1. Land Use

2. Uses of Land Agriculture Housing Recreation Industry Mining
Waste disposal

3. Negative Consequences of Land Use
Deforestation
Extensive logging leads to mudslides
Changes to landscape are biggest cause of species extinction (decrease in biodiversity)
Overuse of farmland leads to soil degradation and water pollution
Paving over land reroutes runoff

4. Why do we value land?
Food
Shelter
Natural resources

5. How do we regulate private and public land use?
Laws
Regulations

6. Tragedy of the Commons
Tendency of a shared, limited resource to become depleted because people act from self interest for short term gain

7. Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY)
Maximum amount that can be harvested without compromising the future availability
Maximum harvest that will be adequately replaced by population growth

8. How do we classify public lands?
International (UN 6 categories of protected public land)
National Parks
Managed Resource Protected Areas
Habitat/Species Management Areas
Strict Nature Preserves and Wilderness Areas
Protected Landscapes and Seascapes
National Monuments

9. In the United States
Public land may be owned by federal, state or local governments
42% of the land in the US is publicly held
Federal government owns 25% (240 million hectares, 600 million acres)
Classifications of Public Lands
Rangelands
National Forests
National Parks
National Wildlife Refuge
Wilderness Areas

10. How do we manage public lands? (Federal government)
BLM responsible for:
262 million acres of land (1/8 of US)
300 million acres of subsurface mineral resources
400 million acres of wildlife management and preservation
most located in western US (including Alaska)
common ecosystems: grasslands, forests, high mountains, arctic tundra and deserts
resources they maintain: energy, minerals, timber, forage, wild horse, burro, fish, wildlife habitat, wilderness areas, archaeological, paleontological and historical sites

11. National Parks Solutions:
Reduce amount of private land using incentives to current owners
Provide education programs to the public
Set quotas for attendance (advanced reservations)
Adopt a fee system
Ban off-road vehicles
Ban cars (provide shuttle buses)
Provide tax incentives to property owners near national parks
Conduct periodic inventories of wildlife and plant life
Threatened by:
High demand by large numbers of visitors
Eroded trails
Noise that disrupts wildlife
Pollution from cars and visitors
Off road vehicles
Introduction of invasive species
Commercial activities- logging, mining, livestock grazing, urban development

12. Wildlife Refuges
1st Refuge- Pelican Island, off coast of Florida (Teddy Roosevelt)
Established to protect wildlife from overhunting (bison, birds- egret and waterfowl)
System is made up of 547 refuges (93 million acres) and is managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service

13. Wetlands
Areas covered by water and support plants that can grow in water saturated soil
Biodiversity is rich because system is highly productive
Countries with Wetlands: Canada, Russia, Siberia, Brazil
US: 10% of land area has been reduced to 5% (mostly Florida and Louisiana)

14. How are we loosing wetlands?
Conversion of land to agriculture
Urbanization
Importance:
Home to wide variety of species- 1/3 of all endangered species in the US spend part of their life in a wetland
Serve as natural water purification system- removes sediments, nutrients and toxins
Stabilize shorelines
Reduce damage caused by storm surges
Reduce risk of flooding
Reduce saltwater intrusion

15. Land Use and Federal Agencies
Four agencies manage 95% of all federal lands:
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
multiple use- grazing, mining timber harvesting and recreation
United States Forest Service (USFS)
multiple use- timber harvesting, grazing and recreation
National Park Service (NPS)
multiple use- recreation and conservation
Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)
wildlife conservation, hunting and recreation

16. Resource Conservation Ethic- states that people should maximize use based on the greatest good for everyone
meaning that areas are preserved and managed for economic, scientific recreational, and aesthetic purposes
Multiple-use lands- land that has been classified by the government to be used for recreation, grazing, timber harvesting and mineral extraction; others are designated as protected lands in order to maintain a watershed, preserve wildlife, fish populations and maintain sites of scenic, scientific and historical value

17. Specific Issues Involved with Management of Public Lands

18. RANGELANDS

19. Rangelands Characteristics
dry, open grasslands
most common use is cattle grazing
semi-arid ecosystems
susceptible to fires

20. Purposes of Rangelands
Habitat for a wide array of game and nongame animal species
Habitat for a diverse and wide array of native plant species
Source of high-quality water, clean air and open spaces
Setting for recreational hiking, camping, fishing, hunting and nature experiences
Foundation for low-input, fully renewable food production systems for the cattle industry

21. Rangelands in US 40% of Landmass of the United States
Dominant type of land in arid and semiarid regions
Western US 80% of land
Eastern US % of land

22. Rangelands Environmental Issues
Overgrazing- Occurs when plants are exposed to grazing for too long without sufficient recovery
Desertification- conversion of marginal rangeland or cropland to more desert-like land type
Caused by: overgrazing, soil erosion, prolonged drought, or climate changes

23. Overgrazing Consequences
Pastures are less productive
Soils have less organic matter- less fertile
Decrease in soil porosity
Infiltration and holding capacity drops
Soil compaction increases
Desirable plants become stressed
Aquatic environments are negatively impacted (eutrophication increases)
Predator-prey relationships are affected
Increases incidences if disease in native plants
Sustainability is threatened