Public Lands Marks 40 Years

Friday marked 40 years, since President Ford signed legislation that changed the way the Bureau of Land Management handles public lands, making sure conservation is one of its main goals.  Before the Federal Land Policy Management Act or FLPMA, land was largely leased for ranching, oil and gas, and other types of development.  Dan Morse with the Oregon Natural Desert Association says FLPMA helped unify public lands across the country under one vision for the future.

"FLPMA helped bring about the BLM and an emphasis on keeping those lands instead of disposing them, managing them for multiple uses – including conservation, including all forms of land use – and it helped public lands become what they are today."

There are 15.7 million acres of B-L-M lands in Oregon today.  Morse said some of the highlights in Oregon include Steens Mountain, the Owyhee Canyonlands, and the John Day River, one of longest undammed rivers in the western United States.

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