Most Are Satisfied with Visits to BLM-managed Public Lands According to National Survey

The National Quality Research Center at the University of Michigan Business School and Arthur Andersen Office of Government Services conducted the survey.

The BLM scored 62 out of 100 points on the American Customer Satisfaction Index, a national indicator since 1994 of customer satisfaction with the quality of goods and services available to U.S. residents. Visitors rated the BLM on the quality of facilities; quality of opportunities for learning about nature, history, or culture; and quality and accessibility of brochures and maps.

The BLM scored slightly lower than the Index score of 71.2 for private sector services (private parks, visitors centers, and other facilities). According to the survey, the summer wildland fires of 2000 that occurred during the survey may have influenced the BLM's score. However, visitors gave the BLM positive marks for exceeding expectations and comparing favorably to what they would consider an ideal agency that preserves natural areas and provides recreational opportunities. Of visitors surveyed, 95 percent said they would return to BLM lands again. A copy of the National Quality Research Center's report can be viewed online.

Since 1995, the BLM has also conducted more than 25 customer surveys of its own. The BLM's customer service surveys are designed to provide customer feedback in areas ranging from land-use authorizations to wild horse and burro adoptions. For several years, the BLM has conducted surveys of recreation users at BLM recreation sites nationwide. According to recent data collected from 12 Western states, 94 percent of BLM's customers are satisfied with the overall quality of their recreation experience.

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, with a budget of about $1.8 billion and a workforce of some 9,000 full-time, permanent employees, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The 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.