There’s a whole lot of Bureau Of Land Management (BLM) land out there in the middle of nowhere. A LOT of it. There are a couple of bugout scenarios where you need to isolate yourself from others as much as possible.
Is a bugout to BLM land a reasonable option? Let’s take a look at it.
BLM Land – What is it, who owns it, can I use it?
Public land (photo by Salty)
BLM land is basically land in “flyover country” that is owned by the US Government and is under the control of the BLM. According to good ole Wikipedia, The BLM is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior that administers more than 247.3 million acres of public lands in the United States which constitutes one-eighth of the landmass of the country.
That’s right, that’s not a typo… they control one-eighth of all the land in the USA. They also manage the mineral rights under that land, but that’s a whole different topic.
Most BLM public lands are located in these 12 western states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
BLM land is gold, red is native American land, light green is National Park land, dark green is also public land, administered by the forest service.
If it’s such unwanted land, why would I want to go there?
There are several bugout scenarios I can think of where you would want to get away from EVERYBODY. The biggest one that comes to mind is to isolate yourself and your family from other human contact during a deadly pandemic.
This is the type of situation a bug-out to BLM land makes a huge amount of sense. You won’t be staying there forever, just long enough for the disease to burn it’s self out. There’s less of a chance of major social unrest during the first part of the disaster, allowing easier travel. With the prominence of “pay at the pump” gas stations, if you live anywhere west of the Mississippi river you will have access within a day’s driving of some very, very isolated land where it is even legal for you to go!
So… what are the rules, can I camp wherever I want?
The answer is “yes and no”. Please note, there is an asterisk involved in the following paragraph, and that asterisk is IMPORTANT.
In most areas (even those that have been leased for use*) it is legal for you to have a “dispersed camping site” for up to 14 days. After that 14-day period, you have to move your campsite to somewhere else (it could be down the road a couple of miles, but you do have to move it).
There is a similar plan for National Forest land but I’ll cover that in another post, because of their road mapping system that comes into play for Forest land that doesn’t for BLM land.
*Now let’s get back to the asterisk. Something you won’t read about on the websites is that many… and by many I mean MOST… ranchers that lease BLM land for grazing consider that land “their own personal property” even though it is public land. They have a lot of livestock out there on that land, and they don’t like people “trespassing” even though in reality you have every right to be there.
It’s better to move on than get shot
Folks, this is not worth getting shot over, when you are looking for a place to camp, find some place where there is no cattle being run on it. This may sound humorous to some, but I tell you it’s really not. Not only do these ranchers have lots of guns that they know how to use, but they’ve got lots and lots of land to dig holes to bury the bodies of “trespassers” where nobody will ever find them.
Pro Tip: Leave all gates like you find them. If they are closed and you drive through them, then close them when you are through. If they are open, leave them open. Nothing makes a rancher madder (other than you poaching or stealing his livestock) than leaving gates open or closed incorrectly.
What, exactly, is dispersed camping?
Basically, you travel down the road or path or trail until you find a spot that suits you, then you set up camp. You need to be self contained, what you carry in you carry back out. Any sanitation needs should be done according to the “Leave No Trace” guidelines.
You need to not be near any trail heads, parking lots, etc. and you should stay within 300 feet of the roadway if you are driving. It’s OK to be out of sight, but you shouldn’t just go cross-country in a motor vehicle unless you REALLY know what you are doing.
OK, Salty, this BLM bugout thing sounds interesting, what should I do first?
Well, first you need to know how to camp. This may sound pretty obvious, but unless you are able to do a weekend camp, trying to bug out to BLM land is going to be a fiasco.
Second, you can safely assume you will need to take EVERYTHING you need with you. Food, water, enough gas to get back to “civilization”, plus all the consumables you will need (toilet paper, women’s needs, stove gas, medical supplies, etc.). Take some books and entertainment as well, because you will almost certainly not be in cell phone range.
After you can camp and have the supplies you need, it’s time to scout.
Scout ahead, don’t just “show up and hope”
Now here comes the fun part… take the family trip on a bugout location (BOL) scouting trip disguised as a family camping vacation!
Do your research and figure out what part of the BLM area sounds right for you, then hop in the ole Family Truckster and hit that holiday road!
Or… perhaps you might want to take a vehicle that has a lot better ground clearance than the Truckster. A LOT of those BLM roads are listed four-wheel-drive recommended and for good reason.
Living on the BLM isn’t all milk and cookies though
Keep in mind if you bug out to the BLM land you are going to have to deal with a lot of stuff most people are not used to. A LOT of the land is rattlesnake country, for example. Even at the best of times, you will be very far away from medical services and law enforcement, so you will need to take care of yourself if things go bad.
Wrapping this up
I”m going to do a follow up of this article for Forest Service land because rules on FS land are somewhat different. You can see by the map above which the closest and most reasonable for you to access in a bugout situation.
