Federal Land Policy and Management Act
| Author | Environmental Law Reporter |
| Pages | 479-513 |
Federal Land Policy and Management Act
43 U.S.C. §§1701-1785
Subchapter I—General Provisions
§1701. [FLPMA §102]
Congressional declaration of policy
(a) The Congress declares that it is the policy of the United States
that—
(1) the public lands be retained in Federal ownership, unless as a
result of the land use planning procedure provided for in this Act, it
is determined that disposal of a particular parcel will serve the na-
tional interest;
(2) the national interest will be best realized if the public lands
and their resources are periodically and systematically inventoried
and their present and future use is projected through a land use plan-
ning process coordinated with other Federal and State planning ef-
forts;
(3) public lands not previously designated for any specific use
and all existing classifications of public lands that were effected by
executive action or statute before October 21, 1976, be reviewed in
accordance with the provisions of this Act;
(4) the Congress exercise its constitutional authority to withdraw
or otherwise designate or dedicate Federal lands for specified pur-
poses and that Congress delineate the extent to which the Executive
may withdraw lands without legislative action;
(5) in administering public land statutes and exercising discre-
tionary authority granted by them, the Secretary be required to es-
tablish comprehensive rules and regulations after considering the
views of the general public; and to structure adjudication proce-
dures to assure adequate third party participation, objective admin-
istrative review of initial decisions, and expeditious decisionmak-
ing;
(6) judicial review of public land adjudication decisions be pro-
vided by law;
(7) goals and objectives be established by law as guidelines for
public land use planning, and that management be on the basis of
multiple use and sustained yield unless otherwise specified by law;
(8) the public lands be managed in a manner that will protect the
quality of scientific, scenic, historical, ecological, environmental,
air and atmospheric, water resource, and archeological values; that,
where appropriate, will preserve and protect certain public lands in
their natural condition; that will provide food and habitat for fish
and wildlife and domestic animals; and that will provide for outdoor
recreation and human occupancy and use;
(9) the United States receive fair market value of the use of the
public lands and their resources unless otherwise provided for by
statute;
(10) uniform procedures for any disposal of public land, acquisi-
tion of non-Federal land for public purposes, and the exchange of
such lands be established by statute, requiring each disposal, acqui-
sition, and exchange to be consistent with the prescribed mission of
the department or agency involved, and reserving to the Congress
review of disposals in excess of a specified acreage;
(11) regulations and plans for the protection of public land areas
of critical environmental concern be promptly developed;
(12) the public lands be managed in a manner which recognizes
the Nation’s need for domestic sources of minerals, food, timber,
and fiber from the public lands including implementation of the
Mining and Minerals Policy Act of 1970 (84 Stat. 1876, 30 U.S.C.
21a) as it pertains to the public lands; and
(13) the Federal Government should, on a basis equitable to both
the Federal and local taxpayer, provide for payments to compensate
States and local governments for burdens created as a result of the
immunity of Federal lands from State and local taxation.
(b) The policies of this Act shall become effective only as specific
statutory authority for their implementation is enacted by this Act or
by subsequent legislation and shall then be construed as supplemental
to and not in derogation of the purposes for which public lands are ad-
ministered under other provisions of law.
(Pub. L. 94-579, title I, §102, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2744.)
References In Text
This Act, referred to in subsecs. (a)(1), (3) and (b), is Pub. L. 94-579, Oct. 21,
1976, 90 Stat. 2743, as amended, known as the Federal Land Policy and Manage-
ment Act of 1976. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables.
The Mining and Minerals Policy Act of 1970, referred to in subsec. (a)(12), is
Pub.L. 91-631, Dec. 31, 1970, 84 Stat. 1876, which is classified to section 21a of Ti-
tle 30, Mineral Lands and Mining.
