California receives the largest PILT payment of $14,277,119, an increase of $1.4 million over last year's payment.  For more complete information go to BLM California website at www.ca.blm.gov/caso/PILTmain.html

BLM, an agency of the Interior Department, distributes PILT payments to eligible units of local governments each year.  The payments are intended to offset the loss of tax revenue to states and localities caused by the presence of tax-exempt federal land within their jurisdictions.

According to BLM Director Tom Fry, PILT payments carry out an especially important role for the BLM, which manages more land than any other federal agency.  "Through PILT payments, local governments carry out such vital services as firefighting and police protection, and construction of public schools and roads," Fry said.

The annual PILT payments are made for tax-exempt federal lands administered by the BLM, the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service(all agencies of the Interior Department), the U.S. Forest Service, and for federal water projects and some military installations.

Congress appropriates PILT payments each year.  BLM allocates the funds according to a formula in the PILT Act that includes population and the amount of federal land within an affected county. These payments are in addition to other federal revenues (such as livestock grazing and timber harvesting) the federal government transfers to the counties. BLM has distributed more than two billion dollars in PILT payments to local governments since these payments began in 1977.

All states (except Rhode Island) -- plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands -- are receiving PILT funds for Fiscal Year 2000, which ends September 30. The states with counties that collectively receive the largest amounts are:  California, $14,277,119; New Mexico, $12,323,237; Arizona, $11,005,635; Utah, $10,411,528; Colorado, 10,296,073; Montana, $10,109,778; and Alaska, $9,086,284.

The BLM, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, manages more land - 264 million surface acres - than any other federal agency.  Most of this public land is located in 12 western states including Alaska.  The Bureau, which has a budget of $1.4 billion and a workforce of about 8,700 employees, also administers more than 700 million acres of sub_surface minerals estate throughout the nation.  BLM preserves open space by managing the public lands for multiple uses, including outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, and mining, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources found on the public lands.

-30--