Federal lands

Last updated
Federally managed lands in the 50 states, including subsurface rights. This map includes federal lands held in trust for Native Americans, which may not be considered federal lands in other contexts. Map of all U.S. Federal Land.jpg
Federally managed lands in the 50 states, including subsurface rights. This map includes federal lands held in trust for Native Americans, which may not be considered federal lands in other contexts.
Federal lands via managing government bureau .mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{} Bureau of Indian Affairs Bureau of Land Management Bureau of Reclamation Department of Defense (includes Army Corps of Engineers projects) Fish and Wildlife Service Forest Service National Park Service Tennessee Valley Authority Other agencies US federal land.agencies.svg
Federal lands via managing government bureau
  Other agencies

Federal lands are lands in the United States owned and managed by the federal government. [1] Pursuant to the Property Clause of the United States Constitution (Article 4, section 3, clause 2), Congress has the power to retain, buy, sell, and regulate federal lands, such as by limiting cattle grazing on them. These powers have been recognized in a long series of United States Supreme Court decisions. [2] [3]

Contents

In Article I, Section 8, Clause 17 the United States Constitution empowers the federal government with exclusive legislative authority like that exercised for Washington D.C. over "Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the same shall be, for the erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, Dock-yards, and other needful Buildings." [4]

The federal government manages about 640 million acres (2.6 million km2) of land in the United States, which is about 28% of the total land area of 2.27 billion acres (9.2 million km2). [5] [6] The majority of federal lands (610.1 million acres (2.469 million km2) or 95 percent area in 2015) are administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), National Park Service (NPS), or United States Forest Service (USFS). BLM, FWS, and NPS are part of the United States Department of the Interior, while the Forest Service is part of the United States Department of Agriculture. An additional 11.4 million acres (46 thousand km2) of land (about 2% of all federal land) is managed by the United States Department of Defense (DOD). [6] The majority of federal lands are located in Alaska and the Western states. [6]

The United States Supreme Court has upheld the broad powers of the federal government to deal with federal lands, for example having unanimously held in Kleppe v. New Mexico [7] that "the complete power that Congress has over federal lands under this clause necessarily includes the power to regulate and protect wildlife living there, state law notwithstanding." [2]

Lands held by the United States in trust for Native American tribes are generally not considered public lands. [8] There are some 55 million acres (0.22 million km2) of land held in trust by the federal government for Indian tribes and almost 11 million acres (45 thousand km2) of land held in trust by the federal government for individual Natives. Although the United States holds legal title to these lands, the tribe or individual holds beneficial title (the right to use and benefit from the property). [9] As a result, Indian Country is "quasi-private, not public, land." [8] Nevertheless, "because the United States is a legal title holder, the federal government is a necessary part in all leases and dispositions of resources including trust land. For example, the secretary of the interior must approve any contract for payment or grant by an Indian tribe for services for the tribe 'relative to their lands' (25 U.S.C. § 81)." [9]

History of federal lands

The Land Ordinance of 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 provided for the survey and settlement of the lands that the original Thirteen Colonies ceded to the federal government after the American Revolution. [10] As additional lands were acquired by the United States from Spain, France, Native American Nations and other countries, the United States Congress directed that they be explored, surveyed, and made available for settlement. [10] During the Revolutionary War, military bounty land was promised to soldiers who fought for the colonies. [11] After the war, the Treaty of Paris of 1783, signed by the United States, the Kingdom of Great Britain, France, and Spain, ceded territory to the United States. [12] [13] In the 1780s, other states relinquished their own claims to land in modern-day Ohio. [14] By this time, the United States needed revenue to function. [15] Land was sold so that the government would have money to survive. [15] In order to sell the land, surveys needed to be conducted. The Land Ordinance of 1785 instructed a geographer to oversee this work as undertaken by a group of surveyors. [15] The first years of surveying were completed by trial and error; once the territory of Ohio had been surveyed, a modern public land survey system had been developed. [16] In 1812, Congress established the United States General Land Office as part of the Department of the Treasury to oversee the disposition of these federal lands. [14] By the early 1800s, promised bounty land claims were finally fulfilled. [17]

In the 19th century, other bounty land and homestead laws were enacted to dispose of federal land. [10] [17] These included, among others, the Homestead Act of 1862 and the Desert Lands Entry Act of 1877. [6] Several different types of patents existed. [18] These include cash entry, credit, homestead, Indian, military warrants, mineral certificates, private land claims, railroads, state selections, swamps, town sites, and town lots. [18] A system of local land offices spread throughout the territories, patenting land that was surveyed via the corresponding Office of the Surveyor General of a particular territory. [18] This pattern gradually spread across the entire United States. [16] Homestead entries peaked in 1910, when they amounted to 18.3 million acres (0.074 million km2), and sharply declined after 1935 and were eliminated in 1986. [6] The laws that spurred mass federal land transfers, with the exception of the General Mining Law of 1872 and the Desert Land Act of 1877, have since been repealed or superseded. [19]

