This chapter covers conditions and trends through calendar year 1998 using data and information available as of December 31, 2000.
The total land area of the United States is 2.27 billion acres. The 48 contiguous states comprise about 1.9 billion acres of land, Alaska contains 365.5 million acres, and Hawaii, 4.1 million acres. In Fiscal Year 1998, the federal government owned 28.8 percent of the nation's total land area, much less than it owned at the beginning of the 20th century. Most of the federal land is managed by a relatively few federal agencies -- the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and National Park Service (NPS), and the Agriculture Department's Forest Service (FS) (Figure 3.1).
TRENDS
Public Domain
The first public lands were established between 1781 and 1802 when the original colonies ceded to the federal government their claims to unsettled territory that extended westward between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River. In the course of national expansion during the early 1800s, the federal government acquired more land and the public domain stretched beyond the Mississippi. By 1867, with the purchase of Alaska from Russia, the public domain totaled over 1.8 billion acres and the U.S. land area covered the entire mid-continent of North America.
The federal government began to dispose of the public lands, even before all the territory was acquired. The public land disposals built the country's economic foundation, opened the West to settlement, and united the vast expanse of land between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. To raise money to repay Revolutionary War debts and encourage settlement of new territories, the federal government sold or granted vast tracts of public lands to settlers, homesteaders, veterans, towns, new states entering the Union, railroads, agricultural and mechanical colleges and universities, and private companies.
Beginning in the late 1800s, special Congressional acts withdrew vast amounts of public lands from settlement for national parks, national forests, national monuments, and wildlife refuges. Recognizing the need to protect the nation's natural, historical, and cultural resources while providing opportunities for recreation, Congress established the first national park -- Yellowstone -- in 1872 and the first system of forest reserves (now national forests) in 1891. From 1909 to 1934, there were a number of other federal withdrawals of public domain, for phosphate, coal and other minerals reserves, for power sites, for additional national parks, monuments, and refuges, and for other uses. (Since 1911, additional federal lands have been obtained by purchase, donation, or condemnation of private lands.) In 1934, passage of the Taylor Grazing Act withdrew from private entry all the remaining public domain which, until then, had been a grazing commons whose unrestrained use was ultimately deleterious to the land (See Chapter 7. Terrestrial Resources). By 1980, the federal government had disposed of nearly 1.1 million acres.
Today, all that remains of the nation's original public domain are 264.2 million acres, most of which lie west of the Mississippi River and in Alaska (Figure 3.2). The Bureau of Land Management is responsible for managing these lands and their various resources for a variety of public uses and values, including authorized grazing, outdoor recreation, watershed protection, wildlife habitat conservation, timber harvesting, and mining. In 1998, there were some 287,249 unpatented mining claims, 46,146 oil, gas, and geothermal leases, 349 coal leases, and 494 leases for other solid minerals. There were 11,866 grazing permits in force on grazing district lands and 6,832 grazing leases in force on grazing lease lands. About 44,500 wild horses and burros roamed BLM lands in 1998, and about 7,800 were adopted and another 6,400 were removed. (Additional information about BLM lands is presented later in this chapter.)
Other Federal Lands
Like BLM, other federal land management agencies often face challenges trying to minimize conflicts across a mix of ecological, aesthetic, and economic values.
Forest Service Lands. The Forest Service (FS) manages 188 million acres of federal lands in the National Forest System 44 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands and about 4 million acres in the National Grasslands System in 12 states (Figure 3.3). The agency's mandated management goals include forest stewardship, watershed management, wildlife habitat and biodiversity protection, outdoor recreation, and range and timber management.
