Public Land
Public Land
America’s public land (245 million aces managed by the by The U.S. Bureau of Land Management – not National Forests, Wildlife Refuges or National Parks) are underfunded, poorly managed and under-valued.
The American people have little, or no knowledge of the values contained under and on their public land and how the government’s stewardship of those values is managed.
Keeping America’s public lands in public ownership is a must. This can be accomplished by increasing citizen’s involvement in decisions affecting their public land’s future. When citizens are absent from the democratic process, it is reflected in the poor performance of their government.
Citizen involvement in the land management process, from cradle to grave, is paramount and is necessary to get the results we all want: public land in public ownership.
Knowledge of the “Notice” process is critical to timely citizen involvement. The “Notice” process is where the government publishes in the Federal Register any proposed rules, regulations and information to notify the public – in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) of upcoming proposed actions.
When the public is actively involved in the management of their public lands, the quality of the land improves (cleaning-up trash, monitoring of activities, attending public meetings etc..). Recruiting volunteers (especially younger ones), and connecting them to their public lands, will assure that land and resource values are appreciated (e.g. heritage and biological values) and are front and center in their lives.
Public lands provide priceless values to the American people – including quantifiable (barrels of oil) and non-quantifiable (recreation opportunities) commodities – that improve their lives and well-being.
There are approximately 245 million acres of public lands managed by the Department of the Interior (DOI), Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on behalf of the American people.