Between 1781 and 2018, the federal government divested itself of estimated 1.29 billion acres (5.2 million km2) of public domain land. [6] The vast majority (97%) of transfers of federal land to private ownership occurred before 1940. [6] Beginning in the early 20th century, U.S. government policy shifted from disposing of public land to retaining and managing it. [6] Congress took additional steps toward recognizing the value of the assets on public lands and directed the Executive Branch to manage activities on the remaining public lands. [19] The Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 allowed leasing, exploration, and production of selected commodities, such as coal, oil, gas, and sodium to take place on public lands. [20] The Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 established the United States Grazing Service to manage the public rangelands by establishment of advisory boards that set grazing fees. [21] [22] The Oregon and California Revested Lands Sustained Yield Management Act of 1937, commonly referred as the O&C Act, required sustained yield management of the timberlands in western Oregon. [23]

The Sagebrush Rebellion movement in the Western United States in the 1970s and the 1980s sought major changes to federal land control, use, and disposal policy in 13 western states in which federal land holdings include between 20% and 85% of a state's area. [24] [25] Supporters of the movement wanted more state and local control over the lands, if not outright transfer of them to state and local authorities and/or privatization. [26]

From 1990 to 2018, the overall acreage held by the federal government decreased by 4.9% (i.e., from 646.9 million acres (2.618 million km2) to 615.3 million acres (2.490 million km2)). [6] Over that time period, the federal acreage held by the Bureau of Land Management and Department of Defense decreased by 10.2% and 56.8%, respectively, and the federal acreage held by the Forest Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Park Service increased by 0.8%, 2.7%, and 5.0%, respectively. [6] Over the 1990–2018 time period, the largest decline in federal acreage was in Alaska (a decrease of 9.4%, or 23.0 million acres (0.093 million km2)) and in the 11 contiguous states of the West (a 3% decrease in federal land, or 10.7 million acres (0.043 million km2)). [6]

Primary federal land holders

This map shows land owned by different federal government agencies. US federal land.agencies.svg
This map shows land owned by different federal government agencies.

The four primary federal land holders are:

The fifth largest federal landowner is the United States Department of Defense, which owns, leases, or possessed 26.1 million acres (0.106 million km2) worldwide, of which 8.8 million acres (0.036 million km2) are located in the United States (this figure excluded United States Army Corps of Engineers land). DoD thus administers approximately 1% of federal land. DOD land is mostly military bases and reservations. [6] The largest single DOD-owned, all-land tract is the 2.3-million-acre White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. [27]

Together, the BLM, FWS, NPS, Forest Service, and DOD manage about 96% of federal land. [6] The remaining 4% of federal land is controlled by other federal agencies, including the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the Bureau of Reclamation, the United States Postal Service, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the U.S. Department of Energy. [6]

Distribution

Federal land is concentrated in the Western United States. Nationwide, the federal government owns 27.4% of all land area. There are significant variations regionally; the federal government owns 61.3% of the land area in Alaska, 46.4% of the land area in the 11 contiguous Western states; and 4.2% of the land area of other states. The state with the highest percentage of land held by the federal government is Nevada (80.1%); the states with the lowest percentage of land held by the federal government are Connecticut and Iowa (0.3%). [6]

Primary laws regarding federal lands

Acquired lands

In the United States, acquired lands refer to a category of public lands under federal management that were obtained by the federal government through purchase, condemnation, gift, or exchange. [28]

Uses

In the United States, federal lands are often used for environmental conservation. The administration of Joe Biden turned into protected areas 12.5 million acres in 2023 alone. [29]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Forest Service</span> Agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture

The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands covering 193 million acres (780,000 km2) of land. The major divisions of the agency are the Chief's Office, National Forest System, State and Private Forestry, Business Operations, as well as Research and Development. The agency manages about 25% of federal lands and is the sole major national land management agency not part of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National forest (United States)</span> Classification of federal lands in the United States

In the United States, national forest is a classification of protected and managed federal lands that are largely forest and woodland areas. They are owned collectively by the American people through the federal government and managed by the United States Forest Service, a division of the United States Department of Agriculture. The U.S. Forest Service is also a forestry research organization which provides financial assistance to state and local forestry industry. There are 154 national forests in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bureau of Land Management</span> Agency within the US Department of the Interior

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering U.S. federal lands. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the BLM oversees more than 247.3 million acres (1,001,000 km2) of land, or one-eighth of the United States's total landmass.

