BLM State Office
Regional offices of the Bureau of Land Management that process mining claim filings, maintain land status records, and manage public lands within their jurisdiction.
Detailed Definition
BLM state offices are regional administrative offices of the Bureau of Land Management responsible for managing public lands and processing mining claim filings within their jurisdictions. There are 12 BLM state offices covering the western states and Alaska.
BLM state offices: - Alaska State Office (Anchorage, AK) - Arizona State Office (Phoenix, AZ) - California State Office (Sacramento, CA) - Colorado State Office (Lakewood, CO) - Eastern States Office (Springfield, VA) - covers states east of the Mississippi - Idaho State Office (Boise, ID) - Montana/Dakotas State Office (Billings, MT) - Nevada State Office (Reno, NV) - New Mexico State Office (Santa Fe, NM) - also covers Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas - Oregon/Washington State Office (Portland, OR) - Utah State Office (Salt Lake City, UT) - Wyoming State Office (Cheyenne, WY)
Mining-related functions: - Receiving and processing mining claim location filings - Collecting annual maintenance fees - Maintaining the MLRS (Mining Law Administration System) database - Issuing serial numbers for new mining claims - Conducting mineral examinations and validity reviews - Processing Plans of Operations
Each state office oversees: - District offices - Field offices - Resource Management Plans for their jurisdiction - Land status records and Master Title Plats
Related Terms
Mining Claim
A parcel of land for which a claimant has asserted a right of possession and the right to develop and extract mineral resources.
BLM
The Bureau of Land Management, the federal agency that administers public lands including mining claim filings and maintenance.
Maintenance Fee
The annual fee paid to the BLM to maintain an unpatented mining claim, currently $200 per claim (2025).
BLM Serial Number
A unique identifier assigned by the BLM to each mining claim upon recording, used to track claims in the federal records system.