US Federal Land Use

A very large percentage (40%) of the US is publicly owned. much of this is in Alaska and other western states most of east and midwest are in private hands; forests and other natural ecosystems still function in many areas

Compare this to the world as a whole 100,000 protected sites, 11.7% of land area (IUCN) “protected” areas are often exploited despite having specific conservation objectives 482 areas in 102 countries are designated “biosphere reserves”, which have more restrictions

In the US, land given the greatest protection is designated wilderness. The Wilderness Act (1964); brokered by David Brower, Morris Udall, et. al 106 million acres now protected as wilderness; 4% of US permanent structures, roads, cars, trucks, mechanized transport is prohibited no timber harvesting livestock grazing and mineral development are allowed where it was preexisting

areas in any federally owned lands can be designated wilderness by any of the following: Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service 46 million acres are under consideration for wilderness status

National Parks (79 million acres) National Wildlife Refuges (94 million acres) provide somewhat less protection than wilderness intent is to protect areas of great scenic or ecological significance protect important wildlife species provide public access for recreation and other uses protection and public access often conflict

parks are extremely popular; 280 million visits/yr shuttle vehicles are used in many parks off-road vehicles (snowmobiles, atvs, etc.) are major players on federal lands; manufacturers and owners of these vehicles fight to retain access

National Forests hugely important natural resource (740 million acres) 2/3 are managed for commercial timber harvest Deforestation is no longer a problem in US only 5% of old-growth forest is left second-growth forests have returned where protection exists more trees in US today than in 1920

US Forest Service manages 192 million acres Bureau of Land Management (106 million acres) has some forested land as well 1950-1970 “multiple use” philosophy predominated: combination of extracting resources (grazing, logging, mining), recreation, protection of watersheds, wildlife intent was to achieve a balance among these uses

multiple use in practice emphasizes extractive uses; is output oriented private, often favored interests of ranchers, miners, timber industry govt foresters select tracts of forest that are ready for harvest; they are leased to private companies, which log and sell timber timber sales reflect economic trends in US; post WWII housing boom led to a dramatic increase of logging on federal lands Clinton administration reduced harvesting considerably

New Forestry late 1980's forest management techniques more protection for health and diversity in the forest less emphasis on harvesting cutting occurs at 350 year intervals, instead of 60-80 years wider buffer zones with streams leaving dead logs and debris in forest protect broad landscapes across public and private boundaries

Forest Service adopted New Forestry management principles in 1990s; ecosystem management became the rule philosophical shift from maximizing timber profits to long-term stewardship moratorium on new logging roads; Bush Administration weakened this, allowing governors to ask the Secretary of Agriculture to open lands for road building

Fires on Federal Land wildfires are growing in number and intensity 8-10 million acres burn annually 50 million acres are at high risk fuel loads are high – dead trees and dense understories drought, fire suppression, and common logging practices contribute to the increase in risk wildfires are natural disturbances, rather than ecological disasters

Salvage logging Bush Administration favored fuel reduction and salvage logging – thinning fire-prone forests, especially near populated areas; in return loggers get to harvest larger commercially valuable trees in other areas; restrictions on environmental reviews and judicial oversight accompanied these policies salvage logging has led to increased fire risk because branches are left behind; 3/4ths of seedlings are killed by logging activities

Non-Federal Lands between 1997-2004, 40 states have passed 800 referenda on state, county and town ballots to protect land for parks and open space; taxes have been raised to accomplish this in CA, $2 billion was appropriated; ME the Nature Conservancy bought 185,000 acres for $35 million Private Land Trusts – a non-profit organization that accepts gifts of lands or easements (owner gives up development rights but retains ownership; currently protect 9 million acres Nature Conservancy et al protect 25 million acres in US, 100 million acres abroad