Land Resources and Conservatio n
Land Ownership in U.S. 55% of land in U.S. is privately owned 35% of land in U.S. is owned by federal government 3% of land in U.S. is owned by Native American Tribes
Government Ownership Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 270 million acres U.S. Forest Service (USFS) 191 million acres Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) 92 million acres National Park Service (NPS) 84 million acres.7% of land in U.S. by local govern.
Land Wilderness Areas
Law: NEPA National Environmental Policy Act (1969) Created EPA- Environmental Protection Agency. Requires Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) for major federal construction projects.
EIS
CERCL A Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (1980) AKA Superfund, 1255 sites in 2008 Protects families and communities from extremely toxic sites that have been abandoned. Superfund Site: Love Canal Fed. $$ is used to clean up toxic sites.
Uravan U Site- Colorado
National Parks Operated by National Park Service under Dept. of Interior. Made to protect natural and historic sites. No hunting, logging, or mining. “Take only photos, leave only footprints.” JOHN MUIR!!!
Yosemite National Park Yosemite Valley Yosemite Falls
Death Valley National Park
Overused and underfunded Natural ecosystems disrupted and out of balance Pollution from outside park boundaries Threats to National Parks
National Forests US Forest Service under Dept. of Agriculture. “Land of Many Uses” Utilitarian mission thanks to Gifford Pinchot: make forest useful. Can be used for hunting, mining, or logging w/ approval.
Los Padres National Forest
Wilderness Areas Managed by US Forest Service. Created by Wilderness Act of Large, unspoiled areas. No mining operations, hunting, no roads! Alaska!
Wildlife Refuges Managed by USFWS under Dept. of Interior. Started by Teddy Roosevelt Originally free from hunting. But now, there is some hunting, cattle grazing, and oil drilling.
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
National Marine Sanctuaries Manage by Nat. Ocean and Atmosph. Agency (NOAA) Swimming, diving, some sport fishing, limited boating Helps repopulate fish pops.
Channel Islands Marine Sanctuary
Bureau of Land Management Run under Dept. of Interior Manages permits and leases to government owned land. Permits: mining, oil drilling, logging.