Montana State Office
| Contacts: | Mary Apple 406-896-5258 | |||
State Director Message on Hunting and Fall Recreation by Jamie Connell
If you ask me, it doesn’t seem like hunting season should be upon us already. Didn’t summer just start a few weeks ago? But the calendar tells me that the time is here. So, on behalf of the Montana/Dakotas Bureau of Land Management, I would like to welcome all of you to your National System of Public Lands this fall.
More of you visit BLM-managed public lands during the fall season than at any other time of the year. You use the public lands to hunt, camp, boat, fish, float, or simply to take a drive through the countryside. While nonresidents may have to travel a considerable distance to enjoy the western quality of life and open spaces our public lands provide, others of us are fortunate enough to have these opportunities just a short drive out our back door.
Whatever the distance travelled, public land users make a huge economic contribution to our gateway communities and states as you buy gas, hunting and fishing licenses, clothing, motel rooms, steaks, souvenirs, anything made of huckleberries, and many other items to help complete your trip. Some of you will employ outfitters or shuttle services during your activities. Last year, BLM-managed public lands throughout the West generated 58 million recreational visits. These visits created billions of dollars in spending which then circulated through our local, state, and national economies.
We are pleased that public lands serve as a stage for this kind of recreational and economic activity. The BLM’s multiple-use approach to managing your public lands ensures the widest possible array of appropriate uses for the widest variety of users, while conserving our public resources. But you also play a big part in the stewardship of the public lands. Remember to never leave a campfire until it’s dead out, be aware of and abide by any fire restrictions, drive only on established/open roads, use good land status and block management maps (to know where you are), respect other recreationists, and always respect private property.
Please don’t hesitate to stop by any BLM or any other federal or state land-managing agency office for information. Any of us will be glad to answer your questions.
Enjoy your public lands; they’re an important part of the quality of life so many of us enjoy.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
Montana State Office 5001 Southgate Drive Billings, MT 59101