Bureau of Land Management Overview
Our Public Lands
John Ruhs
BLM Nevada State Director
Joint Meeting of Nevada
Assembly NATRAM Committee and
Senate Natural Resources Committee
March 21, 2017
BLM History
• 1785- Land Ordinance initiated the 1st
Cadastral survey
• 1812- General Land Office (GLO) created
• 1849- Department of the Interior created
• 1934- Taylor Grazing Act passed
• 1936- U.S. Grazing Service created
• 1946- BLM formed from combination of GLO
and Grazing Service
The General Land Office (GLO)
• Created in 1812
• Originally part of the U.S. Treasury
• Promoted settlement through multiple land
laws until the early 1900s when it began to
issue leases for grazing and collect royalties
from minerals taken on public lands.
Land Purchase & Expansion
Land for Veterans
The federal government provided
“bounty land” for those who
served in the Revolutionary War,
War of 1812, the Mexican War and
Indian Wars between 1775 and
1855. Offered first as an incentive
to serve and later as a reward for
service.
The GLO issued this for Abraham
Lincoln for his service in the Black
Hawk War of 1832.
Department of the Interior
• Created in 1849
• General Land Office and Cadastral Survey
became part of the department
o U.S. Grazing Service was added in 1936
and established grazing districts on public
lands
Significant Laws
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Homestead Act- 1862
o Promoted settlement
General Mining Law- 1872
o Opened Mineral Exploration on Federal Land
Mineral Leasing Act- 1920
o Established leasing for Coal/Oil&Gas/Non-energy Leasable
Minerals
Taylor Grazing Act- 1934
o Passed in part to assist with the impacts of the Dust Bowl
Federal Land Policy Management Act - 1976
o Gave BLM its multiple-use mission
o Signed Oct 21, 1976 by President Ford
o Often called our “Organic Act”
Other Significant Laws
• Wilderness Act - 1964
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Created the legal definition of wilderness in the United States, and
protected 9.1 million acres of federal land.
• National Environmental Policy Act - 1970
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Requirement that all executive federal agencies prepare environmental
assessments (EAs) and environmental impact statements (EISs) for the
potential environmental effects of proposed federal agency actions.
• Endangered Species Act – 1973
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Provides for the conservation of species that are endangered or
threatened.
• Public Rangeland Improvement Act - 1978
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Defines the current grazing fee formula and establishes rangeland
monitoring and inventory procedures for BLM & USFS rangeland.
BLM National Overview
• Manage 245 million surface acres, mostly in 12
Western states and Alaska
• Manage 700 million subsurface acres throughout
the country
• Multiple-use mission set forth in the Federal
Lands Policy Management Act of 1976
Six Major Uses Identified in FLPMA
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Livestock Grazing
Management of Cultural Resources
Mineral Development
Wildlife Habitat
Lands: Realty (Rights of way, etc.)
Recreation
BLM National Overview
BLM Vision
To enhance the
quality of life
for all citizens
through the
balanced
stewardship of
America’s
public lands
and resources.
BLM Mission
The mission of the BLM is to
sustain the health, diversity,
and productivity of the
public lands for the use and
enjoyment of present and
future generations.
BLM manages public
lands for “multiple
uses! ”
BLM Values
To serve with honesty, integrity, accountability,
respect, courage, and commitment to make a
difference.
BLM Priorities
• To improve the health and productivity of the land to
support the BLM multiple-use mission.
• To cultivate community-based conservation, citizencentered stewardship, and partnership through
consultation, cooperation, and communication.
• To respect, value, and support our employees, giving
them resources and opportunities to succeed.
• To pursue excellence in business practices, improve
accountability to our stakeholders, and deliver better
services to our customers.
BLM Nevada Overview
• Manage 48 million surface acres of public land
(approximately 67 percent of Nevada)
• Manage 59 million subsurface acres
• Have several of the largest programs in the BLM
including:
o Mining
o Fire
o Grazing (Nevada has the most
public lands available for grazing
o Wild Horses and Burros
BLM Nevada Overview
• Special Legislation specific to Nevada
o Southern Nevada Public Lands Policy Act
(SNPLMA) - 1998
o Lincoln County Land Act (LCLA) - 2000
o White Pine County Conservation,
Recreation, and Development Act - 2006
Public Lands in Nevada
Most of Nevada is Federally
Managed
• 82.9 Percent total
(Includes DoD)
Most is BLM-Managed
BLM Nevada Organization
• Headquartered in Reno
• 6 Districts (14 Field Offices)
o Battle Mountain
o Carson City
o Elko
o Ely
o Southern Nevada
o Winnemucca
What Does BLM Manage?
