Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976

Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976
Citations

Long title	An Act to provide for the management, protection, and development of the national resource lands, and for other purposes; An Act to establish public land policy; to establish guidelines for its administration; to provide for the management, protection, development, and enhancement of the public lands; and for other purposes.
Acronyms (colloquial)	FLPMA
Enacted by	the 94th United States Congress
Effective	October 21, 1976
Public law	94-579
Statutes at Large	90 Stat. 2743
Codification
Acts repealed	Stock-Raising Homestead Act
Titles amended	43 U.S.C.: Public Lands
U.S.C. sections created	43 U.S.C. ch. 35 § 1701 et seq.
Legislative history
Introduced in the Senate as S. 507 by Floyd K. Haskell (D–CO) on January 30, 1975 Committee consideration by House Natural Resources, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Passed the Senate on February 25, 1976 (78-11) Passed the House on July 22, 1976 (169-155, in lieu of H.R. 13777) Signed into law by President Gerald R. Ford on October 21, 1976

The Federal Land Policy and Management Act, or FLPMA (Pub.L. 94–579), is a United States federal law that governs the way in which the public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management are managed. The law was enacted in 1976 by the 94th Congress and is found in the United States Code under Title 43. The Federal Land Policy and Management Act phased out homesteading in the United States by repealing the pre-existing Homestead Acts.

Congress recognized the value of the public lands, declaring that these lands would remain in public ownership. The National Forest Service, National Park Service, and now, the Bureau of Land Management, are commissioned in FLPMA to allow a variety of uses on their land (of greater concern for the BLM, who is the least restrictive in terms of uses) while simultaneously trying to preserve the natural resources in them. This concept is best summarized by the term 'multiple-use.' 'Multiple use' is defined in the Act as "management of the public lands and their various resource values so that they are utilized in the combination that will best meet the present and future needs of the American people." FLPMA addresses topics such as land use planning, land acquisition, fees and payments, administration of federal land, range management, and right-of-ways on federal land. FLPMA has specific objectives and time frames in which to accomplish these objectives, giving it more authority and eliminating the uncertainty surrounding the BLM’s role in wilderness designation and management.

Parts of FLPMA relating specifically to Wilderness are found under the heading Designated Management. Here, the BLM is also given power to designate Wilderness and are given 15 years to do so. The BLM is to conduct studies, classifying areas as 'Wilderness Study Areas.' These areas are not official Wilderness areas but are, for all intents and purposes, treated as such until formal adoption as Wilderness by Congress. Approximately 8.8 million acres of BLM wilderness are currently included in the National Wilderness Preservation System as a result of the wilderness reviews mandated by FLPMA. Those ordered to implement policies from FLPMA are trained government employees using guidelines expressly stated within the act itself.

Further legislation following FLPMA has continued to address these concerns as the needs of the American people have expanded to include natural resources such as oil shale and tar sands in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

References and notes

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