Primarily in the western states and Alaska although every state has at least one national wildlife refuge

Uses of public lands:

Consumptive


mineral extraction, grazing, timber cutting, hunting/fishing, etc.



Non-consumptive


hiking, backpacking, wildlife viewing, eco tourism, etc.

Values of public lands:

Economic


Consumptive uses provide jobs and sustain local communities whose economies are centered around traditional activities. Non-consumptive uses are becoming much more important nationwide; their economic benefits already outweigh those derived from consumptive uses but some local communities have not yet adopted or shifted their economic bases to recreation-oriented activities.



Scientific


The study of the natural world provides for a greater understanding of scientific principles of ecosystems, of how everything is interconnected. Plants may have uses that have not yet been discovered.



Recreational


Public lands provide the space for a wide spectrum of recreational activities for millions of Americans.



Spiritual


The spiritual and aesthetic values of nature have been recognized by most cultures, including our own.

Current issues regarding public lands:

Grazing


The debate over grazing on public lands may be disproportionate to the economic benefits derived from the activity itself, since less than 5% of the nation's beef production comes from public lands. Grazing is primarily a western issue and involves, among other things, ranching as a way of life, the vitality of small, rural communities; small profitmargin ranch economies, the national myth of the cowboy as a symbol of freedom and rugged individualism; the philosophy that land is to be used; powerful political forces and a historical distrust of government; and the persistent "ain't nobody can tell me what to do" frontier attitude. The other side of the debate involves factors such as overgrazing, protection of riparian areas and endangered species, a philosophical attitude that land has an intrinsic value and does not necessarily has to be used; and, increasingly, a diminishing willingness to support traditional ways of life at taxpayers expense. Caught in the middle are the land management agencies whose past policies, management practices, and attitudes have often alienated both sides.



Timber cutting


Much of what has been said about grazing also applies to timbering but here the issues also involve endangered species and old growth forests, in addition to highly-dependent local economies and ways of life. Past management practices continue to haunt the Forest Service in particular.



Mineral extraction


To a large extent, debate focuses on the General Mining Law of 1872. Has it, as claimed by one side, outlived its usefulness as the nation enters the 21st century, or does it continue to fill a need, as claimed by others? Managing agencies' hands are tied by the laws they have to follow until Congress tells them to do otherwise by changing the laws.



Gas and oil exploration


States realize significant amounts of revenue from gas and oil production on public lands. Whether this is a fair return is one question in the debate; where to drill or not to drill is another. One of the major issues has to do with opening wildlife refuges in Alaska to petroleum production.



Land exchanges


Public lands include within their boundaries not only state owned lands but also private "inholdings," the result of, among other things, various land laws which allowed settlement on forest and desert lands. Consolidating public lands (blocking up) is often a sound management decision if an equitable exchange can be found.



Land sales


Agencies, the BLM in particular, have identified small parcels of public lands surrounded by private property, adjacent to municipalities, or otherwise not deemed worth keeping as lands that should be sold to private interests. Here the debate centers on citizen oversight of the agencies' selection and on how to use revenues generated from such sales. There are those who think that public lands should not be sold, only exchanged in order not to decrease the public's lands; there are also those who feel that there is too much public land and that much of it should be transferred to states or sold to private interests.



Recreational uses


Americans flock to public lands in ever-increasing numbers. The economic benefits of recreational activities have, in many cases, eclipsed those derived from traditional uses. Recreation has given birth to new local businesses and services. Some communities have become overwhelmed by the periodic influx of visitors which strains local infrastructures. Planning is absent from most towns adjacent to large areas of public lands; yet it is only through planning that the essence of a community can be preserved so that a visit there remains a unique part of the public land experience.



Rural communities


Caught in the middle of a vast social and economic change occurring throughout the West, rural communities in the public land states try to cling to traditional ways of life even though (with the exception of Native and Hispanic communities), those traditions have a relatively short history and rarely go back more than 150 years. Influx of newcomers who are often more affluent than locals and less tolerant of traditional ways, hastens the changes and often creates tensions.



State Control


In the 1930s western states overwhelmingly opposed proposals to turn over to them what remained of the Public Domain. Those lands, considered "worthless," are now under the management of the Bureau of Land Management. Now there are those who claim that the states could do a better job of managing public lands than the federal agencies; opponents of this view point to the states' poor record of being able to withstand pressure from private interests. They fear that state control of public lands would be only an interim stop on the way to private ownership.



Fees


Entrance fees to national parks, and campground fees in the parks and elsewhere, have long been part of the public land scene. In recent years there has been a significant increase in entrance fees to national parks and, in 1996, Congress authorized a pilot Recreational Fee Demonstration Program "to demonstrate the feasibility of user-generated cost recovery for the operation and maintenance of recreation areas" on selected National Park Service, Forest Service, Fish & Wildlife Service and BLM lands. Eighty percent of these fees stay on site to help manage the areas themselves. This contrasts with the long-time requirement that fee receipts be transmitted to the federal treasury. Agencies claim that the new fees are necessary to offset rising costs, increased use, and smaller budgets. Others feel that such user fees amount to double taxation, that the Federal budget still contains lots of waste and that taxpayers should demand larger appropriations from Congress for the land management agencies.