BLM LIBRARY III llll il 88015066 OPPORTUNITY AND CHALLENGE The Story of BLM « i m 10 its OPPORTUNITY AND CHALLENGE The Story of BLM BLM LIBRARY SC-- G. 50 Dc< . U CENTER P. 0- E by James Muhn Hanson R. Stuart designed by Peter D. Doran BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT LIBRARY Denver, Colorado 88615666 U. S. Department of the Interior • Bureau of Land Management September 1988 Cover and Chapter Illustrations — Peter D. Doran Portrait Drawings — Jennifer Reese Graphics — Jennifer Reese, Kelly Sorenson Page Layout — Peter D. Doran, Jennifer Reese, Kelly Sorenson Graphic Assistance — Herman Weiss, John D. Montoya The views presented in this book by individuals outside the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) may not necessarily represent any policy or position of the BLM or the Department of the Interior. The use of trade names in this publica- tion does not constitute an official endorsement or approval by the U.S. Depart- ment of the Interior or BLM. BLM/YA/GI-88/001+1701 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washinton, D.C. 20492 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS XI PREFACE Xlll CHAPTER 1 Prologue: The Public Domain From 1776-1946 CHAPTER 2 The Search For An Identity: The Bureau of Land Management, 1946-1960 53 CHAPTER 3 A Multiple Use Mandate: The 1960s 103 CHAPTER 4 An Agency With A Mission: The 1970s 157 CHAPTER 5 BLM Consolidates Its Gains: The 1980s 219 APPENDIX 1 Commonly Used Acronyms 271 APPENDIX 2 Chronology of Significant Events 275 APPENDIX 3 Commissioners and Directors .293 INDEX 297 in t FEATURE ARTICLES CHAPTER 1 Jefferson and Hamilton and the Public Lands by Jerry A. O'Callaghan Commissioners of the General Land Office by Jerry A. O'Callaghan 10 Surveying New Mexico Territory in 1859 by R. E. Clements and L. Archer 15 William Morris Stewart—"Father" of the Mining Law by William Condi 18 The Beaubien-Miranda (Maxwell) Mexican Land Grant by Andrew Send 24 Commissioner William A. J. Sparks Confronts Public Land Fraud by William A. J. Sparks 25 Land Rush in Oklahoma Territory by Anthony Rice 27 Theodore Roosevelt on Conservation by Theodore Roosevelt 30 History of the U. S. Geological Survey's Conservation Division by Larry Godwin 33 Administrative Principles of the Grazing Service by Richard Rutledge 40 The Alaskan Fire Control Service by Roger R. Robinson 46 CHAPTER 2 A Director's Perspective: 1948-1953 by Marion Clawson 60 The Range Advisory Board System by A. D. Brownfield 65 8 Opportunity and Challenge: The Story ofBLM Tales of Early BLM Forestry in Alaska by Edwin Zaidlicz 70 A Director's Perspective: 1953-1961 by Edward Woozley 78 Records Improvement Project byTomAdler 89 Eastern States Office by Curt Jones 93 CHAPTER 3 Service Center Role in BLM byEdDettman 107 A Director's Perspective: 1961-1963 by Karl S. Landstrom 108 Classification and Multiple Use Act by Irving Senzel 114 A New Emblem For BLM by Charles H. Stoddard 116 A Director's Perspective: 1963-1966 by Charles H. Stoddard 1 1 The Alaska State Land Selection Program: A State Perspective by Roscoe E. Bell 127 Off-Road Vehicle Management by Ralph M. Conrad 129 California Desert Program: 1966-1974 by J. Russell Penny 130 The Vale Project by Max Lieurance 135 The Boise Interagency Fire Center by Jack Wilson 1 39 The Big Blow by Larry L. Woodard 142 VI Feature Articles BLM's First "Lady" Forester by Edwin Zaidlicz 144 Trail Blazer: BLM's First Woman Forester by Elaine Pearsons 145 A Director's Perspective: 1966-1971 by Boyd L. Rasmussen 148 Nigerian Experience by Jack Mcintosh 152 CHAPTER 4 A Director's Perspective: 1971-1973 by Burt Silcock 1 60 Implementing NEPA in BLM by Ron Hofman 163 Environmental Education by Ron Hofman 1 64 BLM's Response to the Public Land Law Review Commission by Mike Harvey 1 67 How FLPMA Passed by Eleanor Schwartz 169 The FLPMA Tightrope by George Turcott 170 A Director's Perspective: 1973-1977 by Curt Berklund 172 From MFPs to RMPs by Robert Jones 176 Alaska's Outer Continental Shelf Office by Edward J. Hoffmann 178 Upheaval in Alaska Land Status by Curtis V. McVee 185 A World Class Project: The Trans-Alaska Pipeline by Arlan Kohl 1 87 vn 1 Opportunity and Challenge: The Story ofBLM Ralph, Rita, and Gena by Tom Noble 1 89 Phoenix Training Center by Vi Dille and Ken McGinty 192 A Director's Perspective: 1978- 1981 by Frank Gregg 196 Implementing FLPMA by Frank Gregg 206 A Woman in Firefighting by Louise Power 21 CHAPTER 5 A State Director's Perspective by Clair M. Whitlock 222 History of BLM Land Exchanges in Arizona by D. Dean Bibles 224 The Differences Between BLM and the Forest Service by Dr. Sally K. Fairfax 226 The Lead Mines of Missouri by Charlie Most 229 The Missiles of Garrison by William Frey 230 On Being a Navajo Coordinator by Danny S. Charlie 232 Life as a P.E.T. by Paul Parthun 234 The Trials and Tribulations of Being a Resource Area Manager by