1. Land, Public and Private
Chapter 10
Land, Public and Private

2. Julia Butterfly Hill http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyLiOnmBZLw
Uploaded on Jan 9, 2009
This award-winning documentary reveals the extraordinary journey of a woman who lived 200 feet up in a redwood tree for two years to save the thousand year-old tree from destruction.

3. Human Land Use affects the environment in many ways
Positive land use: agriculture(food), housing (shelter), recreation, industry, mining, and waste disposal.
Negative consequences: mudslides (excessive logging), deforestation (climate change and environmental problems), species extinction, rerouting of water runoff, soil degradation, and water pollution
Three important concepts: Tragedy of the Commons, externalities, and maximum sustainable yield

4. Tragedy of the Commons- Garrett Hardin(ecologist) 1968
The tendency of a shared, limited resource to become depleted because people act from self-interest for short- term gain.
Hardin asks us to imagine the grazing of animals on a common ground open to all. Individuals are motivated to add to their flocks to increase personal wealth. Yet, every animal added to the total degrades the commons a small amount. Although the degradation for each additional animal is small relative to the gain in wealth for the owner, if all owners follow this pattern the commons will ultimately be destroyed.
Therein is the tragedy. Each man is locked into a system that compels him to increase his herd without limit - in a world that is limited.
Hardin’s parable involves a pasture "open to all." He asks us to imagine the grazing of animals on a common ground. Individuals are motivated to add to their flocks to increase personal wealth. Yet, every animal added to the total degrades the commons a small amount. Although the degradation for each additional animal is small relative to the gain in wealth for the owner, if all owners follow this pattern the commons will ultimately be destroyed. And, assuming rational actors, each owner ads to their flock:
Therein is the tragedy. Each man is locked into a system that compels him to increase his herd without limit - in a world that is limited. Ruin is the destination toward which all men rush, each pursuing his own interest in a society that believes in the freedom of the commons. (Hardin, 1968)
Despite its initial reception as revolutionary, Hardin’s tragedy was not, in fact, a new discovery: its intellectual roots trace back to Aristotle who noted that "what is common to the greatest number has the least care bestowed upon it" (see Ostrom 1990) as well as to Hobbes and his leviathan (see Feeny et al., 1990). More recently William Forster Lloyd identified in 1833 the problems resulting from property owned in common (1977). Yet if all that was at stake here was grazing land in the 1800's this would be an issue for historians alone. Hardin's insight was to recognize that this concept applies in its broader sense to a great many modern environmental problems (e.g., overgrazing on federal lands, demand reduction during an energy descent, acid precipitation, ocean dumping, atmospheric carbon dioxide discharges, draw down of fossil aquifers, firewood crises in less developed countries, over fishing). Simply stated, this is a serious social dilemma - an instance where individual rational behavior (i.e., acting without restraint to maximize personal short-term gain) can cause long-range harm to the environment, others and ultimately oneself.
Thus a tragedy is not inevitable. However, it is more likely to occur if one is dealing with a CPR that is subtractable, able to be overused and, most importantly, experiencing unrestrained, open access.
AVERTING THE TRAGEDY
Unfortunately, knowing the conditions that lead to a tragedy does not insure that one can easily avoid it. Clearly, the nature of a resource is fixed. While one can limit withdrawal of resource units to a sustainable rate for renewables and a repairable rate for those that physically deteriorate, a subtractable resource cannot be made nonsubtractable. Furthermore, managing access involves the complex task of excluding others from using the resource. Thus averting a tragedy involves restraining both consumption and access. Such restraint poses a significant, but not intractable, behavioral challenge.
Slowly, the focus of social science research shifted from exploring the conditions under which a tragedy is more likely to occur, to understanding the conditions under which durable and resilient resource management emerges.
Restraint by coercion through outside agents
It was argued by Hardin and others that the most straightforward way to achieve restraint is through coercion, generally administered by outside agents. In its most extreme formulation this prescription involves the centralized authoritarian control of a resource (e.g., direct top-down management by a government agency). Another approach involves privatization of the commons which, while less severe, also involves external actors and the force of law to defend the rights of the private enterprise to manage the commons as it sees fit.
Following this prescription, governments have intervened to impose centralization or privatization on specific CPRs. Unfortunately, neither of these approaches is certain to prevent a tragedy. Privatization does not insure sustainability. There will always remains the temptation to exhaustively harvest a resource and bank the money obtained, particularly if the money grows faster than the resource. Furthermore, it is argued that centralized solutions that employ powerful coercion fail to reckon with the innate human phenomenon of reactance against compulsion (De Young and Kaplan, 2012, 1988). Forced involvement in compulsory systems without consent motivates people to want the forbidden and creatively resist the demanded. Another concern is the ability of centralized, authoritarian approaches to commit a large percentage of available resources to what is judged to be a vital project. While the urgency of certain CPR crises would seem to demand such a response, it entails considerable risk. There is the danger of making large scale resource allocation errors. In fact, the potential for grave errors may be a major risk of the authoritarian approac

