BLM is the acronym for Bureau of Land Management, an agency of the United States Department of Interior. BLM is responsible for the administration of an estimated 247.3 million areas that consists public land in the US. Public land makes up about one eight of America’s land mass. In addition, BLM manages the subsurface mineral land that underlies the state, federal and private and state lands. Subsurface mineral land measures about 700 million acres. Much of public lands are found in the states on the west, particularly Alaska.BLM has an estimated 11600 permanent workers and about 2000 seasonal works. BLM works to sustain the productivity, diversity and health of public lands so that future generations can use and enjoy it.

What BLM Does

BLM controls activities related to fishing, hunting, boating, hiking, shooting and hang gliding. It also oversees of the highway driving, birding, mountain biking and touring cultural and natural heritage sites. I addition, it controls activities relating to extraction of natural resources such as mining, logging and fracking. In terms of fishing, BLM manages some 205,498 miles of streams with fishing potential, 2.2 million acres or water reservoirs and lakes, 6600 miles of rivers with floating capacity, more than 500 access points for boats, 300 wildlife watching sites and 69 National Back Country Byways. It also controls 4500 miles of National Historic, Recreational and Scenic Trails plus trails used for hiking, motor biking, and motor cycling that stretch thousands of miles. Out of the 247.3 million acres of public land, BLM is responsible for managing 55 million acres of woodlands and forests including commercial forests covering 11 million acres and 44 million acres of woodlands that cover western states and Alaska. BLM generates a significant amount of revenue for the US government. For instance, in 2009, the estimated revenue from public lands amounted to $6.2 billion, mostly generated from energy development.