public domain.” In 1785, the United States created and its resources had an inherent worth beyond Grazing, which would later
a Land Ordinance that became the basis for the extraction and development. Roosevelt, one of become the Grazing Service,
surveying, securing, and selling of all public lands history’s great conservationists, focused on using to administer these
into the future. public lands to promote the best and highest use grazing districts.
of resources while also considering future
From 1803 to 1867, the United States acquired over generations and their needs. During his tenure, In 1946, seeking to relieve
a billion acres of land, including Florida, Texas, the President Roosevelt oversaw the creation of tensions over grazing fee
President
Southwest, the Northwest, and Alaska. To oversee 150 national forests, more than 20 national increases between the Grazing Theodore Roosevelt.
the disposition of these lands, Congress established parks and monuments, and 55 bird and wildlife Service and Congress, Secretary
the General Land Office (GLO) in the Treasury reserves, leaving a permanent mark on the nation’s of the Interior Harold Ickes
Department in 1812. In 1849, the GLO moved to public domain. recommended merging the
the newly formed Department of the Interior. Grazing Service with the GLO.
With fewer than 200 million acres of vacant public President Harry Truman
Between 1850 and the early 1900s, the United States domain remaining by the 1920s, free and open forwarded the proposal to
focused on three key areas related to public land land had become a rare commodity for those Congress as part of his
management: transportation, resource use and looking to develop large farming or ranching Reorganization Plan No. 3, and
extraction, and homesteading. During this period, operations. Furthermore, the land that remained on July 16, 1946, the Grazing
President
the United States established its first reserves for was often overgrazed. In 1928, Congress authorized Service and the GLO became
Franklin Roosevelt.
timber and lead. Through land grants for wagon the Mizpah-Pumpkin Creek Grazing District in the BLM. The BLM not only
roads and canals in the 1820s, the nation set a Montana, the first grazing district on public lands. inherited the duties of the GLO
clear precedent for determining where and how to An association of ranchers leased these lands and and Grazing Service, it also
establish infrastructure. In 1862, Congress passed instituted conservative grazing practices. Ranchers incorporated the Alaska Fire
the Homestead Act, which opened the floodgate of from across the West soon petitioned for similar Service, various revested lands
settlement in the West by giving 160 acres of land grazing reserves in their areas, which led to passage (including the Oregon and
to qualified persons who had lived on the land and of the Taylor Grazing Act in 1934. After signing California Railroad lands and
improved it for 5 years. Other acts encouraging the act, President Franklin Roosevelt withdrew the Coos Bay Wagon Road
President
A Montana ranch (1872). Harry Truman.
Our Heritage, Our Future | The BLM and America’s Public Lands 1
lands), and multiple foundation for the agency’s multiple use mission. new policies, programs, and legislation. In its
mineral reserves. During the 1950s, the BLM formalized its forestry, 1970 report, “One Third of the Nation’s Land,” the
recreation, minerals management, wild horse and Commission recommended that the United States
The reorganization plan burro, and wildlife programs. consider retaining most of the public domain. Pompeys Pillar National Monument in Montana.
did not provide a clear From the late 1960s through the mid-1970s,
Chapter 1 | The Federal Land Policy and Management Act Guides the Way, 1976–1990
mandate or any additional The 1960s brought rapid growth and fundamental Congress passed a host of new laws, including the
formalized direction. change to the BLM, permanently altering the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Air
Fred Johnson, the first Bureau’s course. President John Kennedy asked the Quality Act, Wild and Free Roaming Horses and
The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of Land Use Planning Enters a New Era The BLM began developing this new land use
director of the BLM, BLM to accelerate its inventory of the public lands Burros Act, Federal Water Pollution Control Act,
BLM Director 1976 was landmark legislation that established the planning system in the late 1970s, incorporating
headed an agency of Fred Johnson. and develop a program of balanced use to reconcile Endangered Species Act, and Energy Policy and
mission of the Bureau of Land Management along FLPMA represented a fundamental change in FLPMA’s core mandates of multiple use and
almost 700 employees, resource conflicts. The agency also began taking Conservation Act, that would change how the
with the initial statutory authorities necessary to public attitudes about the management of the sustained yield of resources. This new system built
most of them having worked for the GLO in the on its first conservation-focused lands in the form BLM did business. However, none of these would
advance that mission. FLPMA merged the many nation’s public lands. For the first time, Congress upon the BLM’s management framework plans of
Washington Office. Just 86 employees oversaw of wild and scenic rivers and national scenic and match the Federal Land Policy and Management
disparate public interests and values of the public stated that America’s public lands comprised the 1960s, eventually replacing them with resource
150 million acres of grazing land. By 1948, historic trails. Act (FLPMA) of 1976, the BLM’s Organic Act, for
lands into one unified mission of “multiple use and nationally significant resources and recommended management plans (RMPs).1 Over the next several
continued controversy led to major budget cuts for the change it would bring to the agency. FLPMA
sustained yield.” retaining them in public ownership. decades, the BLM continually refined and improved
the agency, reducing staff by more than half and In 1964, Congress established the Public Land Law (pronounced flip-ma) formally recognized what the
its land use planning process and adapted it to a
barely funding most programs. Review Commission to study the nation’s 3,000 BLM had been doing for many years: managing the
The policy embodied in FLPMA reflected an This new policy sparked an era of comprehensive changing West and a changing world.
land laws and federal management of the public public lands under the principles of multiple use
evolution that had already begun within the land use planning in the BLM that
In 1948, Secretary of the Interior J.A. Krug named domain to identify problems and recommend and sustained yield.
