The Bureau of Land Management NEWS |
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The Bureau of Land Management NEWS |
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Last updated: 04/14/03
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Bureau of Land Management For Release: Tuesday, January 28, 2003 |
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BLM Creates Group To Evaluate Land Exchange and Appraisal Process The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has created a work group to evaluate the agency’s land exchange and appraisal processes in light of recommendations by the Office of the Inspector General and the General Accounting Office and in a recent report prepared under contract by the Appraisal Foundation, BLM Deputy Director for Policy and External Affairs, Jim Hughes, announced today. “We selected the members of this work group because of their expertise and their proven integrity,” said Hughes. “The BLM remains committed to making sure that our land exchange process protects the public interest and operates in a way that is impartial, credible, and consistent nationwide.” The Appraisal and Exchange Work Group, which Hughes will chair and which comprises an appraisal subgroup and an exchanges subgroup, draws its membership from the BLM, the Department of the Interior, other Federal agencies and State government agencies familiar with the land exchange process and appraisal activities. The Work Group will develop recommendations to strengthen management oversight of land exchanges and real estate appraisals and ensure adequate controls are in place for management decisions involving such exchanges and appraisals. The BLM anticipates forwarding recommendations made by the Work Group to the Secretary toward the end of the summer. The names and affiliations of personnel selected to serve on the appraisal and work group are:
The BLM conducts hundreds of exchanges each year, the vast majority of which occur without controversy. Land exchanges enable the BLM to change the checkerboard pattern of Federal, State, and privately owned lands in the West into consolidated areas that can be managed more efficiently. Land exchanges have also proven useful in resolving land-use conflicts involving threatened and endangered species. The BLM's authority for land exchanges derives from the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) and the Federal Land Exchange Facilitation Act, which amended FLPMA in 1988. In addition, Congress has broad legislative authority under its plenary powers under Article II of the Constitution to pass laws concerning public lands including directing specific land exchanges. 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 this public land is located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The Bureau, with a budget of about $1.9 billion and a workforce of some 10,000 full-time, permanent 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 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 the public lands.
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