Bureau of Land Management: FY2026 Appropriations

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), in the Department of the Interior (DOI), manages 244 million acres of federal land, nearly all in the West. Under its multiple-use mission, BLM manages lands for diverse purposes, including livestock grazing, energy development, recreation, and conservation. The agency also administers onshore federal energy and mineral resources generally.

BLM discretionary appropriations typically are provided in Title I of Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations acts. In addition, BLM receives mandatory (permanent) appropriations under various statutes. The Interior Budget in Brief (p. 7) estimated FY2025 mandatory appropriations at $507.2 million, excluding $95.0 million for BLM deferred maintenance (DM), as per the FY2025 BLM Budget Justification (p. 306).

FY2026 Discretionary Appropriations Action

P.L. 119-74, enacted on January 23, 2026, contained $1,378.4 million for BLM for FY2026 in Division C. (BLM also receives a portion of DOI appropriations for wildland fire management.) The FY2026 appropriation was 2% less than the $1,412.0 million enacted for FY2025 (joint explanatory statement, p. H530). It was 53% more than President Trump's FY2026 request (p. H530) of $899.4 million; 6% more than the $1,301.6 million reported by the House Appropriations Committee for FY2026 (H.R. 4754, H.Rept. 119-215, p. 244); and 0.3% more than the $1,374.6 million reported by the Senate Appropriations Committee for FY2026 (S. 2431, S.Rept. 119-46, p. 180; see Table 1).

Because FY2026 appropriations had not been enacted by the start of FY2026, BLM had a lapse in appropriations from October 1, 2025, until November 12, 2025. A BLM Contingency Plan (dated September 2025), addressing operations during an appropriations lapse, stated that many agency activities would cease and set out exceptions (e.g., emergency response). It also stated that most BLM lands would be publicly accessible but that not all services would be available. BLM then received FY2026 appropriations at FY2025 levels under a continuing resolution (P.L. 119-37, Division A) until enactment of P.L. 119-74.

Discretionary Appropriations Accounts

Management of Lands and Resources (MLR). This account, BLM's largest, funds diverse activities and subactivities. For instance, the land resources activity includes subactivities on rangelands and cultural resources, among others. Table 1 shows amounts for the account's nine main activities (and mining law administration, with offsetting collections). The FY2026 enacted amount ($1,226.9 million) was a 3% decrease from the FY2025 level ($1,260.5 million) for the account. It contained various changes for activities, with increased funding for two activities, decreased funding for four activities, and level funding for three activities. The FY2026 enacted amount also was 55% higher than the President's request, with higher funding than requested for all nine activities.

The FY2026 appropriation was 6% higher than the House committee-reported bill would have provided. It had higher funding than H.R. 4754 for four activities, lower funding for three activities, and level funding for two activities. Further, the FY2026 enacted amount was 0.3% higher than the Senate committee-reported bill would have provided. It had higher funding than S. 2431 for five activities, lower funding for three activities, and level for one activity.

Oregon and California Grant Lands. This account funds management of more than 2 million acres of forested lands in Western Oregon, primarily for timber production. The FY2026 appropriation was $115.5 million, the same as enacted for FY2025 and contained in S. 2431. The FY2026 enacted level was 67% higher than the President's FY2026 request and 10% higher than H.R. 4754.

Range Improvements. The Range Improvements account funds rehabilitation, protection, and improvement of BLM rangelands. By law, 50% of grazing fees collected on BLM lands or $10.0 million—whichever is greater—is credited to a Range Improvements Fund. In recent years, BLM grazing receipts typically have been less than $20.0 million annually, and BLM has received $10.0 million through this account, as for both FY2025 and FY2026. For FY2026, H.R. 4754 and the President's request also contained $10.0 million; S. 2431 contained $9.4 million.

Service Charges, Deposits, and Forfeitures. This account allows BLM to use monies paid to the agency for activities such as energy and minerals authorizations. The FY2026 estimate in P.L. 119-74 was $30.0 million, offset by collections, for a net appropriation of $0. This same amount was enacted for FY2025 and, for FY2026, included in the President's request, H.R. 4754, and S. 2431.

Miscellaneous Trust Funds. This account appropriates contributions made to BLM (e.g., from individuals, states, and businesses). The FY2026 enacted amount was $26.0 million, the same as in FY2025 and as contained in the President's FY2026 request, H.R. 4754, and S. 2431.

Selected Issues

A perennial issue for BLM appropriations is how to allocate funding among diverse accounts, programs, and activities, and the conditions for such funding. Particular issues for FY2026 related to DM and land acquisition, among others.

Deferred Maintenance. BLM estimated its DM at roughly $6.27 billion in FY2024, more than five times the FY2019 estimate ($1.1 billion). The increase is largely due to changes in estimation methods. BLM receives both discretionary and mandatory appropriations for DM. Interior appropriations laws provide discretionary funds, with $20.0 million in FY2025. For FY2026, the President's discretionary request for DM was unclear, because it combined annual and deferred maintenance. H.R. 4754 contained $17.5 million and S. 2431 included $8.0 million for DM. The FY2026 enacted appropriation does not appear to be specified in the law or explanatory statement.

For FY2021-FY2025, a primary source of mandatory funding for DM was the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF), established by P.L. 116-152, the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA). Under GAOA, BLM's appropriation was about $95.0 million annually. The effect of this funding is not clear, because appropriations can take multiple years to spend and BLM's DM estimation methods have changed, among other factors. The FY2026 Interior Budget in Brief proposed reauthorizing the LRF (p. DH-12-DH-13), and the Senate Appropriations Committee supported (S.Rept. 119-46, p. 5) reauthorization. The House Appropriations Committee expressed (H.Rept. 119-215, p. 10) interest in revising bill and report language, if needed, if the LRF was reauthorized. The FY2026 appropriations law and explanatory statement contained direction on allocating certain LRF funding.

The President's FY2026 request also proposed directing $17.3 million of mandatory funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) to BLM for DM in FY2026. The FY2026 law did not reflect this request, according to the explanatory statement (p. H472). Similarly, H.Rept. 119-215 (p. 9) and S.Rept. 119-46 (p. 11) had rejected the proposal.

Land Acquisition. BLM typically receives appropriations from the LWCF to acquire lands. Under GAOA, LWCF programs receive mandatory appropriations each year. GAOA generally requires the President to submit to Congress detailed account, program, and project allocations as part of the annual budget submission. Under GAOA, Congress may provide for an alternate allocation. For BLM land acquisition in FY2026, the President requested $7.2 million; the House Committee allocated $69.3 million (H.Rept. 119-215, p. 102); and the Senate Committee allocated $65.1 million (S.Rept. 119-46, p. 158). The FY2026 law provided $66.0 million (joint explanatory statement, p. H486).