Office of the Secretary

For Immediate Release: October 19, 2001

Contact: John Wright 202-208-6416

Interior Department Celebrates 25^th Anniversary of the
Federal Land Policy and Management Act, Oct. 21

The legislation that gave the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) its mandate to manage public lands and natural resources for the benefit of all Americans will turn 25 years old October 21, 2001. The Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), of 1976, long touted as the landmark legislation that changed the operations of BLM forever, provides a multiple use framework for managing America's public lands that focuses on the needs of present and future generations.

"These lands belong to the American people," said Interior Secretary Gale Norton. "Twenty-five years ago, this landmark piece of legislation challenged us to chart a new path for managing and protecting our wild places. By reaching out and working together in partnership with local communities to provide the proper protection and care, these lands will be healthy and productive for years and years to come."

Under FLPMA land managers are required to take into account the long term needs of present and future generations as they make important decision in the management of renewable and nonrenewable resources, including recreation, timber, minerals, watershed, fish, wildlife, rangeland, scientific and historical values.

The BLM, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior with responsibility for managing more than 264 million surface acres of America's public lands, and also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM accomplishes this by planning and managing such resources as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing and mineral development, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on the public lands. Most of the public lands managed by BLM are located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. These lands, once remote, now provide the growing communities of the West with open space that gives the region much of its character. The BLM operates with an annual budget of $1.8 billion and a workforce of about 9,000 employees.

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