Newsroom
News Releases
Bureau of Land Management offices post News Releases to share news or let you know upcoming plans for their area. Below are the ten most recent news releases sorted by date. If you have questions regarding a specific News Release, contact information is at the top of each News Release. Please feel free to contact the OR/WA Office of Public Affairs with your questions or comments, at 503-808-6002 or by email.
Come join the BLM on Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr for the latest on outdoor opportunities, videos of your public lands, spectacular photos, and a whole lot more! 
| Latest News Releases | |
|---|---|
| Sep 19 2012 | BLM treats Medusahead in Harney County |
| Sep 17 2012 | Steens Mountain Advisory Council Meets September 20, 21 |
| Sep 17 2012 | Table Mountain Fire Forces Evacuations and Closures |
| Sep 17 2012 | Cow Creek Byway Clean-up! |
| Sep 13 2012 | Coos Bay RAC to Meet |
| Sep 12 2012 | BLM announces temporary closure of Wagner Creek Road Sept. 18 |
| Sep 07 2012 | BLM Releases Yearly Updates to Mineral Cost Recovery Fee Schedule |
| Sep 05 2012 | It's a Star Party at the Trail Center! |
| Aug 31 2012 | Oregon and California Lands Act Celebrates 75th Anniversary |
| Aug 29 2012 | Winds Increase Size of Fire |
Current Announcements
Announcement Archive
Let's Move! On National Public Lands Day 2012
Date: 09/12/12
On Saturday, Sept. 29, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is hosting numerous National Public Lands Day events across the region. All ages and abilities can get involved helping to restore, beautify, and improve the wild lands and recreation areas that we all benefit from and enjoy. Volunteers who pitch-in will receive a commemorative t-shirt and a "Fee-Free Coupon," good for free admission to a federally managed recreation site. Click here for complete information on events planned near you or visit www.publiclandsday.com.
Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline
Date: 08/22/12
The BLM is a Cooperating Agency on FERC's EIS for the Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline.
BLM Listening and Learning
Date: 06/29/12
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Oregon is encouraging the public to provide scoping comments for the six Western Oregon resource management plans (RMPs) that provide natural resource management direction for the future of 2.6 million acres of public lands. The BLM held seven scoping public meetings throughout Western Oregon since May 16, 2012. The scoping period wraps up on July 5.
Homesteading Day in Oregon!
Date: 06/07/12
Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber proclaimed June 7, 2012, as Homesteading Day in Oregon! This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Homestead Act. The Homestead Act of 1862 brought about significant and lasting changes to the United States. Giving individuals from the United States and around the world the opportunity to claim free government land allowed nearly any man or woman a chance to live the American Dream. During the homesteading era over 1.6 million people stepped-up to the challenge to claim and settle more than 270 million acres of public land.
Youth Programs Summary and Accomplishments Report
Date: 05/09/12
Throughout 2011, the Oregon and Washington BLM made significant contributions to meeting the Department of the Interior's National Youth Initiative goals, while at the same time continuing to offer meaningful opportunities to the youths and their families, teachers, and community leaders of Oregon and Washington. The annual Youth Programs Summary and Accomplishments Report is now available for download.
Mother's Day Flower Show
Date: 05/08/12
Join us this Saturday, May 12, 10am-2pm for an open house of the O.H. Hinsdale Rhododendron Garden. Located near Reedsport on the southern Oregon coast, this garden has "rhodys" from around the world. Meet at the Dean Creek Viewing Area and enjoy this spectacular show of spring color! Read more>>
General Land Office 200 Year Anniversary
Date: 04/25/12
The Bureau of Land Management was officially established in 1946, but it has roots dating back two hundred years, since the foundation of the General Land Office (GLO) in 1812. The "Gateway to Land Ownership" as it was colloquially dubbed, helped millions of Americans in the 19th and 20th centuries acquire public lands for private and agricultural usage, while simultaneously generating income for the Federal Government.
