On the Ground

In 2025, the Bureau of Land Management will celebrate 25 years since the creation of the National Landscape Conservation System in 2000. But to appreciate the breadth of National Conservation Lands, you actually need to go back more than 50 years.

In this holiday season of giving, the BLM sincerely thanks the many thousands of volunteers who have freely given their time and efforts to care for public lands. Highlighted in this podcast episode are Sue and Jim Johnston, a couple out of Utah who have been making a difference in our trails in Kanab for more than 10 years. Their positive impact and attitudes towards maintaining public lands, as well as laying the groundwork for future preservation long after they’re gone, is what sets them apart as an admirable model for future generations to follow. The duo has received BLM’s Outstanding Volunteer Achievement Award for their continued dedication to beauty and workable recreation.

The BLM's onshore oil and gas program manages oil and natural gas extraction nationwide, bringing in billions of dollars to the U.S. Treasury from productive wells. But what happens if the wells we manage are no longer productive or maintained? This is the question that the Federal Orphaned Well Program is designed to answer. The program seeks to remediate orphaned wells on Federal Lands, as well as support efforts to do so from State and Tribal entities’ plugging programs.Orphaned wells are oil and gas wells that no longer have a responsible operator to plug and reclaim the surrounding land. When no responsible party exists, the BLM steps in to secure funding and resources to plug the wells, using funds from operators' bonds and legislative programs to contract and clean up abandoned project sites. In these cases, the BLM works with operators to ensure idle wells are either brought back into production or plugged before they become orphaned.Left unattended and unplugged, inactive oil and gas wells are environmental hazards that jeopardize public health and safety, as well as pose risks to wildlife. Emissions of noxious gases such as methane threaten to contaminate groundwater; unattended drill sites can lead to flooding and sinkholes. To prevent these dangers, the BLM works with contractors to identify, prioritize and plug orphaned wells.According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, oil and gas well plugging is a multi-step process. Before the actual plugging can begin, specialists must inspect and prepare the site, removing any existing infrastructure and production tubing. Teams then pump strong plugging materials with low permeability, such as cement, deep into the inactive wells. The placement of underground plugs at the oil and gas production zones and water aquifers seals off emissions and prevents contamination. Assuming the plug passes necessary pressure tests, and no adjustments are needed, the well is then capped, and reclamation activities begin.Reclamation aims to restore the project site to match its surrounding environment, bringing it to a condition equal to or closely approximating that which existed before the land was disturbed. Through ecosystem restoration, including restoration of any natural vegetation, hydrology, and wildlife habitats affected by surface disturbances from construction and operating activities at an oil and gas site, the BLM can ensure that any effects of oil and gas development on the land and on other resources and uses are not permanent.Plugged and reclaimed orphan well sites have the potential to provide healthy wildlife habitat, recreation opportunities and more. The Orphaned Wells program underscores the importance of responsible land stewardship and the BLM's commitment to environmental restoration. The Department’s Orphaned Wells Program Office’s newly released Strategic Plan, Fiscal Years 2025-2030 communicates how we can serve the orphaned wells community and ensure success in transforming a legacy of environmental pollution into a legacy of environmental stewardship.

The Bureau of Land Management today announced a Restoration Blueprint that outlines the need for additional investment to restore public lands. As the largest land manager in the country, BLM is launching the Restoration Blueprint to build upon past efforts and increase the scale and efficacy of its efforts.“It’s important for us to show that we have a plan for how we make sure the landscapes that we manage on behalf of the American people are resilient,” said Sharif Branham, assistant director for BLM’s Resources and Planning Directorate. “We're talking about a way to articulate how ‘this is our plan to make sure that these landscapes provide natural benefits for ecosystem services. Not only for the near future but going forward.’”“Where we see new problems emerge, we want to be positioned to be able to take on those new problems,” Branham said. “We still have multiple use as a responsibility, but here's how we're going to restore and maintain the landscape so that it is possible in the future to have all the options before us for these multiple uses.”BLM has been actively restoring public lands for most of the last 25 years, when severe wildfires in 1999 and 2000 prompted the Bureau to create a system to gather native seeds and plant materials for wildfire recovery. Recent investments from Congress provided much-needed support to increase the amount of restoration work the BLM delivers.The Restoration Blueprint outlines five goals to focus future funding and decision-making: Ensure clean water: Nature-based solutions offer cost-effective approaches, such as projects that mimic wood structures traditionally built by beavers. These efforts connect rivers to their floodplains as nature intended, improving fish habitat and increasing water quality and storage. (Video, Wyoming)Protect communities from wildfire: BLM is committed to protecting communities, reducing wildfire risks, and recovering scorched landscapes. By combining fuels management with community engagement, BLM is aggressively working to minimize the risk and impact of wildfires in changing western landscapes. (Video-Colorado, Audio-Colorado)Promote productive rangelands: Primary threats are invasive non-native species which disrupt the generation of new plant life essential to people and wildlife. By implementing land health standards and working closely with ranchers to adopt sound range management practices—such as resting grazing allotments and timing grazing to favor native plant growth—BLM can help reduce the spread of invasive grasses. (BLM Blog: Invasive Species and Fire / Partners In The Sage Fire and Invasives website / Video: Outcome Based Grazing, Wyoming)Ensure healthy fish and wildlife habitat: With state and Tribal management agencies, BLM manages habitat for more than 3,000 species, including threatened and endangered species, across some of the nation’s most ecologically diverse and unique landscapes. Habitat restoration efforts by BLM and its partners help maintain the broader ecological integrity of our natural world. (Blog post/video, Alaska)Deliver exceptional and unique outdoor recreational experiences: As more people seek the outdoors, visitation to public lands is surging. The health and accessibility of these lands is a significant factor that draws visitors. By focusing restoration on improving key recreational experiences, BLM enhances the health of public lands and strengthens the bond of stewardship between the nation and its treasured landscapes. (Audio-Nevada / Audio-Utah / Video-Arizona)Currently, approximately 12% of BLM’s budget is allocated across 10 national programs to on-the-ground restoration, excluding administrative and personnel costs.