Socioeconomics Program
The BLM Socioeconomics Program integrates the disciplines of anthropology, cultural geography, sociology, and economics. The BLM is required by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act to utilize “physical, biological, economic and other sciences” in its land use planning. Additionally, the National Environmental Policy Act requires federal agencies to “insure the integrated use of the natural and social sciences…in planning and decision making.”
Today the BLM faces several changes in the social and economic context of its work. The Socioeconomics Program supports the Bureau's mission by participating in the resource management planning process. Furthermore, the program engages in many cross-cutting initiatives and challenges, such as addressing climate change, environmental justice, ecosystem services, and urban growth in the West.
Social Science "In the Spotlight":
>