The Bureau of Land Management NEWS |
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The Bureau of Land Management NEWS |
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Last updated: 04/04/03
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Bureau of Land Management For Release: Tuesday, October 8, 2002 |
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BLM Creates New Forest and Woodland Management Group BLM Director Kathleen Clarke announced today the creation of the Forest and Woodland Management Group to oversee the management of 55 million acres of forest and woodland on BLM-managed public lands while addressing the Society of the American Foresters' National Convention today in Winston - Salem, North Carolina. The new group, which was formerly part of the BLM's existing Fish, Wildlife, and Forests Group, will focus on restoring the health of the estimated 12 million acres of forests and woodlands that have been identified as needing restoration. "We must restore the health of our forests and woodlands and this new group, this new realignment, puts us in a better position to do that," Clarke said. "The group will implement restoration treatments that will make BLM managed forestlands more resilient to disturbance such as fire, insect infestation, or disease. While these activities will also reduce hazardous fuels, they will, at the same time, provide employment opportunities to private individuals," Clarke added. The group is also expected to add national emphasis to the Bureau's implementation issues surrounding the Northwest Forest Plan, a complex plan to balance the protection of old growth forests and a predictable and sustainable level of timber harvest on federal lands in the pacific northwest. Currently, the Bureau treats approximately 66,000 acres a year through various methods, such as mechanical thinning, selective harvest, reforestation, and prescribed burning. The new group will initially focus on accelerating the number of acres treated over the next 5 years as part of the President's Healthy Forests Initiative and the National Fire Plan. The group will also emphasize commercial timber production as authorized under the Northwest Forest Plan and utilization of forest health treatment by-products for commercial uses such as engineered lumber and bioenergy production. As part of the BLM's Renewable Resources and Planning Directorate in Washington, D.C., the Forest and Woodland Management Group will develop policy and guidance, as well as national strategic goals and priorities for the management of BLM forests and woodlands including the Oregon and California Railroad Grant Lands, and Public Domain Forests and Woodlands spread across 12 western states and Alaska. The forest and woodlands areas will continue to be managed by BLM's field offices across the country, and site-specific management objectives will continue to be developed through local land use plans. The BLM will identify an Acting Forest and Woodland Management Group Manager on an interim basis while the agency recruits a permanent manager. The Bureau anticipates that the Washington office will be small, with the majority of the work being handled at the field office level. The BLM, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, manages more land—261 million surface acres - than any other Federal agency. Most of the country's BLM-managed public land is located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. These lands, once remote, now provide the growing communities of the West with open space that gives the region much of its character. The Bureau, which has a budget of $1.8 billion and a workforce of 10,000 employees, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the Nation. The BLM's "multiple use" mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The BLM accomplishes this by managing for such resources as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, and energy and mineral development that helps meet the nation's energy needs, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on the public lands.
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