The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the Department of the Interior (DOI) and the Forest Service (FS) in the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) manage 449 million acres of land, more than two-thirds of the land owned by the federal government and one-fifth of the total U. S. land area. [...] Management direction for the national forests, first enacted in 1897 and expanded in 1960, identifies the purposes for which the lands are to be managed-including timber, grazing, recreation, wildlife and fish, and water-and directs "harmonious and coordinated management" to provide for multiple uses and sustained yields of the many resources found in the national forests. [...] In January 2009, the U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a temporary restraining order halting BLM from finalizing the sale of 77 parcels (on about 110,000 acres) based on a finding of inadequate environmental review of oil and gas development in the area.11 Under the Bush Administration, the BLM argued that the Resource Management Plans, the basis for the lease sale, were wor [...] On February 4, 2009, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that the BLM will not accept the bids on the 77 parcels under the restraining order and will withdraw the leases because of what the Administration considers to have been a rushed sale without adequate environmental review. [...] A claim gives the holder the right to develop the minerals and apply for a patent to obtain full title of the land and minerals.