Short Title Of 1988 Amendment
Pub. L. 100-409, Sec. 1, Aug. 20, 1988, 102 Stat. 1086, provided that: “This Act
[enacting section 1723 of this title, amending section 1716 of this title and sections
505a, 505b, and 521b of Title 16, Conservation, and enacting provisions set out as
notesunder sections 751 and 1716 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Federal Land Ex-
change Facilitation Act of 1988’.”
Short Title
Section 101 of Pub. L. 94-579 provided that: “This Act [enacting this chapter and
amending and repealing numerous other laws, which for complete classification,
see Tables] may be cited as the ‘Federal Land Policy and Management Act of
1976’.”
Savings Provision
Section 701 of Pub. L. 94-579 provided that:
“(a) Nothing in this Act, or in any amendment made by this Act [see Short Title
note set out above], shall be construed as terminating any valid lease, permit, patent,
right-of-way,or other land use right or authorization existing on the date of approval
of this Act [Oct. 21, 1976].
“(b) Notwithstanding any provision of this Act, in the event of conflict with or in-
consistency between this Act and the Acts of August 28, 1937 (50 Stat. 874; 43
U.S.C. 1181a-1181j)and May 24, 1939 (53 Stat. 753), insofar as they relate to man-
agement of timber resources, and disposition of revenues from lands and resources,
the latter Acts shall prevail.
“(c)All withdrawals, reservations, classifications, and designations in effect as of
thedate of approval of this Act shall remain in full force and effect until modified un-
der the provisions of this Act or other applicable law.
“(d) Nothing in this Act, or in any amendments made by this Act, shall be con-
strued as permitting any person to place, or allow to be placed, spent oil shale, over-
burden, or byproducts from the recovery of other minerals found with oil shale, on
any Federal land other than Federal land which has been leased for the recovery of
shale oil under the Act of February 25, 1920 (41 Stat. 437, as amended; 30 U.S.C.
181 et seq.).
“(e) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as modifying, revoking, or changing
any provision of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (85 Stat. 688, as
amended; 43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.).
“(f)Nothing in this Act shall be deemed to repeal any existing law by implication.
“(g) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as limiting or restricting the power and
authority of the United States or—
“(1) as affecting in any way any law governing appropriation or use of, or Fed-
eral right to, water on public lands;
“(2) as expanding or diminishing Federal or State jurisdiction, responsibility,
interests, or rights in water resources development or control;
“(3) as displacing, superseding, limiting, or modifying any interstate compact
or the jurisdiction or responsibility of any legally established joint or common
agency of two or more States or of two or more States and the Federal Govern-
ment;
“(4) as superseding, modifying, or repealing, except as specifically set forth in
this Act, existing laws applicable to the various Federal agencies which are
authorized to develop or participate in the development of water resources or to
exercise licensing or regulatory functions in relation thereto;
“(5) as modifying the terms of any interstate compact;
“(6) as a limitation upon any State criminal statute or upon the police power of
the respective States, or as derogating the authority of a local police officer in the
performance of his duties, or as depriving any State or political subdivision
thereof of any right it may have to exercise civil and criminal jurisdiction on the
national resource lands; or as amending, limiting, or infringing the existing laws
providing grants of lands to the States.
“(h)All actions by the Secretary concerned under this Act shall be subject to valid
existing rights.
“(i) The adequacy of reports required by this Act to be submitted to the Congress
or its committees shall not be subject to judicial review.
“(j)Nothing in this Act shall be construed as affecting the distribution of livestock
grazing revenues to local governments under the Granger-Thye Act (64 Stat.85, 16
U.S.C. 580h), under the Act of May 23, 1908 (35 Stat. 260, as amended; 16 U.S.C.
479
500), under the Act of March 4, 1913 (37 Stat.843, as amended; 16 U.S.C. 501), and
under the Act of June 20, 1910 (36 Stat. 557).”
Severability
Section 707 of Pub. L. 94-579 provided that: “If any provision of this Act [see
Short Title note set out above] or the application thereof is held invalid, the remain-
der of the Act and the application thereof shall not be affected thereby.”