In 1998, the FS restored or enhanced nearly 370,000 terrestrial acres, 9,672 lake acres, and 1,846 stream miles, installed 5,543 runoff control structures, and decommissioned 2,099 miles of roads to help improve wildlife and fish habitat and water quality. Also in 1998, FS initiated inventory and assessment work on abandoned and inactive mines on FS lands, which now total over 38,000 sites, and acquired 53,241 acres, either through exchange or by purchase, to protect important resource values. Since 1991, FS-assisted stewardship planning and management has been implemented 18.5 million acres of nonindustrial private forest land to help maintain and restore aquatic ecosystems. Insect and disease detection and evaluation surveys were conducted on 213 million acres of FS lands and 575 million acres of nonfederal state and private lands in 1998, and 0.8 million acres of insect and disease infestation s were suppressed. Prescribed burning and other fuel reduction treatments were conducted on nearly 1.5 million acres to enhance forest health and diversity, protect vulnerable urban-wildland interfaces, promote forage productivity, and restore fire-dependent ecosystems. Also in 1998, FS improved nearly 300,000 acres forest stands, such as through precommercial thinning, and reforested nearly 290,000 acres after timber harvest. (See Chapter 7. Terrestrial Resources for additional information on timberland and grazed forestland conditions.)
Fish and Wildlife Service Lands. The Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) manages the 94-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which comprises more than 500 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands, and other special management areas (Figure 3.4). The system of refuges protects examples of every type of habitat in the United States for the benefit of fish and wildlife species. The agency also enforces federal wildlife laws, manages migratory bird populations, administers the Endangered Species Act, restores national significant fisheries, and conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands.
In calendar year 1998, FWS added 438,464 acres to the National Wildlife Refuge System and enhanced or restored nearly 3.4 million acres of fish and wildlife habitat already within the System. FWS also completed 24 of 30 projects to cleanup contaminated FWS lands.
By September 30, 1998, there were 400 FWS-recognized regional migratory bird populations of management concern, and of these only 250 had reliable baseline data and on-going monitoring programs. One (1) percent of species with available data showed improvements in population status because of FWS management actions that have either increased their numbers or reduced the number of conflicts due to over abundance.
As of November 30, 1998, there were 1,177 U.S. species (plants and animals) listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Of these, FWS had prepared recovery plan for 879 and proposed delisting/downlisting 7 species because of recovery efforts. FWS withdrew four candidate species because either their habitat gained protection or additional data deemed that ESA protection was not warranted. Also in 1998, FWS restored or enhanced 2 million acres of listed species habitat and reintroduced 63,000 listed animals and/or plant species to FWS lands. (See Chapter 4. Biodiversity for more information on the nation's fish and wildlife, including threatened and endangered species.)
In 1997 (the most recent year for which data are available), FWS enhanced, restored, and/or created 58,300 acres of wetlands, 109,290 acres of upland habitat, and 646 miles of riparian or stream habitat.
National Park Service Lands. The National Park Service manages about 84 million acres in 382 natural, cultural, and historical sites around the nation (Figure 3.5). There are a wide variety of units -- national parks, national monuments, national preserves, national historic sites, national battlefields, national seashores, national recreation areas, etc. -- but all units of the system have equal legal standing. The largest area is Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska, which at 13.2 million acres is more than 16 percent of the entire system.
Under the original National Park Service Organic Act of 1916, the agency is directed to manage the park "to conserve the scenery and the natural and historical objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." Significant natural resources occur in more than 265 unites in the system, and many are subjected to unfavorable influences from a variety of sources, for example, air and water pollution, urban encroachment, and excessive visitation.
To help prevent loss or impairment to natural resources, NPS established the Natural Resource Inventory and Monitoring (I&M) Program. Two of the main objectives for the program are to complete basic resource data sets for each natural resource park and implement long-term ecological monitoring of natural resources. Since 1992, the program has funded 560 inventories of various resources, verified species lists from 95 units, and initiated baseline assessments of water quality and geologic bibliographies in all natural resource parks. In addition, prototype long-term monitoring has been initiated at 7 parks representing 6 biomes.
Other National Treasures
National Wilderness Preservation System. The Wilderness Act of 1964 established the National Wilderness Preservation System to protect land that retains its primeval character and influence where human influence is substantially unnoticeable. Wilderness areas are designated by Congress and are composed of existing federal lands. The U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, and Fish and Wildlife Service manage most of the wilderness land (Figure 3.6).
