Table Of ContentOur Public Land Heritage:
From the GLO to the BLM
Wagon train Placer mining in Colorado, 1893 Gold dredge in Alaska, 1938
The challenge of managing public lands started as soon as America
established its independence and began acquiring additional lands.
Initially, these public lands were used to encourage homesteading and
westward migration, and the General Land Office (GLO) was created
1861 • 1865
to support this national goal. Over time, however, values and attitudes
American Civil War
regarding public lands shifted. Many significant laws and events led
to the establishment of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and
1934
laid the foundation for its mission to sustain the health, diversity, and
1872 1894 Taylor Grazing Act
productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of General Mining Law Carey Act authorizes authorizes grazing
1917 • 1918
identifies mineral transfer of up to districts, grazing
present and future generations.
lands as a distinct 1 million acres of World War I regulation, and
www.blm.gov/history
class of public lands public desert land to public rangeland
1824 1837 1843 1850 1860 1906 1929
subject to exploration, states for settling, improvements in
Office of Indian On its 25th “Great Migration” First railroad land First Pony Express Antiquities Act
Great Depression
occupation, and irrigating, and western states
1783 1812 Affairs is established anniversary, the on the Oregon Trail grants are made in rider leaves purchase under 1889 cultivating purposes. preserves and 1911 Begins (excluding Alaska)
General in the Department General Land Office begins. Illinois, Alabama, and St. Joseph, Missouri. Oklahoma Land Rush protects prehistoric, Weeks Act permits
Revolutionary War ends stipulated conditions. and establishes the
Land Office of War and is later has 65 district Mississippi. begins the disposal of historic, and the federal purchase
1897 Division of Grazing
is established transferred to land offices. 1844 1862 federal public domain scientifically of private land
1776 Establishment of Forest Management (later renamed the
within the the Department of First geological Homestead Act lands in Oklahoma. significant sites on to protect the 1920
Declaration of Yellowstone National “Organic” Act U.S. Grazing Service)
1785 1803 Treasury the Interior surveys of public entitles settlers to public lands and headwaters of rivers Mineral Leasing Act
Independence Meriwether Lewis Park marks a shift transfers fire within the Department
Land Ordinance Ohio becomes the Department lands are initiated 160 acres of public creates national and watersheds and authorizes federal
is signed. Workers joining from disposition to protection of the Interior.
allows settlement of first state created to oversee by the General Land the tracks for land after they reside conservation and responsibilities for monuments. calls for cooperative leasing of public lands
public domain lands from the public disposition of Office in Michigan. the first on and cultivate the fire protection efforts. for private extraction
1778 and establishes domain. ceded and Homestead transcontinental land for 5 years. protection of federal forest reserves from of oil, gas, coal, 1937
Second Continental the government’s acquired lands. 1849 railroad lands. Travel across the desert the Department of 1916 phosphate, sodium, Oregon and California
Congress begins rectangular survey Department of the Transcontinental in California Army to the General Stock Raising and other minerals. (O&C) Revested
persuading states to system. Interior is established Railroad Act gives 1877 Land Office. Homestead Lands Sustained
cede land to create William Clark and the General Land railroad companies Desert Land Act Act authorizes 1926 Yield Management
the public domain. 1789 Office is transferred to rights-of-way and authorizes the 1898 homesteads of Recreation and Act requires O&C
disposition of Congress extends Railroad lands
U.S. Constitution the new department. alternate sections of 640 acres and Public Purposes Act
640-acre tracts homestead laws to to be managed
gives Congress the public domain lands separates surface allows conveyance
“Power to dispose along both sides of of public lands to Alaska. Theodore Roosevelt and rights from subsurface or lease of public for permanent
homesteaders upon John Muir, 1903 forest production
of and make all their railroads. (mineral) rights. lands to state and
proof of reclamation and provides for
needful Rules local governments for
of the lands by watershed protection,
and Regulations 1869 outdoor recreation
irrigation. Oklahoma Land Rush regulation of
respecting The First transcontinental purposes.
streamflow, and
Territory and other railroad is completed
1878 recreational facilities.
Property belonging to at Promontory
Timber and Stone
the United States.” Lewis’ and Clark’s path across the western portion of North America, published 1814 Summit, Utah.
Act authorizes the 1939
Land Acquisitions of the United States
negotiated sale Alaskan Fire Control
1783 1803 1819 1845 1846 1848 1853 1867 of lands that are Service is created
Lands south of the Great Lakes Louisiana Purchase Spanish cession of Florida and Republic of Texas Oregon compromise Mexico cedes California Gadsden Purchase adds United States purchases valuable for either within the General
and east of the Mississippi River nearly doubles the size boundary adjustments west of the is annexed by the gives the United States and vast areas of the almost 19 million acres of Alaska, adding 375 logging or mining and Land Office to prevent
are ceded to the United States. of the United States. Mississippi River add more than 46 United States. claim to part of the Pacific inland West to the public lands in southern million acres to the otherwise unfit for and suppress fires on
John Trumbull’s painting,
Declaration of Independence million acres to the public domain. Northwest. United States. Arizona and New Mexico. public domain. cultivation. Evening campfire, 1926 Alaska public lands.
1770 1780 1790 1800 1810 1820 1830 1840 1850 1860 1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930
Cadastral surveyors Alaska pipeline Wind energy project Tent Rocks National Monument Monitoring trees in Oregon
in Wyoming in New Mexico
Northern
spotted owl
in Oregon
1971
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act provides for 1980
settlement of aboriginal land claims of Alaskan Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act
Natives and Native groups; the BLM is tasked with designates and conserves public lands in Alaska
the largest U.S. land transfer effort ever undertaken. as national parks, wildlife refuges, wild and scenic
rivers, wilderness, and forests and provides for
Oil well operation
Johnny Horizon Cleanup Days near petroglyphs
Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act subsistence use by rural Alaska residents.