Agency-Wide Joint Permitting And Leasing Programs
Pub. L. 106-291, title III, Sec. 330, Oct. 11,2000, 114 Stat. 996, as amended Pub.
L. 109-54, title IV,Sec. 428, Aug. 2, 2005, 119 Stat. 555, provided that: “In fiscal
years 2001 through 2008, the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture, subject to
annual review of Congress, may establish pilot programs involving the land man-
agement agencies referred to in this section to conduct projects, planning, permit-
ting, leasing, contracting and other activities, either jointly or on behalf of one an-
other; may co-locate in Federal offices and facilities leased by an agency of either
Department; and promulgate special rules as needed to test the feasibility of issuing
unifiedpermits, applications, and leases. The Secretaries of the Interior and Agricul-
ture may make reciprocal delegations of their respective authorities, duties and re-
sponsibilitiesin support of the ‘Service First’ initiative agency-wide to promote cus-
tomer service and efficiency.Nothing herein shall alter, expand or limit the applica-
bility of any public law or regulation to lands administered by the Bureau of Land
Management, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, or the Forest Ser-
vice. Tofacilitate the sharing of resources under the Service First initiative, the Sec-
retaries of the Interior and Agriculture may make transfers of funds and reimburse-
ment of funds on an annual basis, including transfers and reimbursements for
multi-yearprojects, except that this authority may not be used to circumvent require-
ments and limitations imposed on the use of funds.”
Existing Rights-of-Way
Section 706(b) of Pub. L. 94-579 provided that: “Nothing in section 706(a) [see
Tablesfor classification], except as it pertains to rights-of-way, may be construed as
affecting the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture under the Act of June 4, 1897
(30 Stat. 35, as amended, 16 U.S.C. 551); the Act of July 22, 1937 (50 Stat. 525, as
amended, 7 U.S.C. 1010-1212); or the Act of September 3, 1954 (68 Stat. 1146,43
U.S.C. 931c).”
§1702. [FLPMA §103]
Definitions
Without altering in any way the meaning of the following terms as
used in any other statute, whether or not such statute is referred to in, or
amended by, this Act, as used in this Act—
(a) The term “areas of critical environmental concern” means areas
within the public lands where special management attention is re-
quired (when such areas are developed or used or where no develop-
ment is required) to protect and prevent irreparable damage to impor-
tant historic, cultural, or scenic values, fish and wildlife resources or
other natural systems or processes, or to protect life and safety from
natural hazards.
(b) The term “holder” means any State or local governmental entity,
individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other business en-
tity receiving or using a right-of-way under subchapter V of this chap-
ter.
(c) The term “multiple use” means the management of the public
lands and their various resource values so that they are utilized in the
combination that will best meet the present and future needs of the
American people; making the most judicious use of the land for some
or all of these resources or related services over areas large enough to
provide sufficient latitude for periodic adjustments in use to conform
to changing needs and conditions; the use of some land for less than all
of the resources; a combination of balanced and diverse resource uses
that takes into account the long-term needs of future generations for
renewable and nonrenewable resources, including, but not limited to,
recreation, range, timber, minerals, watershed, wildlife and fish, and
natural scenic, scientific and historical values; and harmonious and
coordinated management of the various resources without permanent
impairment of the productivity of the land and the quality of the envi-
ronment with consideration being given to the relative values of the re-
sources and not necessarily to the combination of uses that will give
the greatest economic return or the greatest unit output.
(d) The term “public involvement” means the opportunity for par-
ticipation by affected citizens in rulemaking, decisionmaking, and
planning with respect to the public lands, including public meetings or
hearings held at locations near the affected lands, or advisory mecha-
nisms, or such other procedures as may be necessary to provide public
comment in a particular instance.
