View source for Federal lands

{{Short description|Land in the United States which is owned by the federal government}}
[[File:Map of all U.S. Federal Land.jpg|thumb|450px| [[Federal government of the United States|Federally managed]] lands in the 50 [[U.S. state|states]], including subsurface rights. This map includes federal lands held in trust for [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]], which may not be considered federal lands in other contexts.]]
[[File:US federal land.agencies.svg|thumb|Federal lands via managing government bureau {{legend|#ba0e36|[[w:Bureau of Indian Affairs|Bureau of Indian Affairs]]}}
{{legend|#c8bd00|[[w:Bureau of Land Management|Bureau of Land Management]]}}
{{legend|#8c3c75|[[w:United States Bureau of Reclamation|Bureau of Reclamation]]}}
{{legend|#2662a2|[[w:United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] (includes [[w:United States Army Corps of Engineers|Army Corps of Engineers]] projects)}}
{{legend|#af6c05|[[w:United States Fish and Wildlife Service|Fish and Wildlife Service]]}}
{{legend|#6e961e|[[w:United States Forest Service|Forest Service]]}}
{{legend|#00c80e|[[w:National Park Service|National Park Service]]}}
{{legend|#6affb2|[[w:Tennessee Valley Authority|Tennessee Valley Authority]]}}
{{legend|#9f6229|Other agencies}}]]
'''Federal lands''' are lands in the [[United States]] owned and managed by the [[Federal government of the United States|federal government]].<ref>  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</ref> Pursuant to the [[Property Clause]] of the [[United States Constitution]] ([[Article Four of the United States Constitution#Clause 2: Property Clause|Article 4]], section 3, clause 2), [[United States Congress|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.<ref name="Rodgers">Paul Rodgers, ''United States Constitutional Law: An Introduction'' (2011), p. 100-101.</ref><ref>''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).</ref>

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."<ref name="Cornell Con A1S8"> Cornell University Law School, [https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution-conan/article-1/section-8/clause-17/power-over-places-purchased], Cornell University Legal Information Institute]</ref>

The federal government manages about {{convert|640|e6acres|e6km2|abbr=unit}} of land in the United States, which is about 28% of the total land area of {{convert|2.27|e9acres|e6km2|abbr=unit}}.<ref>Lipton, Eric, and Clifford Krauss, [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/24/us/romney-would-give-reins-to-states-on-drilling-on-federal-lands.html Giving Reins to the States Over Drilling], ''New York Times'', August 24, 2012.</ref><ref name="VincentArguetaHanson">Carol Hardy Vincent, Carla N. Argueta, & Laura A. Hanson, [https://sgp.fas.org/crs/misc/R42346.pdf Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data], Congressional  Research Service (updated February 21, 2020).</ref> The majority of federal lands ({{convert|610.1|e6acres|e6km2|abbr=unit}} 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 {{convert|11.4|e6acres|e3km2|abbr=unit}} of land (about 2% of all federal land) is managed by the [[United States Department of Defense]] (DOD).<ref name="VincentArguetaHanson"/> The majority of federal lands are located in [[Alaska]] and the [[Western United States|Western]] states.<ref name="VincentArguetaHanson"/>

==Legal background==
The [[Supreme Court of the United States|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]]''<ref>''Kleppe v. New Mexico'', 426 U.S. 529 (1976).</ref> 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."<ref name="Rodgers"/>

Lands held by the United States [[Land trust|in trust]] for [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] tribes are generally not considered public lands.<ref name="FredericksAseff">Tom Fredericks & Andrea Aseff, [https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/omb/assets/oira_1004/1004_03052013-1.pdf When Did Congress Deem Indian Lands Public Lands?: The Problem of BLM Exercising Oil and Gas Regulatory Jurisdiction], 33 Energy Law Journal 119 (2012).</ref> There are some {{convert|55|e6acres|e6km2|abbr=unit}} of land held in trust by the federal government for Indian tribes and almost {{convert|11|e6acres|e3km2|abbr=unit}} 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).<ref name="Fixico">"Trust Land" in ''Treaties with American Indians: An Encyclopedia of Rights, Conflicts, and Sovereignty'' (ed. Donald L. Fixico: ABC-CLIO, 2008), p. 956.</ref> As a result, [[Indian Country]] is "quasi-private, not public, land."<ref name="FredericksAseff"/> 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)."<ref name="Fixico"/>