This April, the GLO will celebrate its 200th birthday. The Oregon/Washington BLM invites you to learn more about our historic lands, and the enduring legacy of the General Land Office. Read more>>
BLM Initiates Planning Update for Western Oregon Forests
Date: 03/09/12
On March 9, 2012, the BLM announced it was beginning the process of revising Resource Management Plans (RMP) for 2.5 million acres of forested lands across six BLM Districts in western Oregon. The BLM is seeking public input on the issues and alternatives the new RMPs should address.
BLM State Director Ed Shepard stated: "The BLM welcomes new and innovative ideas that result from this scoping process. The planning process will recognize the importance of the social, cultural, and economic dimensions of natural resource management in western Oregon. Integrating public values and perspectives into the planning process is critical to finding a sustainable path forward."
Secretary Salazar Proposes Expansion of Ecological Forestry in Western Oregon and Update Resource Management Plans
Date: 02/22/12
During a visit on February 21 to one of three ecological forestry pilot projects in Oregon, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will apply ecological forestry principles on a broader landscape to restore forest health and to provide sustainable timber harvests for local mills and the communities who rely on the timber industry for jobs and economic strengths.
Forestry Pilot Projects Report
Date: 02/14/12
Following up on the December 8, 2010 meeting in Washington, D.C. the BLM committed to immediately develop action plans for both the Roseburg Pilot Project and the Middle Applegate Watershed Pilot Project. Throughout 2011, the BLM, along with Drs. Norm Johnson and Jerry Franklin, held a series of public meetings, workshops, and field trips to discuss the pilot projects and learn more about the principles of ecological forestry. In February 2012, the BLM released a report regarding the Drs. Johnson and Franklin's observations about the Forestry Pilot Projects.
- Pilot Project Report (February 2012) (PDF)
- Press Release (PDF)
BLM Initiates Planning For Hardrock Geological Prospecting
Date: 02/08/12
The Bureau of Land Management announced that it is beginning the process to evaluate an exploration plan for hardrock geological prospecting northeast of the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument (NVM). Beginning in March 2011, Ascot Resources Ltd. (Ascot)—a Vancouver, B.C.-based company incorporated in the State of Washington as Ascot USA Inc.—applied for two prospecting permits.
The BLM will hold two public open houses to determine the nature and range of issues to be addressed in the environmental assessment, including alternatives: Longview—February 15; and Morton—February 16.
- Press Release (PDF)
- Public Notice (PDF)
- Additional Information
BLM Distributes Final Payments to Counties
Date: 01/20/12
The BLM announced today that it has issued payment to 18 counties in western Oregon eligible under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act extension (Public Law 110-343). The amount paid to the Oregon & California (O&C) counties was $40,037,160.
- Official 2011 Payment to the Counties (PDF)
- Press Release: BLM Distributes Final Payments to Counties (PDF)
- County Payments Background
BLM Releases 2011 Secure Rural Schools Estimates
Date: 10/26/11
The Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (Public Law 110-343) provided transition payments to the 18 western Oregon O&C counties through Fiscal Year 2010 and established another formula for calculating O&C county payments for Fiscal Year 2011. In developing the estimate for the Fiscal Year 2011 payment under the other formula, the BLM found an error in its preliminary calculations. The correct estimate was published in the President's Fiscal Year 2012 Budget Justifications submitted to the Congress in March 2011. The final FY2012 Secure Rural Schools payment will be later than those in 2008–2010. Because this will be the first Secure Rural Schools payment under the "new" formula detailed in the Act, a new procedure affects the timing of the payments. The BLM now relies on the final Forest Service payment calculation, and the Forest Service will not have their figures available until mid-December. Therefore, the earliest the BLM payments can be distributed will be at the end of December.
- FY 2012 Payment Estimate to be Paid in 2011 (PDF)
- Secure Rural Schools Letter to the Oregon Congressional Delegation (PDF)
- President's FY 2012 Budget Justifications (Chapter 7, Page 13) (PDF)
Date: 09/22/11
Soda Mountain Wilderness Plan Open for Public Comment
Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced the public comment period for the draft Stewardship Plan and Environmental Assessment for the recently created Soda Mountain Wilderness Area in southern Oregon. The Soda Mountain Wilderness was created in March 2009 under the Omnibus Public Lands Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-011). The law designated approximately 24,100 acres within the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument as wilderness.
