BLM Maps for Android, News and Milestones - Technology - GPS
The majority of public lands in the United States are held in trust for the American people by the federal government. It is managed by several government agencies.
Two of these agencies are Bureau of Land Management under the U.S. Department of Interior and the United States Forest Service under the Department of Agriculture. These agencies ensure that its task to maintain the good condition, diversity and abundance of the nation's forests and grasslands will meet the needs of the present and future generations.
Forests are extraordinary places covering almost one third of the Earth's land and are invaluable. It is home to a huge variety of plants and animals, providing them with food, water and shelter. They present the beauty of nature while providing people with food, fuel, raw materials and medicine. However, before 2005, almost 100% of roads and trails in the national forests have not been well defined. It was a disarray of mining, logging and private roads. Racetracks and makeshift public roads were mostly open for use unless specifically designated as closed. From 1972 to 2001, roads in the national forests were a government issue. The U.S. government's rule to keep public lands roadless caused chaos and a lot of concern among off-road vehicle or ORV traffic.
As of March 4, 2011, United States Forest Service reported that the mapping of the existing roads in the forests is now about 68% done and working on the deadline of completion, which is end of 2011.
BLM Maps for AndroidBLM maps for Android have recently become available for 12 Western States. These maps primarily show the boundaries of BLM land, and secondarily show boundaries between state, federal and public land. These add-on maps are available from the Android Market through Backcountry Navigator PRO under the "purchasing add-ons" menu. BLM data comes from the State Bureau of Land Management units. Many of you will need this data to:
- stay off private land and avoid getting shot because of trespassing- to comply with the law to explore on public lands only
This is more accurate and recent than what the National BLM office would have. To help you decide on which state to go, explore and experience, here are the twelve magnificent states in the West.
- Idaho- Oregon and Washington- Colorado- California- Arizona- Utah- Nevada- Montana- New Mexico- Alaska- Wyoming
I hope that this information has given an insight about the role of BLM and USFS, why Backcountry Navigator mapping app is important and why BLM add-on maps are the answer.
News and Milestones- Backcountry Navigator has a better map source, which is not in anyway associated with MyTopo.com.- Our very own CEO/Owner/Developer Nathan Mellor was interviewed and had been featured in TechRepublic, a magazine for the Tech of all Trades. He spoke about the success story of BackCountry Navigator, one of the products of Crittermap Software. He gave valuable and inspiring advise about building a software that people want, purchase, and use. - BackCountry Navigator was listed in the top apps on January of 2011 in TechRepublic and has consistently been in the top five.- In July 2011, BackCountry Navigator was featured on the homepage of the Android Market.
Have a memorable and safe adventure in the outdoors for the remaining days of the year and see you all as we grow together in 2012.
Happy New Year!
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