5. Externalities
Externality is a cost or benefit of a good or service that is not included in the purchase price of that good or service. (bakery example)
Negative externalities lead to serious environmental damage for which no one is held legally or financially responsible.
In Environmental Science, we must always account for any potential harm that comes from the use of that resource.
Prevention includes private ownership, regulation
Ex: In the “Lorax” the Onceciler did not have to pay for the harm he caused by taking down all of the truffula trees. That cost was passed on to others (the fish, the, birds, the bobiloots).

6. Maximum Sustainable Yield
MSY- of a renewable resource is the maximum amount that can be harvested without compromising the future availability of that resource.
This point is often reached when the population size is about ½ the carrying capacity.

7. Theory of MSY
Harvesting the maximum sustainable yield will permit an indefinite use without depletion of the resource.
In reality, we do not know the exact MSY of an ecosystem with certainty, so we will not know if a yield is truly sustainable until months or years later, when we evaluate the effect of the harvest on reproduction.
Logging of trees – too many, destruction of forest. Too few, younger trees don’t grow

8. International Land Protection
Approx. 11 % of Earth’s land area is protected internationally or nationally.
In 2003, the UN classified protected lands into 6 categories according to how they are used.
National Parks-managed for scientific, educational, recreational use and for protecting certain animal species. (2.7%) (natives)
Managed Resource Protected Areas-allows for sustained use of biological , mineral, and recreational resources
Habitat/Species Management Areas-to maintain biological communities through hunting/conservation
Strict Nature Reserves and Wilderness Areas-to protect species and ecosystems
Protected Landscapes and Seascapes – nondestructive use of resources, allows tourism and recreation
National Monuments

9. Public Lands in the U.S.
In the US 42% of the nation’s land area is publicly held- a larger percentage than any other nation.
The federal government is the largest single landowner- 25% of the country. 55% in western 11 states, 37% Alaska. This includes
Rangelands
National forests
National parks
National wildlife refuges
Wilderness areas
The resource conservation ethic: people should maximize resource use based on the greatest good for everyone. Areas are preserved and managed for economic, scientific, recreational, and aesthetic purposes.

10. Federal lands Protected in the US
55% of fedral land is in the 11 western continental states and an additional 37% is in Alaska.

11. Land Use in the US
More than 95% of all federal lands are managed by 4 federal agencies and are classified as multiple use lands(may be used for recreation, grazing, timber, mineral extraction):
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)-grazing, mining, timber harvesting, and recreation
US Forest Service (USFS)-timber harvesting, grazing and recreation
National Park Service(NPS)-recreation and conservation
Fish and Wildlife Service(FWS)-wildlife conservation, hunting and recreation

12. Land management practices vary according to land use
Rangelands-dry, open grasslands used primarily for cattle grazing.
Benefits-land that cannot be used for farming(too dry) can be used, uses less fossil fuel energy than feedlots.
Deficits: stream banks can be damaged, surface water can be polluted, a region can quickly be denuded of vegetation if overgrazed, soil erosion. The BLM sets up guidelines for grazing but are not consistently successful in preserving rangeland ecosystems.

13. The Taylor Grazing Act
The Taylor grazing Act of 1934 was passed to halt overgrazing. It converted federal rangelands from a commons to a permit based grazing system which limits the number of animals grazing in a particular area. Critics argue the low cost of permits encourages overgrazing.
The Fed. Gov’t spends more money managing its rangelands than it receives in permit fees.

14. Forests Timber Harvest Practices
Clear Cutting- removal of all or almost all trees within an area. When a stand or cluster of trees have been harvested, foresters often replant or reseed the area. When done on slopes, clear cutting increases:
wind and water erosion which causes soil and nutrient loss, adds silt and sediments to nearby streams, and harms aquatic populations. Denuded slopes can cause mudslides, habitat alteration and decreased biodiversity
73% of of the forests used for commercial timber operations are privately owned. Commercial logging companies are allowed to use US national forests in exchange for royalties
73% of of the forests used for commercial timber operations are privately owned. Commercial logging companies are allowed to use US national forests in exchange for royalties

15. Selective Cutting- removes single trees or a small number of trees from among many in a forest. This produces optimum growth among shade tolerant tree species as only part of the floor will receive direct sunlight.
Logging roads built to access forests fragment the forest habitat leading to species diversity changes, compaction of soil, leading to nutrient loss and reductions in water infiltration.
Ecologically Sustainable Forestry- has a goal of maintaining all species of plants and animals in as close to a natural state as possible. Trees are removed in ways that do not unduly affect the viability of noncommercial tree species.

