A case study in the evaluation of public domain in a Bureau of Land Management transfer area

Graduation date: 1967The problem of this thesis is to evaluate small tracts of public\ud domain land as to their best use in an area where the Bureau of Land\ud Management desires to terminate managerial responsibilities. The\ud area chosen is located in the Prineville District, Bureau of Land\ud Management and is within the environmental complex of Bend and\ud Redmond, Deschutes County, Oregon.\ud During early Oregon development, much of Deschutes County\ud remained in public ownership. Numerous Federal Acts especially\ud the Carey Act permitted this public land to be transferred to private\ud ownership. Following the Carey Act and the government's public\ud domain disposal period, many of the small tracts in the Bend-Redmond vicinity remained in public ownership because they had\ud little agricultural value. Modern agricultural technology and changing\ud land use values have resulted in these tracts being in increased\ud demand by residents in the area.\ud A case study tract was selected to portray the evaluation\ud procedures followed on 96 individual tracts of public domain. This\ud case study identifies the factors influencing these small tracts and\ud discusses the current goals of the Bureau of Land Management.\ud The problems of managing these small tracts are being eliminated\ud through selective disposal of public land that can better be managed\ud in private ownership. This policy of public land management is\ud evidence of mature administrative goals.\ud The study determines the events which led to the designation\ud as a transfer area, examines the influences responsible for the changing\ud concepts of land value within the transfer area, and discusses\ud the means and problems involved in realizing the final goal. The\ud evaluation conclusions are summarized on a map