In western Oregon the BLM manages approximately 2.5 million acres of forests, wetlands, beaches and tide pools in a checkerboard ownership pattern, interspersed among private, state, and other federal lands. Many of these BLM lands are called O&C lands, named after the Oregon and California Revested Lands Sustained Yield Management Act of 1937. These lands contain some of the most productive forests in the world as well as vital fish and wildlife habitat.

In eastern Oregon the BLM manages nearly 13 million acres of public lands covered with sagebrush, native grasses and forbs, juniper and white pine. There are magnificent canyons, 700 miles of raging wild and scenic rivers, and a mountain peak that reaches over 8,000 feet. Sage-grouse, mule deer, bighorn sheep, and herds of wild horses are just some of the wildlife that call eastern Oregon home. Eastern Oregon is also the last bastion of numerous rare plants.

The majority of BLM public lands in Washington are east of the Cascade crest in the central Columbia Basin and in the highlands of northeastern Washington along the Canadian border. In addition, public lands are found in northern Puget Sound, north of Seattle in San Juan County, which are managed for their natural, scenic, recreation, and historic values. A full range of habitats are found on the public lands in Washington and include the maritime Puget Sound lowlands, the central Columbia Basin sagebrush regime, many riparian zones, and the coniferous forest and sub-alpine areas of northeast Washington. The lands include one Wilderness Area, one Wilderness Study Area, 15 Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, and numerous areas managed principally for their recreational, riparian, and wildlife values. These areas include recreation sites in the Yakima River Canyon (more than 600,000 visitor days each year), the Juniper Dunes Wilderness and nearby off-highway vehicle use area outside the Tri-Cities, and the Channeled Scablands riparian areas just west of Spokane.