The National Wilderness Preservation System has grown from slightly over 10 million acres in 1970 to nearly 105 million acres in 1998. The most dramatic increase occurred in 1980 with the passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, which added over 56 million acres in Alaska, and with other wilderness laws passed that year, which added an additional 5 million acres (Figure 3.7). In 1984, the largest number of wildernesses were added to the system (175) in any one year. As of 1998, there were 624 designated wildernesses covering 104,571,344 acres. Wilderness acreage in Alaska makes up 55 percent of the entire system, while wilderness acreage in 11 western states (Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho) accounts for around 40 percent and eastern states together, slightly more than 4 percent.
Wild and Scenic Rivers. For the past 30 years, wild and scenic rivers have become an increasingly important part of the nation's protected heritage, offering recreational and tourism opportunities to the public, protecting free-flowing rivers and their plant and animal species, and providing dependable supplies of clean water for local use. Passage of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in 1968 has also stimulated an increasing public interest in river protection and helped to build enduring partneships among landowners, river users, local communities, state agencies, and tribal governments. Rivers like Maine's Allagash, the Snake in Oregon and Idaho, Colorado's Cache La Poudre, the Saline bayou in Louisiana, and the Kings of California are among the designated.
The National Wild and Scenic River System greatly expanded in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1980, there were 5,662 river-miles in the wild and scenic river system. By 1989, the system had grown by 63 percent, to 9,281 river miles, and by 1998, the total had jumped to 10,896 river miles (Figure 3.8).
American Heritage Rivers. American Heritage Rivers Initiative is a new program to help communities develop and implement plans for restoring and protecting the environmental, economic, and cultural values of rivers and riverfronts. Federal agencies will help match community needs with available resources to, for example, attack pollution, build greenway and pedestrian paths, protect watersheds, rebuild historic docks, identify native trees and other plants, and seek out economic opportunities. The initiative was launched by Executive Order 13061 in September 1997. As a result, 14 "American Heritage River" sites were designated on July 30, 1998, out of 126 nominations received. Designated rivers include: Blackstone and Woonasqatucket Rivers (MA, RI); Connecticut River (CT, VT, NH, MA); Cuyahoga River (OH); Detroit River (MI); Hanalei River (HI); Hudson River (NY); New River (NC, VA, WV); Rio Grande (TX); Potomac River (DC, MD, PA,VA, WV); St. Johns River (FL); Upper Mississippi River (IA, IL, MN, MO, WI); Lower Mississippi River (LA, TN); Upper Susquehanna and Lackawanna Rivers (PA); and Willamette River (OR).
National Trails System. The year 1998 also marks the 30th anniversary of the National Trails System Act which established the national system of recreational, scenic, and historic trails and prescribes the methods and standards for adding components to the system. The 1968 act established two long-distance trails as federally-assisted projects: the Appalachian and the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trails. By 1998, eight more national scenic trails were added to the system: the Continental Divide; Florida; Natchez Trace; Ice Age; North Country; and Potomac Heritage Trails. Once fully established, these trails will total more than 14,000 miles of combined length. In 1998, the administration announced plans to protect the final footpath links in the Appalachian Trail which is currently protected along more than 99 percent of its 2,167 mile course.
In addition, 12 national historic trails have also been established under this act (starting in 1978). These trails commemorate important routes of travel which contributed significantly to America's development, such as the Oregon, Santa Fe; Pony Express; Trail of Tears, and Iditarod Trails. These are routes that focus on significant sites and segments along the way that best convey and evoke the important stories these trails represent. Together, the national historic trails total more than 23,000 miles in combined lengths.
The National Trails System also recognizes more than 800 national recreational trails which include nature trails, river routes, and historic tours. These trails vary in length, terrain, difficulty, and accessibility, and are managed by public and private agencies at the local, state, and national levels. Together these trails total almost 9,000 miles in combined length. In addition, 10,000 miles of abandoned railroad lines have been converted to trails.