==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 War of Independence|American Revolution]].<ref name=gpo /> 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.<ref name="gpo">{{Cite web |url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GPO-DOI-BLM-PUBLAND-1996/html/GPO-DOI-BLM-PUBLAND-1996-2.htm |title=The BLM: The Agency and its History |publisher=GPO |access-date=November 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141126080757/http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GPO-DOI-BLM-PUBLAND-1996/html/GPO-DOI-BLM-PUBLAND-1996-2.htm |archive-date=November 26, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> During the Revolutionary War, military bounty land was promised to soldiers who fought for the colonies.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m804.pdf |title=Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land-Warrant Application Files (p. 7) |publisher=National Archives and Records Administration (1974) |access-date=November 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213090214/http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m804.pdf |archive-date=February 13, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> After the war, the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris of 1783]], signed by the United States, the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]], [[France]], and [[Spain]], ceded territory to the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/parisno.asp |title=British-American Diplomacy Treaty of Paris – Hunter Miller's Notes |publisher=The Avalon Project at Yale Law School |access-date=October 19, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150516033713/http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/parisno.asp |archive-date=May 16, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Black, Jeremy. ''British foreign policy in an age of revolutions, 1783–1793'' (1994) pp 11–20</ref> In the 1780s, other states relinquished their own claims to land in modern-day [[Ohio]].<ref name=Ohio /> By this time, the United States needed revenue to function.<ref name="landord">Vernon Carstensen, "Patterns on the American Land." ''Journal of Federalism,'' Fall 1987, Vol. 18 Issue 4, pp 31–39</ref> Land was sold so that the government would have money to survive.<ref name=landord /> 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.<ref name=landord /> 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.<ref name="White 1991">{{Cite book |last=White |first=C. Albert |title=A history of the rectangular survey system |publisher=Government Printing Office |year=1991 |location=Washington, DC}}</ref> In 1812, Congress established the [[United States General Land Office]] as part of the [[United States Department of the Treasury|Department of the Treasury]] to oversee the disposition of these federal lands.<ref name="Ohio">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.</ref> By the early 1800s, promised bounty land claims were finally fulfilled.<ref name=war2 />

In the 19th century, other bounty land and homestead laws were enacted to dispose of federal land.<ref name=gpo /><ref name="war2">{{Cite web |url=https://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m804.pdf |title=Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land-Warrant Application Files (p. 3) |publisher=National Archives and Records Administration (1974) |access-date=November 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213090214/http://www.archives.gov/research/microfilm/m804.pdf |archive-date=February 13, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> These included, among others, the [[Homestead Act of 1862]] and the Desert Lands Entry Act of 1877.<ref name="VincentArguetaHanson"/> Several different types of patents existed.<ref name="NARA">{{Cite web |url=https://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/049.html |title=Records of the Bureau of Land Management [BLM] (Record Group 49) 1685–1993 (bulk 1770–1982) |publisher=National Archives and Records Administration |access-date=November 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129015947/http://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/049.html |archive-date=November 29, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref> These include cash entry, credit, homestead, Indian, military warrants, mineral certificates, private land claims, railroads, state selections, swamps, town sites, and town lots.<ref name=NARA /> A system of local land offices spread throughout the territories, patenting land that was surveyed via the corresponding [[Surveyor General of the Northwest Territory|Office of the Surveyor General]] of a particular territory.<ref name=NARA /> This pattern gradually spread across the entire United States.<ref name="White 1991" /> Homestead entries peaked in 1910, when they amounted to {{convert|18.3|e6acres|e6km2|abbr=unit}}, and sharply declined after 1935 and were eliminated in 1986.<ref name="VincentArguetaHanson"/> 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.<ref name=varied />