Here’s hoping that you never have to use the BLM land for anything more than a great family vacation, but if you do need to head for the hills, you will have a head start on the herd.
Edited to add:
There are some good comments below, I encourage everybody to read all of them. Thanks as always to everybody who takes the time to comment! I’m editing this article now (about six hours after publication) to address a couple of points made in the comments a bit further.
I want to be clear, I’m not suggesting BLM land is the best option as a bugout location.
It’s not my option at all, I have set myself up with something a lot better, a place that I can fish and that has a ready water supply year round, The Place.
My point is to show that it’s one of many options and that it has some good things going for it (free, there’s a whole lot of it, and even if the SHTF there’s going to be a lot of open space) and many bad things (you have to get there, you have to carry with you EVERYTHING you need including all food, water, etc… and you need to stay away from ranches).
You will not be “living off the land” out here, there’s very little to eat or drink… it’s just a place to lay low for a few days or weeks.
I’m using this as an example of the type of places that are going to be available to everybody if the SHTF, so if this is where you end up having to go, you can at least make the best of a bad situation.
Think 20 times before you go on any of this land it is a very good way to get shot. No matter what the situation is.
There’s a whole lot of BLM land that isn’t leased and isn’t ranched. A WHOLE LOT of it.
If there’s cattle on it or it looks like there’s been cattle on it, drive right on past. Ranchers really do consider it “their land” and while you certainly may have a legal argument that they just lease the grazing rights, that doesn’t help if you are dead and in a hole 20 miles from nowhere.
Spice and I have scouted all across the west, including Idaho, Utah, Montana, etc… there is a LOT of BLM land out there that has absolutely nothing on it whatever.
Salty thinking about the rule of threes 🙂 Safe water is high on that list. Part of my family used to ranch on BLM land. I’ve driven all across this country many times and BLM land generally lacks much in the way of safe water. Water is life for ranchers and well, everybody so any that is there will be guarded from strangers as any fool can pollute that critical water source. Wildfire is a second concern for folks who ranch, fools and campfires. Fools with guns who may shoot my livestock…. Under normal times you will not be welcomed on their property no matter what the Rules say. Under Dangerous Times with even Ranchers stressing about a “Deadly Pandemic” you will be feeding the buzzards.
Even if you found such a desolate spot with no ranchers I can assure you there is no year round safe water there. Camping for 14 days is how much water to be hauled in at 8 pounds a gallon?
It certainly is about water, and you are right in many instances there’s very, very limited water. You will need to pack in what you consume, and i’m not advising anybody to HIKE deep into the BLM land, I’m saying drive there and park around back of a rock near the road. Weight won’t much matter.
One thing I didn’t mention was weather, either… a LOT of the west is either under snow pack or COLD in the winter, and entirely inappropriate for most people to bug out to. I get that.
My whole point of this article is not to say “BLM land is the greatest bugout location ever” because it’s not. My point is that it’s an option, it’s something to think about, and the whole process of thinking and scouting should produce some answers. Me? If a pandemic hits, I’m going to the place and nobody should cross that fence line.
Bottom line, if you need to bug out you need to have somewhere to go PRE-SCOUTED. You need to get there, and stay there. Wandering around looking for some place to land is a very bad idea.
Abbreviations are fine but it might be helpful for the newbie to know that BLM stands for the Bureau of Land Management. Like if you want to contact an office or know where field headquarters are. And they are patrolled, especially at the favorite spots, for the time limits. There are a whole lot of Americans who live the nomadic lifestyle – about a million – who move from BLM land to BLM land from state to state. Since so much of it is desert, you’ll hardly find anything for cattle to craze on much less anything else. Best place to learn about the lifestyle is You Tube probably, google something like BLM dispersed camping, dry camping and the sites such as CheapRVLiving, Nomadic Fanatic or especially CreativityRV who in her series on how to become a nomad will tell you all the ways (short and concise) on how to use free land both BLM and Forest, stealth camping etc. It’s like anything else. Learn first how to do it safely and it can serve your purposes. Unless you’re way off the beaten path you are not going to be alone out there. Good Luck.
Thank you for your note. As an aside, we are pretty careful about not putting in abbreviations without first spelling out the word, please note the opening paragraph of the story. As a newspaper editor from back in the day, I watch that one closely.
Good information!
Sorry. You did define BLM – not awake yet! I’ve checked again and the two best videos on the subject are at You Tube:
1. Boondocking Might CHANGE YOUR LIFE. A Nomads Intro to Camping FREE on Public Lands (8:29 min)
How to FIND FREE CAMPING in National Forests! & Tips the RULES & MY LAST 3 SPOTS!
Both are professionally done and you’ll be safer by listening to someone who is doing it full time. Very comprehensive and short but first class.