This section addresses the potential for the alternatives to have impacts on social conditions in the Planning Area, including direct, indirect, short-term, and long-term impacts. Laws, regulations, policies, and guidance considered in the analysis of social conditions are identified in Appendix B.

The BLM does not directly manage social conditions in the Planning Area. However, BLM management actions have the potential to indirectly affect social conditions. For example, a decision to prohibit future oil and gas exploration or leasing on BLM-administered mineral estate may adversely affect job opportunities in the Planning Area, which may lead to a reduction in populations in parts of the Planning Area as residents move away to find job opportunities elsewhere (or as fewer people move to the Planning Area for jobs).