National Estuarine Research Reserves. The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 provides for the establishment of National Estuarine Research Reserves (NERRS) dedicated to enhancing research, education, and protection of the nation's diverse estuarine and coastal habitats. By the end of 1998, there were 22 NERRS sites totaling 583,598 acres. NERRS sites are managed by state governments in cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
National Marine Sanctuaries. The Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 provides for the establishment of National Marine Sanctuaries to conserve, protect, and enhance the biodiversity, ecological integrity, and cultural legacy of the nation's marine environment. Since the 1975, the nation has designated 12 National Marine Sanctuaries totaling 13,837 square miles. Ranging from American Samoa to New England, they include Pacific and Atlantic haunts of whales, sea lions, sharks, rays, and turtles; significant coral reefs and kelp forest habitats; and the remains of the Monitor Civil War shipwreck off North Carolina.
National Marine Sanctuaries are managed by NOAA. In 1998, NOAA and the National Geographic Society teamed up to launch the Sustainable Seas Expeditions, a 5-year deep sea exploration of the 12 sanctuaries. These expeditions will explore the natural history of marine plants and animals in a one-person submersible and the results will be displayed in books, videos, and the World Wide Web. (Also see International Year of the Ocean in Chapter 6. Aquatic Resources).
National Register of Historic Places. The National Register of Historic Places -- the nation's official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation -- was created by the National Historic Preservation Act. By 1998, nearly 70,000 properties were listed on the National Register. Included among the listings are: all historic areas in the National Park System; over 2,200 National Historic Landmarks, which have been designated by the Secretary of the Interior because of their importance to all Americans; and properties across the country that have been nominated by governments, organizations, and individuals because they are significant to the nation, to a state, or to a community. A few properties are lost each year as a result of fire, flood, wind, or other natural causes or as a result of demolition.
National Scenic Byways. The National Scenic Byways Program recognizes outstanding byways that exemplify the regional characteristics of our nation. These outstanding qualities can be archeological, cultural, historical, natural, recreational, or scenic. The finest byways are designated as All-American roads. In 1998, the Secretary of Transportation designated 33 roads in 19 states as All-American Roads and National Scenic Byways, marking the second round of designations under the National Scenic Byways Program. Twenty roads were designated in 1996.
Outdoor Recreation
Hunting, fishing, wildlife-watching, and other types of wildlife-associated recreation are enjoyed by millions of Americans every year. According to the latest National Survey on Recreation and the Environment, almost 200 million people nationwide participated in some type of outdoor recreation in 1994-1995, and these numbers are increasing. Wildlife viewing, walking, hiking, biking, hunting, and off-road driving were among the favorite land-based outdoor recreation activities for people 16 years and older, while surfing, fishing, motor-boating, and visiting a beach were favorite water-based recreation endeavors. Healthy landscapes and watersheds, clean air and water, and diverse and robust fish and wildlife populations are essential to many of these outdoor recreation pursuits.
Since 1982-1983, many nature-oriented recreation activities have increased in popularity. Birdwatching has had the largest increase, 155 percent, from 21 million to 54 million participants. Other activities with considerable growth include hiking (94 percent), backpacking (73 percent), and primitive camping (58 percent).
The continued popularity of wildlife-based recreation in the United States has significant economic benefits at the local, state, regional, and national levels. Hunting, fishing, and wildlife-watching together generated over $254 billion dollars in total economic output in 1996 and the current economic impact of recreational use of federal lakes is conservatively estimated at $44 billion annually. (Also see Chapter 2. Economy and the Environment.)
Hunting. According to the FWS National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, which is conducted every five years, the number of Americans who hunted fell 8 percent between 1990 and 1995 after being stable from 1980 to 1990. By region, the number of hunters decreased in all regions 1980-1995, except the Midwest, which saw a slight increase. By sex, the number of males hunting decreased and number of females hunting increased over the period. Other highlights include:
Sport Fishing. The number of anglers increased steadily from 1980 to 1990 and then declined slightly from 1990 to 1995 , according to the FWS National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation. The South had the largest increase over the 1980-1995 period (21 percent) and the Midwest had the smallest (8 percent). Other highlights include:
Saltwater Recreational Fishing. The popularity of saltwater fishing continues to be strong, according to the annual NMFS Marine Recreational Fishery Statistical Survey. In 1998, over 7.5 million people made 60 million marine recreational fishing trips to the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts (Figure 3.9). The estimated marine recreational finfish caught was 312 million fish. Over 55 percent of the number caught were released alive. The estimated total weight of the harvest was 195 million pounds.
