Bureau of Land Management

News Releases

BLM CONTRACTING OUT LAND USE PLANS

Contractors More Costly, "Operating on Their Own Agenda"

BLM SERVES OFF-ROAD INDUSTRY BY ALLOWING UNRESTRICTED USE AT NEVADA'S SAND MOUNTAIN

Administration Ignores Law, Recommendations by Staff, Wildlife Agencies, Conservationists and Local Tribe

BUSH PLAN TO ROLL BACK DUNES CONSERVATION FACES BROAD CHALLENGE

Twelve Groups, Local Citizens Target BLM Off-road Plan

FEDERAL COURT UPHOLDS OFF-ROAD VEHICLE BAN AT ALGODONES DUNES

Industry Loses Anti-environmental Lawsuit

BUSH ADMINISTRATION FACES LEGAL CHALLENGE TO CALIFORNIA DESERT OFF-ROAD PLAN

BLM's Plan Would Interfere With Conservation, Wildlife and Air Quality

SECRETARY NORTON IGNORES BALANCE AND BEST SCIENCE WITH PERMIT TO OPEN DUNES HABITAT TO ORVS

BLM's Final Plan is Even Worse than Bad Draft; Conservationists Will Sue

BLM USING FIRE, RANGE, AND WILDLIFE FUNDS FOR REDECORATION

Group Calls For Audit of Décor Makeover in Winnemucca, Nevada Office

INTERIOR PLEDGES TO REFORM LAND EXCHANGES

Critics Skeptical Whether Steps Remove Politics and Prevent Scams

INVESTIGATION SUBJECT LEADS BLM LAND EXCHANGE REVIEW

Appraisers Told to Avoid Putting Findings in Writing

BUSH ADMINISTRATION FACES LEGAL CHALLENGE TO 5.5M ACRE CALIFORNIA DESERT LAND PLAN

BLM's NECO Plan Reduces Conservation, Harms Desert Tortoise, Biodiversity and Wilderness



White Papers
Horses to SlaughterAnatomy of a Coverup within the BLM (April 1997)
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) within the Department of Interior is the agency mandated by law "to protect and manage wild free-roaming horses...as components of the public lands." Yet, the BLM has tolerated and in some instances facilitated the routine and illegal trafficking of wild horses to slaughter. The agency has obstructed efforts by its own law enforcement officers to expose commercial theft of wild horses, fraudulent adoption schemes and fictitious "sanctuary" herds not only to avoid embarrassment but also to maintain the flow of horses off the range. more >>

Land of No Return$Bankruptcy of the BLM Public Domain Forestry Program (April 1997)
An 18-month investigation of the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Public Domain forestry program by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) reveals that nearly all BLM districts lose money on their timber sale programs. Monetary losses from the BLM's forestry program are roughly equal to the agency's entire forest management budget. Based on current and projected future budget allocations, the program stands to lose more than $30 million over the next five years. more >>

Bureau of Land MismanagementTimber Sale Maladministration (March 1997)
Through negligence and outright fraud, nearly half of the timber harvested from the public domain is stolen. BLM's "lump sum" removal techniques result in timber purchasers regularly taking more trees than allowed, in some cases five times the contract volume without additional payment. more >>

Never Mind NEPANo Laws, No Science, No Problem for the BLM (December 1996)
BLM fails to comply with federal laws when conducting timber sales. The agency's preoccupation with "getting the cut out" violates environmental safeguards and precludes public oversight. more >>

Savage SalvageThe Timber Feeding Frenzy within BLM, Part Three of a Comprehensive Study of the Forestry Program of the Bureau of Land Management (September 1996)
Poor timber sales practices by BLM are aggravating wildlife potential in the West and cutting into healthy forests at an unsustainable rate. A "salvage rider" has allowed prime, young trees to be sold as salvage, while dead or diseased trees are left on site. BLM has allowed harvests to continue at alarming rates. In 1996 BLM gave California, Montana, Washington, and Oregon permission to exceed their sustainable harvest rates by 500%. more >>

Where Timber Beasts Rule the EarthOvercutting BLM Public Domain Forests (July 1996)
The BLM destroys fragile, transitional public domain forests through over cutting. The agency fails to harvest timber in a sustainable manner, using erroneous data and exceeding maximum allowable cut levels. more >>

Phantom ForestsPart One of a Comprehensive Study of the BLM's Forestry Program (May 1996)
BLM forest inventories and plans are outdated, inaccurate and incomplete despite agency policy. The agency vastly exaggerates the success of reforestation efforts and counts barren tracts as fully restored. more >>

Public Trust BetrayedEmployee Critique of Bureau of Land Management Rangeland Management (January 1995)
BLM reports that rangelands are in their best condition ever, and refuses to even acknowledge the problems of overgrazing and industry domination of BLM land. District managers, fisheries and wildlife biologists, and conservations show how these practices damage and exhaust public land, destroy habitats, and degrade adjoining waterways. more >>