16. Timber Harvest Practices
Clear Cutting
Selective cutting

17. Conflicts over land use
Conflicts over land use created by competing interests and values are clearly demonstrated with the issue of logging.
Timber production is a mission of the USFS
Maintaining biodiversity is also an important goal.
All logging disrupts habitats, thus effecting species. Logging often replaces complex forest ecosystems with tree plantations that never develop into mature ecologically diverse forests.

18. Fire Management
Fire is a natural process that is important for nutrient recycling and regeneration.
For years humans did all they could to suppress forest fires, which led to a large accumulation of dead biomass of the forest floor.
Eventually this fuel built up until a large fire became inevitable.
One way to reduce dead biomass is by starting a prescribed burn which reduces the risk of uncontrolled natural fires.

19. 1/3 of Yellowstone National Park burns in the summer of 1988
Initially many people were outraged that the NPS allowed he park to burn. However, in a few years, it became clear that thr fires created new, nutrient rich habitat for early-successional plant species that attracted elk and other herbivores.

20. National Parks
Many parks were originally established to preserve scenic views and unusual landforms.
Now they are set aside to specifically protect ecosystems.
Now they are managed for scientific, educational, aesthetic, and recreational use, as well as for conservation and protection of wildlife species.
Goals of NPS is based on the multiple-use principle. Biggest challenge: reducing the human activity impact on the parks.

21. Wildlife Refuges and Wilderness Areas
National wildlife refuges are the only federal public lands managed for the primary purpose of protecting wildlife.
National Wilderness areas allow only limited human use and are designated as road less. These area are set aside with the intent on preserving large tracts of intact ecosystems.

22. Federal Regulation of Land Use
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)1969
Mandates an environmental assessment of all projects involving federal money or permits.
This process is designed to ensure protection of the nation’s resources.
Environmental Impact Statements(EIS) must be filed by developers. It outlines the scope and purpose of the project, describes the environmental context, suggests alternatives approaches to the the project, and analyzes the environmental impact of each.
Environmental mitigation plans stating how they will address the project’s environmental impact are often required as well.
Endangered Species Act of 1973 was designed to protect species from extinction (if this is uncovered in the project.)

23. Residential land use is expanding
The greatest % of population growth in the last 50 years has occurred in suburban and exurban areas.
The rural population has been declining since The population of cities has declined as a percentage of the US population as well.
This is due to the advent of the automobile, highway construction, living costs in the city, urban blight and government policies (zoning)
This has led to urban sprawl- creation of urbanized areas that spread into rural areas and removed clear boundaries between the two.
. Suburban areas surround metropolitan centers and have low population densities compared with urban areas. Exurban areas are similar to suburban areas but are unconnected to any central city or densely populated area.

24. Urban Blight
As people move away from the city to suburbs and exurbs, the city often deteriorates, causing yet more people to leave.
This cycle is an example of a positive feedback system.
Historically, urban blight has contributed to racial segregation when those leaving the cities for the suburbs were predominantly middle-upper income Caucasians resulting in highly concentrated minority populations in city centers.

25. Induced demand-an increase in the supply of a good causes the demand to grow. The Highway Trust Fund built roads that encouraged people to move and have to drive further and further away from work. As more roads are built, more people commute.
Gov’t zoning can restrict areas for certain land uses. ie: residential vs. commercial etc. Sometimes they allow multi-use zoning. However, most zoning promotes automobile-dependent development.

26. Causes and Effects of Sprawl
Automobiles and highway construction allow people to work in the city and live many miles away in a quieter community.
Living Costs-You can obtain more land and a larger house for the same amount of money by living in the suburbs. However, this does exclude lower income families.
Urban Blight-as people move away from the city, the city often deteriorates, causing yet more people to leave.

27. Smart Growth-EPAs 10 basic principles
Mixed Land Uses
Create a range of housing opportunities and choices.
Create walkable neighborhoods.
Encourage community and stakeholder collaboration in development decisions.
Take advantage of compact building design.
Foster distinctive, attractive communities with a strong sense of place

28. 8. Provide a variety of transportation choices.
7. Preserve open space, farmland, natural beauty and critical environmental areas.
8. Provide a variety of transportation choices.
9. Strengthen and direct development toward existing communities.
10. Make Development decisions predictable, fair and cost effective.
Multiple choice questions are on pages in the text.
Free Response questions= page 281
*** Measuring your impact activity on page 281