(e) The term “public lands” means any land and interest in land
owned by the United States within the several Statesand administered
by the Secretary of the Interior through the Bureau of Land Manage-
ment, without regard to how the United Statesacquired ownership, ex-
cept—
(1) lands located on the Outer Continental Shelf; and
(2) lands held for the benefit of Indians, Aleuts, and Eskimos.
(f) The term “right-of-way” includes an easement, lease, permit, or
license to occupy,use, or traverse public lands granted for the purpose
listed in subchapter V of this chapter.
(g) The term “Secretary”, unless specifically designated otherwise,
means the Secretary of the Interior.
(h) The term “sustained yield” means the achievement and mainte-
nance in perpetuity of a high-level annual or regular periodic output of
the various renewable resources of the public lands consistent with
multiple use.
(i) The term “wilderness” as used in section 1782 of this title shall
have the same meaning as it does in section 1131(c) of title 16.
(j) The term “withdrawal” means withholding an area of Federal
land from settlement, sale, location, or entry, under some or all of the
general land laws, for the purpose of limiting activities under those
laws in order to maintain other public values in the area or reserving
the area for a particular public purpose or program; or transferring ju-
risdiction over an area of Federal land, other than “property” governed
by the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act, as amended
(40 U.S.C. 472)1from one department, bureau or agency to another
department, bureau or agency.
(k) An “allotment management plan” means a document prepared
in consultation with the lessees or permittees involved, which applies
to livestock operations on the public lands or on lands within National
Forests in the eleven contiguous Western States and which:
(1) prescribes the manner in, and extent to, which livestock op-
erations will be conducted in order to meet the multiple-use,
sustained-yield, economic and other needs and objectives as deter-
mined for the lands by the Secretary concerned; and
(2) describes the type, location, ownership, and general specifi-
cations for the range improvements to be installed and maintained
on the lands to meet the livestock grazing and other objectives of
land management; and
(3) contains such other provisions relating to livestock grazing
and other objectives found by the Secretary concerned to be consis-
tent with the provisions of this Act and other applicable law.
(l) The term “principal or major uses” includes, and is limited to,
domestic livestock grazing, fish and wildlife development and utiliza-
tion, mineral exploration and production, rights-of-way, outdoor rec-
reation, and timber production.
(m) The term “department” means a unit of the executive branch of
the Federal Government which is headed by a member of the Presi-
dent’s Cabinet and the term “agency” means a unit of the executive
branch of the Federal Government which is not under the jurisdiction
of a head of a department.
(n) The term “Bureau2means the Bureau of Land Management.
(o) The term “eleven contiguous Western States”means the States
of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New
Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
(p) The term “grazing permit and lease” means any document
authorizing use of public lands or lands in National Forests in the
eleven contiguous western States for the purpose of grazing domestic
livestock.
(Pub. L. 94-579, title I, §103, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2745.)
References In Text
This Act, referred to in the opening par.and in subsec. (k), is Pub. L. 94-579, Oct.
21,1976, 90 Stat. 2743, as amended, known as the Federal Land Policy and Manage-
ment Act of 1976. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables.
Thegeneral land laws, referred to in subsec. (j), are classified generally to this title.
The Federal Property and Administrative Services Act, referred to in subsec. (j),
is act June 30, 1949, ch. 288, 63 Stat. 377, as amended, known as the Federal Prop-
480
1. See References in Text note below.
2. So in original. Probably should have a close quote.
erty and Administrative Services Act of 1949, as amended. Except for title III of the
Act, which is classified generally to subchapter IV (Sec. 251 et seq.) of chapter 4 of
Title 41, Public Contracts, the Act was repealed and reenacted by Pub. L. 107-217,
Secs. 1, 6(b), Aug. 21, 2002, 116 Stat. 1062, 1304, as chapters 1 to 11 of Title40,
Public Buildings, Property, and Works.Section 3(d) of the Act (former 40 U.S.C.
472(d)), which provided the definition of “property”, was repealed and reenacted as
section 102(9) of Title 40.
481
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