Absolutely fundamental to orderly, systematic land management is to know with a degree of certainty the boundaries of the lands being managed. Every aspect of the Bureau of Land Management’s mission and programs relies on legally defined land boundaries. . . . I encourage all BLM employees, especially those involved in processing and approving high-value realty transactions, to take the opportunity to use the information in this brochure as a resource for learning more about the boundaries that affect the federal interest lands you manage.    Bob Abbey, BLM Director 

A recent Department of the Interior Office of Inspector General (OIG) Audit Report “Department of the Interior’s Management of Land Boundaries” (Audit No. C-IN-MOA-001-2009) reported that the proper survey and management of high value land with antiquated surveys has the potential to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue from land with valuable surface and subsurface resources.  Therefore, the OIG recommended the Bureau of Land Management (BLM):

Develop and implement a department-wide cadastral survey outreach program to educate end users and promote the range of available services and the potential benefits of those services including the opportunities to maximize:

a.      collection of significant revenues from high value unauthorized use;

b.      protection of Federal lands from environmental and other damages;

c.       identification of accurate land boundaries management of rights-of-way, land withdrawals, land exchanges, and land disposals; and

d.      identification of land features including roads, trails, and hazardous sites.