Phyllis Roseberry 238 Bureau Air Resource Management by Al Riebau 241 vin Feature Articles BLM's Hazardous Materials Program by Myra Musialkiewicz and Michael Giblin 242 Desert Bighorn and BLM by Allen Cooperrider 245 A Wild Horse Roundup by Robert E. Stewart 246 Cultural Resource Management in Arizona by Gary Stumpf 252 The East Mojave National Scenic Area by John Bailey 255 Wilderness Review Process in Utah by Gregory F. Thayn 256 A Director's Perspective: 1981-1989 by Robert F. Burford 262 The Human Resource Development Committee and Its Role In Implementing Change in the Bureau of Land Management by Mike Evans 264 IX — ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This history could not have been written without the cooperation and encouragement of many BLM employees. In particular, we wish to thank Director Robert Burford and the Bureau Management Team for their continued support of this project. Director Burford took a personal interest in seeing that a history of BLM was completed while all of its former Directors were available to contribute to it. He gave us free reign in producing the book and extended us every possible courtesy. Service Center Director Bob Moore provided valuable insights and contacts for further information, but most important, encouraged us when we needed it most. Many Bureau employees and retirees participated in this project. In BLM we want to thank the following offices and people: Washington Tom Allen, Dave Almand, Linda Brooks, Don Cabrera, Bill Condit, John Douglas, Larry Godwin, Charlie Grymes, Patricia Harvey, Bob Lawton, Tim Locke, John Moeller, Hank Nolden, Del Price, Eleanor Schwartz, B illy Templeton and June Wrona; Service Center—Brian Bernard and Judith Herrington; Alaska—Pat Bower, Mike Brown, Jim Ducker, and Dave Vickery; Arizona—Gordon Warren; California—Ron Hofman; Colorado—Andy Senti; Eastern States—Charlie Most; Idaho—Jack Sept and Del Vail; Montana—June Bailey, Cynthia Embretson, Bill Frey, Chuck Sigafoos, and Burt Williams; Nevada—Bob Stewart; New Mexico—Anne Jeffries; Oregon—Mark Ashton, Ed Ciliberti, Jeanne Glenn, and Art Oakley; Utah—James Parker; and Wyoming—Wayne Erickson, Larry Pomerinke, and Tim Monroe. Retirees that assisted us were Dale Andrus, Roscoe E. Bell, Bob Buffington, Bob Jones, Jerry O'Callaghan, Russ Penny, Roger Robinson, Jim Scott, Irving Senzel, George Turcott, Clair Whitlock, and Edwin "Moose" Zaidlicz. Because our time was limited in completing this project, there were many additional people we should have contacted but didn't to them we apologize. Special thanks also go to BLM's former Directors who spoke and corresponded with us. In addition, Mike Harvey, Chief Counsel to the Senate's Energy and Natural Resources Committee, provided us with important legislative details on BLM in the 1960s and 1970s. Information on BLM program activities in the 1980s was not available in the published sources we used for other chapters. We particularly wish to thank Associate Director Dean Stepanek and his program staffs in Washington for providing information and suggested writeups for the 1980s chapter. To Service Center employees we owe a great debt. Linda Hill, Mitzi Maxwell, Bobby G. Miller, and Carolyn Tarpley transcribed hours of oral interviews. The library staff ordered volumes of reading material, providing hard-to-locate sources on short notice; we thank Sandra Bowers, Teresa Day, Barbara Klassen, and April Kobayashi for patience and assistance beyond the call of duty. Photo Lab personnel provided high-quality camera XI Opportunity and Challenge: The Story ofBLM work under tight deadlines. Linda Graham, Linda Hill, Barbara McArdle, Andrea Ortega, and Carolyn Tarpley provided hours and hours of top- quality typing. Invaluable research assistance was provided by S. Calvin Riley. The many details of printing procurement were handled by Carl Anderson. We appreciate the assistance of Richard Crawford at the National Archives in Washington, plus Joel Barker and Eileen Bolger at the Denver Branch. We also want to thank our supervisors, Mary Gaylord and Roger Molinar, for keeping our schedules free so that we could complete this project. Special thanks go to our editors, Janet Poorman and Robert Woerner, and our proofreader, Karen Miranda, who provided significant editorial assistance and made this history more readable. xn PREFACE To the uninitiated, the Bureau of Land Management is a bewildering array of programs. BLM manages a variety of resources, ranging from the more traditional resources of timber, range, and minerals, to exotics such as cultural resources and air quality. On any given day, a BLM employee might be found evaluating wildlife habitat in the morning, reviewing a report on the impact of off-road vehicles on archaeological sites that afternoon, and attending an evening public meeting on the construction of a power transmission line across public land.