mypubliclands: On This Day in History – The BLM Was…
On This Day in History – The BLM Was Established
On July 16, 1946, the General Land Office and the Grazing Service merged and became the Bureau of Land Management within the Department of Interior. With historical roots spanning 200+ years, the BLM now manages many places — like ghost towns, mining camps, and homesteads — that give visitors a glimpse into what life may have been like for early settlers and pioneers.
Pictured here is the BLM-managed Garnet Ghost town in Montana. A young nation expanded into the Montana territory in the mid-1860s. Many scoured the mountains for gold and other precious metals. Settlements grew overnight around mining claims. The town of Garnet was born in 1895, and within several years, hundreds of people called it home. The blasts of dynamite and the shouts of miners echoed through the gulches.
But Garnet was not destined to last. Today, most of the town is publicly owned, and managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The BLM stabilizes and preserves the remaining two dozen buildings and provides visitors a glimpse into this fascinating part of our past.
CLICK HERE to learn about more ghost towns and historic sights available to the public as a living history.
Photos: Bob Wick, BLM Wilderness Specialist
Reposted from http://ift.tt/1o3UA3H.