1953 in California, 1969
provides for the protection and management
2000
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act authorizes the
of these animals on federal lands. Energy Security Act promotes the development National Landscape Conservation System
Secretary of the Interior to lease mineral lands 1960
of alternative energy sources such as oil shale, is established.
more than 3 miles offshore; the BLM assumes Public Land Administration Act allows the use of 1973 synthetic fuel, wind power, and geothermal sources.
2012
responsibility for leasing through competitive sales. donations and cooperative agreements to improve Endangered Species Act requires the conservation of
1941 • 1945 and better manage public lands. threatened and endangered plants and animals and The BLM completes its first resource management anEdx eccoullativbeo rOatridoenr w1i3th1 7tr5ib mala onfdfiacitaelss cino ndseuvletalotipoinn g 200ththe a1n5n0itvhe arsnanriyv eorfs tahrey Gofe tnheer aHl oLmanedst eOaffidc Aec atnd
World War II 1954 the ecosystems upon which they depend. plan, covering the California Desert Conservation federal policy that has tribal implications.
Recreation and Public Purposes Act amends the 1964
Area, and designates its first areas of critical
1926 act and allows the sale and lease of public Public Land Law Review Commission is 1975
environmental concern in Utah and California. 2005
lands for other purposes in addition to recreation. established to study public land laws and make Energy Policy and Conservation Act addresses 1990
Energy Policy Act ensures energy efficiency
long-term recommendations for public land use. energy demands and establishes a strategic Northern spotted owl is listed as a threatened
1983 and the production of secure, affordable, and
The BLM reorganizes and creates petroleum reserve. species under the Endangered Species Act,
Bear Trap Canyon in southwestern Montana is reliable domestic energy. An environmental education
a state office system. Wilderness Act protects undeveloped federal land designated by Congress as BLM’s first wilderness leading to an enjoinment of all timber sales on program in Colorado
to preserve its natural condition. 1976 federal lands within its range.
Extensive withdrawa1ls 9of4 p2ublic lands for military 1955 Federal Land Policy and Management Act requires area (it later became part of Lee Metcalf Wilderness). 2008
a1n3d mdeillfieonns aec uresse wbeithgdinr,a wwinth i nm 2o ryee athras.n vaMrieutltieipsle o Sf murifnaecrea lUs sfreo Amc te wntirtyh darsa wmsin cinogm cmlaoinm s The BLM adopts a new logo. athnadt spuusbtlaicin laendd ysie blde tmhraonuagghe lda nfodr umsuel tpiplalen nuisnegs. The BLMto ttrhaen Msfeinresr raelss pMoannsaibgileitmy efonrt oSffesrhvoicree. leasing Energy Policy Act inc1re9a9se2s focus on alternative BLM-manNaagteiodn laaln Sdsy saterem o offif cPiaulblyl icd eLsaignndas.ted as the
and allows claim owners to use the surface for 1965 energy sources, energy efficiency, and reducing the
Management of the National Petroleum Reserve– 2009
1946 mining operation purposes only. Land and Water Conservation Alaska is transferred to the BLM. 1987 country’s reliance on foreign fuel sources. Omnibus Public Land Management Act
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is established Fund is established for federal Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Reform Act authorizes the 26-million-acre National
within the Department of the Interior through the 1959 acquisition of outdoor recreation areas. 1977 establishes a new leasing system and changes 1993 Landscape Conservation System and
consolidation of the General Land Office and the Wild Horse Protection Act prohibits the roundup of Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act certain operational procedures for onshore resources Presidential summit leads to the development of establishes permit requirements and penalties
U.S. Grazing Service. wild horses by aircraft and motor vehicles. 1966 ensures environmental safeguards for mining and on federal lands. the Northwest Forest Plan to address human for unauthorized removal of paleontological
National Historic Preservation Act expands and environmental needs in areas within the
reclamation of mined areas. resources from federal lands.
protection of prehistoric and historic properties. northern spotted owl region.
Today, the BLM benefits the national
Trans Alaska Pipeline System begins transporting
1968 1994 economy as well as the economies of local
oil 800 miles from Alaska’s North Slope
Wild and Scenic Rivers and National Trails BLM Summit, the first ever gathering of all communities. Activities on BLM lands,
to the Port of Valdez.
System Acts preserve sites with outstanding BLM managers, resulted in the such as energy production, mineral
natural, cultural, scenic, historic, and recreational 1978 development of a new strategic vision extraction, timber harvesting, grazing,
significance. Public Rangelands Improvement Act requires for the BLM. and recreation, result in jobs and income
inventory, determination of trends, and
from goods and services associated with
Johnny Horizon program promotes public improvement of public rangelands. Rangeland Reform ’94 amends grazing regulations
awareness of BLM-administered lands. and establishes Resource Advisory Councils. public land resources. In 2010, the BLM’s
1979 management of public lands contributed
1969 Archaeological Resources Protection Act requires 1996 more than $112 billion to the national
National Environmental Policy Act requires federal permits for excavation or removal of these resources Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is economy and supported more than
agencies to assess the impacts of their actions on from federal lands and provides stringent criminal designated by Presidential proclamation as Femur bone fossil found on
BLM range grass study, 1959 Alaska Natives filleting salmon in Alaska, 1985 BLM land in Wyoming 500,000 American jobs.
the environment. and civil penalties for violations. BLM’s first national monument.
1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010
BLM/WO/GI-12/004+2000 • PMDS Number P-468
