[Public Land Statistics, 1996]
[Part 6 - PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY, AND RESOURCE PROTECTION]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office, www.gpo.gov]


Part 6--PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY, AND RESOURCE PROTECTION
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has a variety of programs to protect
public health, safety, and property.  The Bureau is responsible for protecting
public lands from illegal dumping of hazardous materials, theft of Federal
property, misuse of resources, and wildfire.  Fiscal year 1996 was not a
typical year for wildfires and will probably go in the record book as one of
the worst fire seasons of record.  The BLM suppressed more than four times the
 Federal and State public land acreage as would have burned in a normal fire
year.  When hazardous stances are discovered on public lands, the BLM acts
quickly to eliminate risks to the public.
Table 6-1 provides summary numbers and acres burned by wildfires on BLM lands
and those other lands BLM protects through agreements with local fire
protection agencies.  During fiscal year 1996, a substantial increase in
wildfires occurred.
Table 6-2 describes capital improvements on public lands.  Capital
improvements provide opportunities for the public to use their public lands.
The BLM has made large capital investments to meet the ever-increasing demands
of customers.  Very few capital improvements are made annually, but
significant resources are devoted to maintaining these investments to assure
public healthy and safety.
Table 6-3 provides an overview of environmental problems addressed under the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980
(CERCLA), commonly known as Superfund.  The public lands provide opportunities
for a variety of commercial uses and, sometimes, illegal activities.  Both
commercial and illegal activities have created hazardous waste sites on public
lands.  Over 60 percent of these sites are the result of commercial uses.  The
commercial uses causing the vast majority of CERCLA problems on public lands
are landfills, mining operations, mill sites, airstrips, and oil and gas
operations.  Illegal activities such as trespass dumping, wire burning, and
drug manufacturing account for almost 40 percent of hazardous waste sites on
public lands.