WSP05283

• File Number: 7630.285
• Description: Wild and Scenic - General
• State: CO
• Basin: Statewide
• Date: 10/21/1976
• Author: DOI-BLM
• Title: Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 - Informational Publication
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Publication

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PIEC -MEAL LAWS

N E'W winds of change were
starting to blow by the 1950s
as .1 host of new users and
uses sf,Hted to compete with the
traditional users for space and public
land resources. As a result of the
growing popul<lfity of the public
lands, the Bureau's responsibilities
and programs became vastly more
complie.lled.
While the Bureau had jurisdiction
over the largest area of public lands
,lflJ ,ldministl'rs one of the most
varied management programs of all
the Federal land agencies, it lacked a
clear-cut legislative mandate for its
progr,lms ,md policies. The Congrt'ss
had passed the first laws pertaining to
the public domain while we were still
fighting the American Revolution.
Since th.lt time, thousands of public
land laws have been enacted. A good

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portion of these 1,1\.'\IS were p.lss<>d to
meet ,1 special silu,ltion peculiar 10 a
given period of our history. Gut llf
these thousands of laws pertaining tll
thl' publIC lamb, fl'\v Wl'rl' e\'l'I"
repe,lled. A n'pllrt m,lde by the Public
L.lnd Ln'" R('vit,\v Commission in
1 qbol lIsts 2,66Q I,nvs th.lt still h,1\'l'
some beanng on tht' administration
of the poblir 1.1I1ds,
In time, this pie(('-mt'JI appro.1L'h to
public land legisl.ltion created a legal
jungle. It created a sltu,ltion whf'l"e
managers and administr.ltl)rs wPre
forced to hack away ,lt the It'gal
elltanglenwnts In their l'ff(lrt~ tll
provide prograllls and policil'S that
were responsive to the nl'l'd~ of the
Ameri(an public. It also lTeated a
situ<ltinn where (h.mge had to L'OIlW
through Ext'(utive Order rather th<m
through Congressional action.