Between 1781 and 2018, the federal government divested itself of estimated {{convert|1.29|e9acres|e6km2|abbr=unit}} of public domain land.<ref name="VincentArguetaHanson"/> The vast majority (97%) of transfers of federal land to private ownership occurred before 1940.<ref name="VincentArguetaHanson"/>  Beginning in the early 20th century, U.S. government policy shifted from disposing of public land to retaining and managing it.<ref name="VincentArguetaHanson"/> 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.<ref name="varied">{{Cite web |url=http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/About_BLM/History.print.html |title=BLM and Its Predecessors: A Long and Varied History |publisher=BLM |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141126221553/http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/About_BLM/History.print.html |archive-date=November 26, 2014 |access-date=November 14, 2014}}</ref> The [[Mineral Leasing Act of 1920]] allowed leasing, exploration, and production of selected commodities, such as [[coal]], [[Petroleum|oil]], [[Natural gas|gas]], and [[sodium]] to take place on public lands.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/ut/vernal_fo/lands___minerals.Par.6287.File.dat/MineralLeasingAct1920.pdf |title=Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 As Amended |publisher=BLM |access-date=November 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923232809/http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/ut/vernal_fo/lands___minerals.Par.6287.File.dat/MineralLeasingAct1920.pdf |archive-date=September 23, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Taylor Grazing Act]] of 1934 established the [[United States Grazing Service]] to [[Rangeland management|manage the public rangelands]] by establishment of advisory boards that set grazing fees.<ref>{{Cite journal |editor1-last=Wishart |editor1-first=David J. |editor1-link=David J. Wishart |title=Taylor Grazing Act |url=http://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.ag.071 |journal=Encyclopedia of the Great Plains |publisher=[[University of Nebraska-Lincoln]] |access-date=November 14, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129021203/http://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.ag.071 |archive-date=November 29, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="montana">{{Cite book |last=Elliott |first=Clayton R. |title=Innovation in the U.S. Bureau of Land Management: Insights from Integrating Mule Deer Management with Oil and Gas Leasing (Masters Thesis) |date=August 2010 |publisher=[[University of Montana]] |page=45 |hdl=2027.42/77588}}</ref> The [[Oregon and California Railroad Revested Lands|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.<ref name="ochistory">{{Cite web |url=http://www.blm.gov/or/files/OC_History.pdf |title=O&C Sustained Yield Act: the Law, the Land, the Legacy |publisher=Bureau of Land Management |access-date=March 6, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024061002/http://www.blm.gov/or/files/OC_History.pdf |archive-date=October 24, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>

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.<ref name="CRS Federal Lands">{{cite web|title=Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data|url=https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42346.pdf|work=Table 1. Federal Land by State, 2010|publisher=Congressional Research Service|access-date=28 April 2014|author=Ross W. Gorte|author2=Carol Hardy Vincent |author3=Laura A. Hanson |author4=Marc R. Rosenblum |date=8 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/03/23/us/western-land-owned-by-the-federal-government.html|title=The Open West, Owned by the Federal Government|work=New York Times|date=23 Mar 2012}}</ref> 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 {{nowrap| privatization.<ref name=andpred>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0vdVAAAAIBAJ&pg=6673%2C3000133 |work=Eugene Register-Guard |location=(Oregon) |agency=Associated Press |title=Andrus predicts end to West's 'rebellion' |date=June 11, 1980 |page=15C}}</ref>}}

From 1990 to 2018, the overall acreage held by the federal government decreased by 4.9% (i.e., from {{convert|646.9|e6acres|e6km2|abbr=unit}} to {{convert|615.3|e6acres|e6km2|abbr=unit}}).<ref name="VincentArguetaHanson"/> 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.<ref name="VincentArguetaHanson"/> Over the 1990&ndash;2018 time period, the largest decline in federal acreage was in Alaska (a decrease of 9.4%, or {{convert|23.0|e6acres|e6km2|abbr=unit}}) and in the 11 contiguous states of the West (a 3% decrease in federal land, or {{convert|10.7|e6acres|e6km2|abbr=unit}}).<ref name="VincentArguetaHanson"/>

==Primary federal land holders==
[[File:US federal land.agencies.svg|thumb|450px|right|This map shows land owned by different federal government agencies.]]
The four primary federal land holders are:

