History and purpose of BLM Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

History and purpose of BLM - Research Paper Example However, during the 19th century the Nation’s land base increased further west , therefore congress was forced to enact a variety of laws including mining and homesteading law of 1872 to ecourage settlement of the land (BLM, 2010). During this period the country was young and therefore these two policies formed part of the major policy goals in the history of U.S. However, with the exception the Desert Land Act which was passed in 1877 and Mining law passed in 1872 by the congress, all the laws have been amended and replaced by other statutes. During the late 19th centuary important events yet again took place, the congress saw the need of creating national game parks, wild life refuges and forests. Therefore, this meant that the land which was occupied by wild life refuges, game parksand forests had to be excluded from the land allowed for settlement (BLM, 2012). This is because the congress had realized that the lands could be set aside for other important activities. In connection to this, the congress saw it fit that these lands should be held in public ownership instead of individual people. During the early 20th century, Congress realized the value of that management of public land is important towards achieving transparency in land use. Therefore, additional steps were taken by congress, where they directed the Executive branch to manage activities paternaing to public lands. However, the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 allowed leasing, exploration, and production of selected commodities, such as coal, oil, gas, and sodium, to take place on public lands (BLM, 2010). In 1934 the congress passed Taylor Grazing Act laws that paved way for the formation of U.S. Grazing Service to manage the public rangelands. While, California and Oregon Act of 1937 required sustained yield management of the timberlands in western Oregon. This led to the