In the United States, a territory is any extent of region under the sovereign jurisdiction of the federal government of the United States, including all waters. The United States asserts sovereign rights for exploring, exploiting, conserving, and managing its territory. This extent of territory is all the area belonging to, and under the dominion of, the United States federal government for administrative and other purposes. The United States total territory includes a subset of political divisions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Wildlife Refuge</span> United States protected area designation

The National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) is a system of protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), an agency within the Department of the Interior. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the system of public lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife, and plants. Since President Theodore Roosevelt designated Florida's Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge as the first wildlife refuge in 1903, the system has grown to over 568 national wildlife refuges and 38 wetland management districts encompassing about 859,000,000 acres (3,476,200 km2).

In all modern states, a portion of land is held by central or local governments. This is called public land, state land, or Crown land. The system of tenure of public land, and the terminology used, varies between countries. The following examples illustrate some of the range.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States General Land Office</span> United States government agency (1812–1946)

The General Land Office (GLO) was an independent agency of the United States government responsible for public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 to take over functions previously conducted by the United States Department of the Treasury. Starting with the enactment of the Land Ordinance of 1785, which created the Public Land Survey System, the Treasury Department had already overseen the survey of the Northwest Territory, including what is now the state of Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument</span> Protected area in Montana

The Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument is a national monument in the western United States, protecting the Missouri Breaks of north central Montana. Managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), it is a series of badland areas characterized by rock outcroppings, steep bluffs, and grassy plains; a topography referred to as "The Breaks".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mineral Leasing Act of 1920</span> United States federal law

The Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 30 U.S.C. § 181 et seq. is a United States federal law that authorizes and governs leasing of public lands for developing deposits of coal, petroleum, natural gas and other hydrocarbons, in addition to phosphates, sodium, sulfur, and potassium in the United States. Previous to the act, these materials were subject to mining claims under the General Mining Act of 1872.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Wilderness Preservation System</span> Protection of wilderness areas in the U.S.

The National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) of the United States protects federally managed wilderness areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. Activity on formally designated wilderness areas is coordinated by the National Wilderness Preservation System. Wilderness areas are managed by four federal land management agencies: the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Land Management.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taylor Grazing Act of 1934</span>

The Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 is a United States federal law that provides for the regulation of grazing on the public lands to improve rangeland conditions and regulate their use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Conservation Lands</span> Federally-managed protected areas in the United States

National Conservation Lands, formally known as the National Landscape Conservation System, is a 35-million-acre (140,000 km2) collection of lands in 873 federally recognized areas considered to be the crown jewels of the American West. These lands represent 10% of the 258 million acres (1,040,000 km2) managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The BLM is the largest federal public land manager and is responsible for over 40% of all the federal public land in the nation. The other major federal public land managers include the US Forest Service (USFS), National Park Service (NPS), and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Grazing Service</span> Organization

The United States Grazing Service (USGS) was established in 1934 as part of the Taylor Grazing Act. This act was designed to control the destruction of public land due to overgrazing, which had become a problem across western states like Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. The USGS oversees grazing on these lands and regulates the amount of livestock that can be grazed to ensure that the land remains healthy and productive. The USGS also serves as an advocate for ranchers, helping them access permits, utilize water rights, comply with local regulations, and even negotiate grazing leases on public lands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009</span>

The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 is a land management law passed in the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 30, 2009. The bill designates millions of acres in the US as protected and establishes a National Landscape Conservation System. It includes funding for programs, studies and other activities by the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture, and in some cases bars further geothermal leasing, oil and gas leasing, and new mining patents on certain stretches of protected land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971</span> 1971 Act of Congress

The Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 (WFRHBA), is an Act of Congress, signed into law by President Richard M. Nixon on December 18, 1971. The act covered the management, protection and study of "unbranded and unclaimed horses and burros on public lands in the United States."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public Access and Lands Improvement Act</span>

The Public Access and Lands Improvement Act is an omnibus bill that combines ten smaller, previously introduced bills all related to land and land use. Several of the bills transfer federal lands to state or local governments. The bill also addresses cattle grazing.

Grazing rights in Nevada covers a number of rangeland Federal and state laws and regulations applicable to the state of Nevada. Rangelands are distinguished from pasture lands because they grow primarily native vegetation, rather than plants established by humans. Ranchers may lease or obtain permits to use portions of this public rangeland and pay a fee based on the number and type of livestock and the period for which they are on the land.

In the United States, land owned and managed by governmental organizations is referred to as public land. As of 2020, the federal government owns roughly 640 million acres of land, the majority of which is concentrated in the Western US and Alaska. Privatization of public land involves the selling or auctioning of public lands to the private sector. The private sector can refer to private individuals, industry, or corporations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public lands in the United States</span>

In the United States, governmental entities at all levels- including townships, cities, counties, states, and the federal government- all manage land which are referred to as either public lands or the public domain.