What Does the BLM Regulate?
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Mining
Grazing
Non-Renewable Energy (Oil and Gas)
National Conservation Lands
Renewable Energy (Solar, Wind, Geothermal)
Special Legislation
Wildlife Habitat
Mining
• Largest program in the BLM
• One of the largest mineral materials (sand and
gravel) programs in the BLM
• More than 193,000 active mining claims (49% of
BLM total)
• 257 approved active mining Plans of Operation
• Holds over $2 billion in reclamation bonds
Abandoned Mine Lands
• Largest program in the BLM
• Working with NV Division of Minerals, have
inventoried over 20,000 features
• Cooperative agreements with state and federal
agencies for surveys and closures
• Permanently closed 189 features in 2015
Range Program
• 43 million acres of public rangelands
• 797 grazing allotments and 668 permits
• Approximately 2 million AUMs permitted
annually
Wild Horses and Burros
• 83 Herd Management Areas, 74 at or over AML
• 9 WH&B Specialists
• Approximately 35-37,000 horses and burros on
range
• Statewide AML = 12,688
Fire and Aviation
• Largest program outside Alaska
• Work with state and federal and local partners to
provide training, education, opportunities for
hazardous fuels reduction
• DOI and BLM have identified Greater Sage Grouse
habitat as the highest natural resource protection
priority for suppression efforts
National Monuments
Basin and Range NM
• Designated July 10, 2015
• Approximately 704,000 acres
Gold Butte NM
• Designated December 28, 2016
• Nearly 300,00 acres with 250 miles of designated routes
• Popular for outdoor recreation: hiking, camping, OHV, viewing
petroglyphs, etc.
National Conservation Areas
Red Rock Canyon NCA
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1st NCA in Nevada – Designated in 1990
196,877 acres
Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon
Emigrant Trails NCA
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Designated in 2000
1.2 million acres
Sloan Canyon NCA
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Designated in 2002
48,438 acres
BLM Nevada Wilderness Areas
BLM Nevada manages:
• 46 Wilderness Areas
• 2 million acres
• 60 Wilderness Study Areas
• 2.5 million acres
Renewable Energy
• Geothermal
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Nevada has the greatest number of federal geothermal leases and is second
in geothermal energy production
• Solar
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Nevada has 5 Solar Energy Zones with the potential for 6,711 megawatts
• Wind
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BLM Nevada has 1 project in operation – Spring Valley, Ely District (66
turbines)
Solar Power
Solar Power production is a growing industry in Nevada
The 110-megawatt Crescent
Dunes Solar Energy Facility
on BLM-managed land near
Tonopah is the first utilityscale concentrating solar
plant that can provide
electricity whenever it's
needed most, even after
dark.
Southern Nevada Public Land
Management Act (SNPLMA)
Land Disposal
• 67,920 acres within the
disposal boundary
• Parcels “jointly selected”
by local governments and
the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM)
• 30,064 acres disposed by
sale (includes R&PP and
affordable housing sales);
6,476 R&PP leases and
reservations; and 31,380
acres remain for disposal
18 Years of Successful
Implementation
• Generation of over $3.5
billion including interest
earned
Allocation of Land Sales Revenue*
$161.5 million
5%
$316.5 million
10%
$2.7 billion
85%
State of Nevada
Education Fund
Southern Nevada
Water
Authority**
SNPLMA Special
Account
*As of March 31, 2016
**Sale of certain parcels require payment of the 10% to the Clark County Department of Aviation (DoA) rather than to the Southern Nevada
Water Authority. Of the total $316.5 million in 10% payments, $14.3 million has been made to the DoA.
Resource Advisory Councils
• Nevada has 3 RACs that provide advice and
recommendations on public lands management
• The members represent a wide variety of interests
• Category 1: Commercial/commodity interests;
• Category 2: Environmental/historical groups (including
wild horse and burro and dispersed recreation); and
• Category 3: State and local government, Indian tribes,
and the public at large.
BLM’s #1 Resource: Our people!
• Nationally, the BLM has about 10,000 employees,
based primarily in the Western states
• BLM Nevada has about 1,000 permanent employees
• Additionally, we bring on about 150 seasonal
employees in Nevada, primarily wildland firefighters
3/20/2017
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Bureau of
Land Management
QUESTIONS?
March 21, 2017