Exploring the science and data foundation for Federal public lands decisions.

ABSTRACT: Public lands provide diverse resources, values, and services worldwide. Laws and policies typically require consideration of science in public lands decisions, and resource managers are committed to science-informed decision-making. However, it can be challenging for managers to use, and document the use of, science and data in their decisions. To better understand science and data use in Federal public lands decisions in the United States, we assessed the number, type, and age of documents cited in 70 Environmental Assessments (EAs) completed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Colorado from 2015-2019. We focused on the BLM, as they manage the largest area of public lands in the United States. We selected Colorado as our study area, as actions proposed on BLM lands in Colorado are r

SUBMITTER: Foster AC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11809896 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature