User:Caricks/Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976

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Background
Multiple Factors led to the passing of the Federal Land Policy Management Act (FLPMA) of 1976. Public opinion and attitude towards public land had shifted, with more people wanting to preserve and protect federal lands. The public exerted their political power to enact change in how federal lands were overseen, transitioning from little management to intense land management. The work of the Public Land Law Review Commission and the commission's findings have also been given credit for introducing ideas that would eventually lead to FLPMA. The Public Land Law Review Commission reviewed legislation regarding federal land, deducing which laws were outdated, unnecessary, and needed to be revised. The numerous laws that the Public Land Law Review Commission found to be inefficient combined with the public's desire for better federal land management motivated Congress to pass the FLPMA.

The FLPMA changed the way that the federal government managed lands and the resources on those lands.The act greatly increased the power of the Bureau of Land Management in the Department of the Interior to acquire and dispose of federal land. The FLPMA required a plan to be created for land to determine the environmental value of that land and if it could be designated for public use. The plan would detail the environmental concerns of the land, requiring that three factors be upheld:


 * 1) The land must be managed in a way that protects the integrity of the natural resources and cultural or historical artifacts found on the land.
 * 2) Segments of the land that were deemed to be in danger or vital be protected.
 * 3) Any sections of the land that had significant environmental significance be established.

The Bureau of Land Management had to follow these requirements when making any decisions regarding the use of federal land that was intended for public use.