The Atlantic and Gulf coasts accounted for 77 percent of participants, 88 percent of the fishing trips, and 91 percent of the marine recreational finfish catch. Most (56 percent) of the catch came from inland waters, 34 percent form state territorial seas, and 10 percent from the Exclusice Economic Zone (EEZ). The most commonly caught non-bait species (number of fish) were Atlantic croaker, spotted sea trout, summer flounder, striped bass, bluefish, and black sea bass. The catch of striped sea bass increased steadily and dramatically since 1990 with a catch of nearly 16.5 million fish in 1998. Over 91 percent of striped bass were released alive in 1998.
On the Pacific coast, 1.7 million marine recreational fishing participants took 7.0 million trips and caught a total of 28 million fish in 1998. Seventy percent of the trips were made in California, followed by 21 percent in Washington, and 9 percent in Oregon. More trips were from the state territorial seas. The most commonly caught non-bait species (numbers of fish) were Pacific (chub) mackerel, surf smelt, kelp bass, Pacific barracuda, black rockfish, and barred sand bass.
Wildlife Watching. Wildlife-watching (feeding observing, or photographing wildlife) while on trips at least one mile from home increased 63 percent over the 1980-1995 period, while wildlife observing around the home nearly doubled. Feeding of wildlife around the home, the single largest wildlife-watching activity when measured by number of participants, declined 15 percent between 1985 and 1995 (comparable data are not available for 1980).
The FWS National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation reports that nearly 63 million people enjoyed wildlife activities such as observing, feeding, or photographing wildlife around their homes or on trips away from home in 1995. Each region had an increase in the number of observers over the 1980-1995 period, with the South having the largest increase. The number of participants in wildlife watching for both sexes increased, with the increase in the number of female participants being higher than that for the males.
Between 1980 and 1995, 90 percent more rural residents and 94 percent more urban residents observed wildlife around their homes. Participation by race and by income showed increases over the period while no age group had a significant decrease in the number of observers.
Visits to Federal Recreation Areas
Traditional outdoor activities on public lands and waters remain popular with Amercians and visitors from abroad. Visits to federal recreation areas, particularly national parks and national forests, have increased significantly since 1977. For the National Park System, visits rose from 211 million in 1977 to 287 million in 1998, or about 36 percent. In National Forests, the number of visitors rose from 205 million in 1977 to 358 million in 1996, or about 74 percent. It is estimated that 900 people visited federal manmade lakes for recreation.
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Box 3.1
Reservoirs of Opportunity
The nation's manmade lakes created by federal dams are popular recreation attractions. These 1,782 lakes host about 900 million visits a year and their use is growing by 2 percent annually. Federal lake visits are projected to reach 2 billion visits by 2048. Proximity to population centers has some bearing on current and projected lake recreation visitation. At present, 97 percent of federal lakes are within an hour's drive of a city or town.
This growing user demand, and the likelihood that few new reservoirs will be created, creates a challenge for the 11 federal management agencies to provide recreation facilities and lake conditions that meet public demand while safeguarding the quality of the environment. The National Recreation Lakes Commission, which was created by Congress and appointed by the President, examine these concerns. After a year of research, nationwide workshops, and deliberations, the Commission reports that recreation at federal lakes is beset by a multitude of difficulties and shortcomings. At many sites, facilities ranging from restrooms to boat docks to roads are inadequate, aging, and falling apart. Pollution and aquatic plant invasions threaten lake health. Fish habitat is compromised, and with it, species survival and sport fishing. Recreation -- too often not integrated with the overall project management -- is sometimes left high and dry when water is drawn down for other purposes. And some recreation uses conflict with others.
To overcome these problems, the Commission recommends, among other actions, that recreation should be made a higher priority at federal lakes. For details, see the Commission's final report, Reservoirs of Opportunity.
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