BLM and one that continues today—a holistic guided future management of the
Marion Clawson as the BLM’s second director.
perspective of the land that recognizes the public domain for the benefit of the
Clawson reorganized the BLM and laid the
interdependence of resources and the necessity of American people. FLPMA mandated
using scientific and interdisciplinary methods to that the Secretary of the Interior,
manage them. through the BLM, conduct land use
planning using a “systematic
interdisciplinary approach, to achieve
integrated consideration of physical,
biological, economic, and other
sciences” in support of multiple use,
which it defined in part as “harmonious
and coordinated management of the
various resources,” and sustained yield
principles. An important requirement
was that the BLM coordinate with other
federal agencies and state, local, and
tribal governments and involve the
public in developing the new land
use plans.
BLM range conservationists working in the Poncha Pass Resource
President Conservation Area south of Salida, Colorado (1962).
John Kennedy. Timber sale on public lands in Wyoming (1965).
2 Prologue | 1776 –1976 Our Heritage, Our Future | The BLM and America’s Public Lands 3
Planning Ties to Other Federal Land Policy lands are in a real sense our last frontier. We uses and environmental values. This challenge The California Desert Becomes
California Desert Conservation Area.
and Management Act Requirements cannot afford to squander their riches.”2 was noted as early as 1970 by the Public Land a Planning Showcase
Law Review Commission, which recommended
Over the next 40 years, the BLM designated nearly that Congress “establish firm preferences among Among the specific land use directives included
To enhance the BLM’s management and
1,000 areas of critical environmental concern, uses” or “establish statutory standards reflecting in FLPMA was a provision calling for the creation
decisionmaking capability, FLPMA directed that
protecting important characteristics and values of value judgments as to the prevailing importance of the California Desert Conservation Area.
the Bureau “prepare and maintain on a continuing
more than 20 million acres of public lands. of various broad objectives served by the public Managing nearly 11 million acres of public lands in
basis an inventory of all public lands and their
lands.” However, neither Commission members the southern California desert area had become a
resource and other values” and that “this inventory
Additionally, FLPMA directed the BLM to “take nor Congress could agree on how to accomplish singular challenge for the BLM. Public use of these
shall be kept current so as to reflect changes in
any action necessary to prevent unnecessary this ordering of user preferences or prioritizing of desert lands had rapidly increased over the years,
conditions and to identify new and emerging
or undue degradation of the lands.” The BLM public lands values. In the end, the BLM used its along with competition among user groups and
resource and other values.” The BLM expanded its
applied this standard of “undue degradation” on own discretion in making such determinations. degradation of the desert ecosystem.
existing inventory efforts to comply with FLPMA’s
authorizations in all of its program areas. The
more demanding requirement to catalog and
FLPMA’s directive for a “comprehensive long-
broad discretion provided by this standard allowed The BLM made critical decisions for allocating
quantify rangelands, fish and wildlife habitat,
range plan” for the area launched one of the most
the BLM to restrict certain uses, such as the the land’s resources at the land use planning stage.
mineral and archaeological resources, recreational
extensive planning efforts ever undertaken by the
development of mining claims or mineral leases, “Land use planning is the backbone of the BLM,
opportunities, lands with wilderness characteristics,
BLM. The Bureau hired more than 60 planners
to protect land and other resources. The authority the blueprint for everything we do,” said Elaine
and other values on the public lands.
and resource specialists and dedicated millions
was strengthened a year later by the Surface Mining Zielinski, a former BLM state director for Oregon
of dollars to extensive resource inventories,
Control and Reclamation Act, which authorized the and Arizona. “It’s the arena where the public and
FLPMA also required the BLM to recognize and
monitoring, and regular revisions. The BLM
Secretary of the Interior to designate certain federal organizations have the most impact on how public
manage areas of critical environmental concern
designed the California Desert Conservation
lands as unsuitable for coal mining operations. lands are managed.” Planning decisions identified
and to give priority to designation through the
Area plan to be dynamic and adaptable. The
the activities and foreseeable development
planning process. FLPMA defined these areas as
result became a showcase for the BLM’s resource
In FLPMA, Congress also stated its policy that allowed, restricted, or excluded for all or a part of
public lands where special management attention
management planning efforts. The BLM had
“the public lands be managed in a manner which the planning area over the life of the plan. More
is required to protect historic, cultural, or scenic
succeeded in meeting all of Congress’ requirements
recognizes the Nation’s need for domestic sources extensive resource inventories and monitoring data
values; fish and wildlife resources; and other natural
with a plan that balanced the diverse public
of minerals, food, timber, and fiber from the public helped the BLM make more informed decisions but
systems. Furthermore, FLPMA allowed the BLM to
demands and needs.
lands.” Fulfilling its multiple use and sustained did not necessarily make the decisions any easier.
designate areas of critical environmental concern
yield mission required the BLM to balance the Nor did they enable managers to avoid controversy
to protect life and safety from natural hazards that It soon became clear, however, that the Bureau
need for these commodities with other land when making hard choices.
require management action. could not replicate the level and intensity of effort
devoted to the California Desert Conservation Area
Grazing on reclaimed land in Colstrip, Montana (1975).
In testimony given to the House of Representatives plan for other plans. Nevertheless, the BLM carried
in 1971, Secretary of the Interior Rogers C.B. many components forward in its planning system,
Morton stated: such as inventory and monitoring, the use of early
geographic information system (GIS) technology,
“The identification of the most critical and the creation of an automated system to collect
environmental areas will be given a high information. The BLM piloted new programs, such
priority by this Department so that those as wilderness and visual resource management, in
areas may be given the protection they so the California desert planning process that became
urgently need. . . . The national resource models for adoption Bureauwide.
4 Chapter 1 | 1976–1990 Our Heritage, Our Future | The BLM and America’s Public Lands 5