BLM News:WASHINGTON, D.C. ― The Bureau of Land Management joins the Department of the Interior in celebrating the Trump Administration’s “Made in America” Week through July 22.
With responsibility for managing more than 10 percent of the nation’s land and 30 percent of its subsurface minerals, the BLM supports American-made goods and services in many ways.
“The BLM strives to be a good neighbor in the communities we serve, while providing opportunities for economic growth as well as traditional uses such as ranching, mining, logging, energy development as well as recreational activities like hunting and fishing,” Acting Director Michael Nedd said. “Public lands provide valuable, tangible goods and materials we rely on every day to heat our homes, build our roads, and feed our families, among many other activities.”
In total, the BLM’s management of public lands supported 374,000 jobs and provided $88 billion in economic output throughout the country in FY 2015.
The BLM’s mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the multiple use and enjoyment of present and future generations. This includes a variety of commercial-, recreation-, and conservation-based products and services. In addition to energy-related products such as coal, oil, natural gas, and renewables, examples include:
- Non-energy minerals. Many types of non-energy minerals, including sand, gravel, dirt, and rock, are essential for everyday construction uses. The BLM issued new contract sales and use permits for nearly 20 million cubic yards of such mineral materials in 2015, with a combined value of nearly $28 million.
- Grazing. The BLM administers nearly 18,000 permits and leases held by ranchers who graze their livestock, mostly cattle and sheep, at least part of the year on more than 21,000 allotments. We manage livestock grazing on 155 million acres of public lands.
- Forestry. One-quarter of the 245 million acres managed by the BLM are forest ecosystems. Through responsible management, the BLM ensures the health and resilience of the nation’s public forest lands, as well as the availability of forest products like timber. In 2015, the BLM offered 243 million board feet of timber for sale, enough to build approximately 10,500 homes.
- Helium. The Federal Helium Reserve is a resource owned by the American people and managed by the BLM. Crude helium is an important resource for technology development and other important uses related to national defense, energy, medicine, industry, and space exploration. Currently, the BLM’s crude helium plant satisfies approximately 42 percent of U.S. helium demand and 15 percent of global demand.
- Recreation. BLM-managed public lands offer more recreational opportunities – such as hunting, fishing, camping, and hiking – than those managed by any other federal agency. Lands used for recreation (including the BLM’s National Conservation Lands) contribute significantly to local economies, with BLM-managed lands receiving more than 62.4 million recreation-related visits in 2015.
