Public Lands Rules in the United States

Public Lands Rules for Administering the Public Lands

Introduction to Public Lands Rules

Article IV, Section 3, of the U.S. Constitution authorized Congress to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other properties belonging to the United States. The Land Ordinance of 1785 provided for the survey of the public lands. The administration of public lands was later charged to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, created in 1789. In 1812 Congress established the General Land Office within the Treasury Department to oversee public-land disposal. The General Land Office was transferred to the Department of the Interior on its establishment in 1849.

In 1934 Congress passed the Taylor Grazing Act to provide for the leasing of public land for livestock grazing and established the Grazing Service as an agency of the Department of the Interior to administer the act. The Grazing Service was combined with the General Land Office to form the Bureau of Land Management in 1946. With the enactment of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, Congress established for the first time a comprehensive legislative mandate for retaining public lands in federal ownership and managing those lands for the public.” (1)

Resources

Notes and References

• Information about Public Lands Rules in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia

Guide to Public Lands Rules

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