The United States Bureau of Land Management was formed in 1946 from the merger of the General Land Office and the United States Grazing Service. The Bureau of Land Management is in charge of administering over 245 million acres of public land, most of which is located throughout the 12 western states. The Bureau's mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America's public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations, which also includes managing the lands for energy development, livestock grazing, timber harvesting, and recreation. In Oregon, the western region is characterized by 2 million acres of checkerboard timberland ownership which is considered some of the most productive forests in the world, while the eastern Oregon portion of their ownership is known for large basin and range topography in semi-arid landscapes benefiting livestock grazing and range land habitat.
The Bureau of Land Management manages the Oregon and California Railroad Revested Lands (O&C Lands) in western Oregon. These lands (approximately 2.6 million acres) were originally granted to the Oregon & California Railroad for development of a railroad between Portland, Oregon, and San Francisco, California. The lands were reconveyed to the federal government in 1916 and have been managed by BLM since 1937.
The Bureau of Land Management Maps of Oregon consist of maps published for use by the public as a guide for outdoor recreation as well as maps prepared for management and oversight of forest lands under the purview of the Bureau. The maps depict the boundaries of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands in Oregon, master units (primarily in western Oregon), and the extent of national forests. The master unit maps show the locations of O&C Lands, which are managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The maps in the collection range in scale from 1:125,000 to 1:1,000,000 and depict towns and cities, highways and major road systems, and major physiographic features. A 1981 map of wilderness areas in Oregon is also part of the collection.
Collection is open for research.
This collection is arranged into three series: I. Master Unit Maps, 1944-1960; II. Statewide Recreation Maps, 1960-1993; and III. Oregon Color Quadrangle Maps, 1965-1970.
Bureau of Land Management Maps of Oregon (MAPS BLM), Oregon State University Special Collections & Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.
These materials were transferred from the Oregon State University Libraries' maps collection to the Special Collections & Archives Research Center in 2014.
The Special Collections & Archives Research Center includes many collections with maps forest lands in Oregon including the
Series I consists of maps of the Bureau of Land Management's Master Units, an index map of the full state, index maps for western Oregon, and a map of sustained yield units for western Oregon. The maps are at 1:125,000 and 1:250,000 scale and show details of district boundaries, locations of BLM and national forest land, county lines, and municipalities in the area. Some of the maps are annotated with the allowable quantity to be harvested and the estimated merchantable volume. The maps depict the location of O&C lands and timber.
Includes one index map of the full state, index maps for western Oregon, and a map of sustained yield units for western Oregon.
Series II consists of maps compiled by the Bureau of Land Management primarily for the public's use. These maps are at a 1:1,000,000 scale and provide information pertaining to BLM office locations and land ownership statewide, recreational sites, wildlife refugees, highways, cities, and other key landmarks. Several of the maps also convey information on hunting, specific campsites, and the history of the Bureau. This series also includes a 1981
Series III consists of 1:125,0000 scale (0.5 inch = 1 mile) maps of central and eastern Oregon produced by the Bureau of Land Management in the 1960s, many of which were corrected or updated in 1970. The maps are arranged into the four quadrant regions of Oregon (northwest, northeast, southwest, and southeast) and assigned individual numbers within those regions. An index map showing locations of all the maps is part of this series. All of the maps for the northeast and southeast quadrants are included; only a few of the maps for the northwest and southwest quadrants -- those for central Oregon -- are part of this series. The maps depict details for BLM lands, national forests, Indian lands, and public domain lands. There are also notes on the maps of municipality locations, building locations, major road systems, streams, and legal descriptions of the area based on the Public Land Survey System.