What was the precursor to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)?

The precursor to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) was the General Land Office (GLO). Established in the early 19th century, the GLO was tasked with overseeing the disposal and management of public lands in the United States. It played a crucial role in land surveys, the sale of public lands, and ensuring that land grants were correctly administered. As policies evolved and the management of public lands became more complex, the GLO was eventually absorbed into the BLM when it was created in 1946. The BLM inherited many of the GLO's responsibilities, including land management, resource protection, and the administration of various uses on public lands.

The Interior Department serves as the umbrella organization for various agencies responsible for the management and conservation of federal land and natural resources but was not a specific precursor to the BLM. Similarly, the Forest Service and the National Park Service manage specific types of land—national forests and national parks, respectively—and were developed with different focuses compared to the GLO. The BLM was specifically established to manage a broader scope of public lands originally overseen by the GLO.