- Medford Planning
- National Landscape Conservation System
- National Landscape Conservation System YouTube video
Date: 09/21/11
Interior Conservation Awards to BLM-Led Partnerships
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar presented his "Partners in Conservation" Awards to a number of outstanding conservation partnerships at a ceremony on September 21, 2011. The awardees included four BLM-coordinated partnerships: Oregon's Jefferson Conservation Corps; the Gila Watershed Partnership of Arizona; New Mexico's Permian Basin Memorandum of Agreement Program; and the nationwide Project Archaeology program.
A video profile about the Jefferson Conservation Corps is available on YouTube at:
In addition, an article about the Jefferson Conservation Corps is available in winter 2010 issue of BLM's magazine, NW Passage:
Date: 09/16/11
North America's Earliest Beaver Discovered in Oregon
A new fossil find represents the earliest record of living beavers (Castor) in North America. A pair of teeth was found on Bureau of Land Management land near Dayville, Oregon. These teeth come from the Rattlesnake Formation and are between 7 and 7.3 million years old.
The specimens will be going on display in the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center, at John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. The new find is described in an article appearing in the current issue of the Journal of Paleontology.
- BLM Beaver Fossil Page
- Beaver Discovery Press Release (PDF)
- Journal of Paleontology
- John Day Fossil Beds
Date: 08/23/11
Socioeconomic Impacts of the BLM
The BLM has the privilege of protecting and maintaining some of the Nation's most unique treasures. We manage over 15.7 million acres of public land in Oregon, and approximately 436,000 acres in Washington, together with some 23.4 million acres of federal subsurface minerals. The BLM lands provide for a variety of multiple uses throughout the Northwest, all of which contribute to the well-being of local communities through economic activities, social contributions, and land stewardship programs. Take a look around at these socio-economic contributions; we think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
- Contributing to Oregon's Economy (PDF)
- BLM - A Sound Investment for America (PDF)
- DOI's Economic Contributions (PDF)
- BLM and the Economy Op-Ed (PDF)
BLM Announces Strategy to Conserve Sage-Grouse and Protect Habitat
Date: 07/21/11
In response to requests from state and local governments to facilitate ways to conserve greater sage-grouse and protect its habitat, BLM scientists and managers met with state wildlife management officials July 16, 2011 to brief them on the agency’s National Greater Sage-Grouse Planning Strategy. The meeting took place at the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. The BLM strategy emphasizes a cooperative approach and provides a framework to advance efforts to implement timely conservation measures for sage-grouse and its habitat.
Secretary Salazar Approves West Butte Wind Power Project
Date: 07/14/11
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar approved the decision to authorize a road and transmission line right of way across Bureau of Land Management (BLM)-administered lands associated with the West Butte Wind Power Project. This right of way authorization will provide access to private land for the purpose of constructing and operating a 104-megawatt wind turbine facility. Between 34 and 52 wind turbines are proposed for installation on private land and they are capable of producing enough energy to power 50,000 homes.
- West Butte Wind Power Project press release
- West Butte Wind Power Project planning page
- West Butte Wind Power Project map
- West Butte Wind Energy Record of Decision
- Federal Register Notice for the West Butte Wind Project
Survey and Manage Settlement Agreement
Date: 07/7/11
The BLM and U.S. Forest Service have reached a final settlement with plaintiffs on the terms and conditions of the Survey and Manage litigation. The terms of the final settlement agreement include:
- Maintaining the "Pechman Exemptions," which exempt certain projects from pre-disturbance surveys and known site management;
- A revised species list that reflects agreements about which species continue to need the protections of the survey and manage mitigation measure;
- Establishing new exemption categories that emphasize restoration activities; and
- Reinstating the 2001 Record or Decision (ROD) and setting aside the 2007 RODs.
View the final settment agreement here.
Additional information about the Survey and Manage program.
Want to learn more about RMPs for Western Oregon?