About BLM in California
Quick Facts 15.2 million acres in California1.6 million acres in northwest Nevada47 million acres subsurface mineral estate underlying federal surface land, 2.5 million acres underling private lands, and 592,000 underlying Native American Tribal lands.1 National Conservation Area4 National Monuments204 Areas of Critical Environmental Concern100 miles of public land along 8 national wild and scenic rivers87 wilderness areas covering 3.8 million acres72 wilderness study areas covering 1.1 million acres580 miles of Scenic & Historic Trails1 old-growth Forest Reserve14.7 million barrels of oil produced annually8 billion cubic feet of natural gas produced annually215,000 ounces of gold and 35,000 ounces of silver produced annually217,576 animal unit months of forage for livestock9,400 rights-of-way (includes 2,175 for roads and 2,015 for power/telephone lines)11.6 million acres available for open a nd limited off-road vehicle recreationHome to 2,300 wild horses and 1,300 burros6.5 million board feet of timber harvested annually800 wildlife species in California20,200 mining claims$117 million in oil and gas royalties, $1.8 million from wind projects, and $9.5 million from geothermal projects annually1,261 wind turbines authorizedProcessing 57 (testing and development) wind applications on 558,354 acres3 authorized solar facilities in constructionProcessing 26 first-in-line and 19 second-in-line solar energy applications on 170,621 acres3 District Offices/15 Field Offices 900 employees |
BLM manages 15.2 million acres of public lands in California - nearly 15% of the state's land area - and 1.6 million acres in northwestern Nevada. BLM California also administers 47 million acres of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal surface land, 2.5 million acres underlying privately owned land, and 592,000 acres of Native American tribal land where BLM has trust responsibility for mineral operations.
The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.