BLM Seeking to Add Acreage to Its Domain
Federal land managers will take a sweeping new look at how to best conserve and restore vegetation across 264 million acres in the West, the Bureau of Land Management said.
As part of the study, the BLM is seeking a substantial increase in the number of acres it actively manages. Under its proposal, the agency would be able to thin forests that pose fire risks and could kill invasive weeds across as much as 5 million acres.
Currently the bureau can actively manage only 350,000 acres, except when it does rehabilitation after a fire or in other emergencies.
The environmental impact statement would incorporate and update four regional studies conducted from 1986 to 1992. It also adds Alaska, with 87 million acres of BLM land.
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