GENERAL STATEMENT The Bureau of Land Management was created in 1946 when the Congress merged the General Land Office and the Grazing Service to create an agency that could better manage the public lands those lands owned by the United States that have not been withdrawn for forest, park, or other special use. In addition to 341 million acres of these public lands, the Bureau also administers the subsurface mineral rights on other lands and the vast area of the Outer Continental Shelf. Together, these land and water surfaces cover an area equal to roughly half the size of the United States. In The Bureau's activities generate substantial governmental receipts. Fiscal Year 1982, for each dollar in the Bureau's operating budget, an estimated $22 dollars will be received from Bureau operations. These receipts consist primarily of rents, royalties, and bonuses from OCS oil and gas leases, and lesser amounts from onshore energy and minerals leases, payments for timber sales, and grazing fees. By law, the public lands must be managed for multiple use based on land use plans developed in consultation with the public. In carrying out this charter, the Bureau must address needs that are national, regional, and local and that are often in conflict with one another. Emphases of the 1982 Budget The proposed budget for 1982 responds to the following needs: For o The need to respond to new and emerging priorities as established by Congress and by social and economic needs of the country. example, this budget includes increases for: energy development, to respond to additional leasing demand for oil and gas, coal, oil shale, and tar sands; implementation of the recently-enacted Alaska National o implementation of the approved land use plan for the • The need to meet statutory deadlines established by the Congress, o wilderness review, for which an increase is requested withdrawal review, for which an increase is sought to assure that the Bureau meets the statutory deadline of 1991. Additional funds The need for more timely service to the public. The continuing need to improve and maintain the productivity and usefulness of public resources. This budget requests additional funds for rangeland management, in keeping with the intent of the Public Rangelands Improvement Act of 1978, and for forestry management in the commercially-valuable Oregon and California grant lands. The need for better conservation and protection of public resources. increased protection of threatened cultural resource implementation of new surface management regulations, to increased assistance and information for those who use the public lands for recreation, particularly in areas that are close to major population centers; and additional cooperative agreements with local governments for law enforcement on the public lands. While this budget proposes these significant increases, BLM has done much within existing funding levels to improve the public lands, their management, and the sensitivity with which the Bureau responds to national, regional, and local needs. The recent steps that have been taken include the following: Increasing public participation in issues facing BLM. For example, Increasing consultation with other Federal agencies to make certain |