Stories From the Field:  Natural Resources

The move toward a holistic and interdisciplinary management philosophy can be seen across the landscape and across the natural resource programs BLM manages. 

The Transforming Effect of the Natural Resources Defense Council Consent Decree
By D. Dean Bibles

One of the major transformations in the BLM’s history occurred when the agency lost a court case concerning environmental impact statements and livestock grazing. 

The First RAC Meeting and the First Broadcast
By Chip Calamaio

When the newly formed Resource Advisory Councils held their first meetings, they were all linked together by the first live satellite broadcast originating from the new BLM National Training Center studios in Phoenix, Arizona. 

Evolution of a Biologist
By Tim Carrigan

A new vision for BLM wildlife management was cast with the release of the “Fish and Wildlife 2000” plan.  Seemingly overnight, we were managing for species beyond mule deer, elk, pronghorn, and bighorn sheep.
   

Working Underground for the Bureau of Land Management
By James Goodbar

For the BLM, “underground resources” don’t always mean oil and gas or other minable minerals.  The BLM manages thousands of caves and the resources in them. 

The Evolution of Aquatic Resource Management in the BLM
By Mike Crouse

The Forest Service and BLM adopted a comprehensive aquatic conservation strategy (ACS) throughout the Pacific Northwest after data showed broad declines in naturally reproducing Pacific salmon, steelhead, and bull trout.

Visit With Respect
By Victoria Atkins

Ancient and historic places all over our country’s public lands hold the stories of past human lives, whether they are a designated special place or something quietly protected through the National Historic Preservation Act. 

(Not So) Still Life With Owls:  From the Oregon Hills to Capitol Hill, a Forester Looks Back
By Ed Shepard

Nothing has impacted the management of forests in western Oregon more than the discovery of a small 23-ounce critter known as the northern spotted owl.  
    
 

Who Owns Big Al?
By John P. Lee

A dinosaur known as Big Al turned out to be a very important discovery.  The specimen was the most complete fossilized skeleton of a juvenile Allosaurus ever found. 
    
 

Sage-Grouse:  A Tale of Two Birds
By Mark Hilliard and San Stiver

Sage-grouse, the iconic game birds of the wide-open rangelands of western North America, may once have ranged across nearly 464,000 square miles, from the Dakotas to California and from Canada to New Mexico, an area nearly as large as Alaska.