| Contacts: | Theresa Herrera | , 505.954.2021 |
BLM Announces Fee-Free Days for 2013
Santa Fe, NM–The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will waive recreation-related fees in 2013 for visitors to BLM’s National System of Public Lands on January 21 (Martin Luther King Jr. Day), September 28 (National Public Lands Day), and November 9-11 (Veterans Day Weekend). These fee-free days also include areas managed within the BLM’s National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS). The fee-free requirement only applies to standard amenity fees such as individual day-use fees. Other fees, such as those for group day use, overnight camping, and cabin rentals, will remain in effect.
New Mexico fee-free sites include: Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River which includes Wild Rivers and Orilla Verde Recreation Areas, Santa Cruz Lake, Valley of Fires Recreation Area, Three Rivers Petroglyph Site, Aguirre Spring Recreation Site, and Dripping Springs Natural Area. For more information, please visit BLM’s website at:
http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/Recreation/BLM_Fee_Free_Days.html
We encourage you to come out and enjoy your public lands.
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.