The use of color for camouflage concealment of facilities

In accordance with the Bureau of Land Managements (BLMs) policies regarding the stewardship of public lands, it is the BLMs responsibility to manage public lands in a manner that will protect the quality of the scenic (visual) values. The rising dependency of public lands to satisfy market demand for natural resource development and rights-of-way grants for facility placement often competes with the other public interest of protecting landscape character and preserving the quality of outdoor experiences. This competition drives the need to implement sound design strategies to preserve the visual character of the landscape. The use of color and camouflage applications on facilities is one such design strategy that may be used to minimize visual impacts from development. This technical note is a result of numerous field studies on the use of camouflage conducted over an 11-year period and is intended to provide guidance on the manipulation of color and camouflage application strategies for the effective visual concealment of built facilities.