References

  1. ↑ https://www.law.cornell.edu/definitions/uscode.php?width=840&height=800&iframe=true&def_id=30-USC-1142904699-827877038&term_occur=999&term_src=title:30:chapter:25:subchapter:V:section:1272#:~:text=(4)%20%E2%80%9CFederal%20lands%E2%80%9D,of%20this%20chapter%20lands%20or
  2. 1 2 Paul Rodgers, United States Constitutional Law: An Introduction (2011), p. 100-101.
  3. ↑ Gibson v. Chouteau, 80 U.S. 92, 99 (1872), U.S. v. Grimaud, 220 U.S. 506 (1911), Light v. U.S. 220 U.S. 523 (1911), Utah Power & Light Co. v. U.S., 243 U.S. 389, 405 (1917), Ashwander v. Tennessee Valley Authority , 297 U.S. 288, 336 (1936).
  4. ↑ Cornell University Law School, , Cornell University Legal Information Institute]
  5. ↑ Lipton, Eric, and Clifford Krauss, Giving Reins to the States Over Drilling, New York Times, August 24, 2012.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Carol Hardy Vincent, Carla N. Argueta, & Laura A. Hanson, Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data, Congressional Research Service (updated February 21, 2020).
  7. ↑ Kleppe v. New Mexico, 426 U.S. 529 (1976).
  8. 1 2 Tom Fredericks & Andrea Aseff, When Did Congress Deem Indian Lands Public Lands?: The Problem of BLM Exercising Oil and Gas Regulatory Jurisdiction, 33 Energy Law Journal 119 (2012).
  9. 1 2 "Trust Land" in Treaties with American Indians: An Encyclopedia of Rights, Conflicts, and Sovereignty (ed. Donald L. Fixico: ABC-CLIO, 2008), p. 956.
  10. 1 2 3 "The BLM: The Agency and its History". GPO. Archived from the original on November 26, 2014. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land-Warrant Application Files (p. 7)" (PDF). National Archives and Records Administration (1974). Archived (PDF) from the original on February 13, 2015. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  12. ↑ "British-American Diplomacy Treaty of Paris – Hunter Miller's Notes". The Avalon Project at Yale Law School. Archived from the original on May 16, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  13. ↑ Black, Jeremy. British foreign policy in an age of revolutions, 1783–1793 (1994) pp 11–20
  14. 1 2 A History of the Rectangular Survey System by C. Albert White, 1983, Pub: Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management: For sale by G.P.O.
  15. 1 2 3 Vernon Carstensen, "Patterns on the American Land." Journal of Federalism, Fall 1987, Vol. 18 Issue 4, pp 31–39
  16. 1 2 White, C. Albert (1991). A history of the rectangular survey system. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
  17. 1 2 "Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land-Warrant Application Files (p. 3)" (PDF). National Archives and Records Administration (1974). Archived (PDF) from the original on February 13, 2015. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  18. 1 2 3 "Records of the Bureau of Land Management [BLM] (Record Group 49) 1685–1993 (bulk 1770–1982)". National Archives and Records Administration. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  19. 1 2 "BLM and Its Predecessors: A Long and Varied History". BLM. Archived from the original on November 26, 2014. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  20. ↑ "Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 As Amended" (PDF). BLM. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  21. ↑ Wishart, David J. (ed.). "Taylor Grazing Act". Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  22. ↑ Elliott, Clayton R. (August 2010). Innovation in the U.S. Bureau of Land Management: Insights from Integrating Mule Deer Management with Oil and Gas Leasing (Masters Thesis). University of Montana. p. 45. hdl:2027.42/77588.
  23. ↑ "O&C Sustained Yield Act: the Law, the Land, the Legacy" (PDF). Bureau of Land Management. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 24, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
  24. ↑ Ross W. Gorte; Carol Hardy Vincent; Laura A. Hanson; Marc R. Rosenblum (8 February 2012). "Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data" (PDF). Table 1. Federal Land by State, 2010. Congressional Research Service. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  25. ↑ "The Open West, Owned by the Federal Government". New York Times. 23 Mar 2012.
  26. ↑ "Andrus predicts end to West's 'rebellion'". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. June 11, 1980. p. 15C.
  27. ↑ White Sands Missile Range and Trinity Site, National Park Service (revised 03/14/12).
  28. ↑ PD-icon.svg This article incorporates public domain material from Jasper Womach. Report for Congress: Agriculture: A Glossary of Terms, Programs, and Laws, 2005 Edition (PDF). Congressional Research Service.
  29. ↑ Hananel, Sam. "The Biden Administration Has Reached Conservation Records in 2023". Center for American progress. Retrieved 24 December 2023.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.