*[[United States Department of the Interior|Department of the Interior]]
**[[Bureau of Land Management]] (BLM) - The agency was formed in 1946 from the consolidation of the Grazing Service and the General Land Office. BLM manages about {{convert|244.4|e6acres|e6km2|abbr=unit}} of federal lands as of 2018, more than any other agency. Of these, more than 99% are in the 11 Western states or Alaska. BLM primarily emphasizes rangeland, but also administers lands for purposes other than grazing, including recreation; timber, energy, and mineral extraction; and conservation (including watershed and wildlife/fish habitat).<ref name="VincentArguetaHanson"/>
**[[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]] (FWS) - Manages about {{convert|89.2|e6acres|e6km2|abbr=unit}} of federal land (as of 2018), of which 85.9% are in Alaska. FWS-administered land is primarily for conservation and promotion of wildlife; however, some other uses (such as resource extraction) are permitted under certain conditions and in certain areas.<ref name="VincentArguetaHanson"/>
**[[National Park Service]] (NPS) - Manages about {{convert|79.9|e6acres|e6km2|abbr=unit}} of federal land (as of 2018), of which 66% are in Alaska. There are {{National Park Units}} [[List of the United States National Park System official units|official NPS units]] with a variety of titles, including [[national park]], [[national monument]], [[National Historic Site (United States)|national historic site]], [[national recreation area]], and [[national battlefield]].<ref name="VincentArguetaHanson"/>
*[[United States Department of Agriculture|Department of Agriculture]]
**[[United States Forest Service]] (USFS) - Manages about {{convert|192.9|e6acres|e6km2|abbr=unit}} of [[United States National Forest|national forests]] (as of 2018). Although Forest Service holdings are mostly in the West, the USFS also manages about 60% of all federal lands in the [[Eastern United States]].<ref name="VincentArguetaHanson"/>

The fifth largest federal landowner is the [[United States Department of Defense]], which owns, leases, or possessed {{convert|26.1|e6acres|e6km2|abbr=unit}} worldwide, of which {{convert|8.8|e6acres|e6km2|abbr=unit}} 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.<ref name="VincentArguetaHanson"/> The largest single DOD-owned, all-land tract is the 2.3-million-acre [[White Sands Missile Range]] in [[New Mexico]].<ref>[https://www.nps.gov/whsa/upload/history_of_-trinity_wsmr_final_3_14_12.pdf White Sands Missile Range and Trinity Site], National Park Service (revised 03/14/12).</ref>

Together, the BLM, FWS, NPS, Forest Service, and DOD manage about 96% of federal land.<ref name="VincentArguetaHanson"/> 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]].<ref name="VincentArguetaHanson"/>

==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 [[Geographic contiguity|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%).<ref name="VincentArguetaHanson"/>

==Primary laws regarding federal lands==
*[[Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act]]
*[[Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act]]
*[[Endangered Species Act]] ({{usc|16|1531}} et seq.)
*[[Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976]] (FLPMA)
*Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act  (Baca Act) ({{USPL|106|248}})
*[[Mineral Leasing Act]] 
*[[National Environmental Policy Act]]  (NEPA)
*[[Omnibus Public Land Management Act]] ({{uspl|111|11}})
*[[Taylor Grazing Act]] ({{USC|43|315}} et seq.)
*[[Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971]]

==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 of the United States|federal government]] through purchase, [[Eminent domain|condemnation]], gift, or exchange.<ref>{{CRS|article = Report for Congress: Agriculture: A Glossary of Terms, Programs, and Laws, 2005 Edition|url = https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs7246/m1/1/high_res_d/97-905_2005Jun16.pdf|author= Jasper Womach}}</ref>

== Uses ==
In the United States, federal lands are often used for [[Environmental Conservation|environmental conservation]]. The administration of Joe Biden turned into [[protected area]]s 12.5 million acres in 2023 alone.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hananel |first1=Sam |title=The Biden Administration Has Reached Conservation Records in 2023 |url=https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-biden-administration-has-reached-conservation-records-in-2023/ |website=Center for American progress |access-date=24 December 2023}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Public lands in the United States]]
*[[Federal enclave]]

==References==
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==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last1=Vincent |first1=Carol Hardy |last2=Comay |first2=Laura B. |last3=Crafton |first3=R. Eliot |last4=Hoover |first4=Katie |title=Federal Land Ownership: Acquisition and Disposal Authorities |date=November 23, 2018 |publisher=Congressional Research Service |location=Washington, DC |url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL34273.pdf |access-date=11 December 2018}}
* Wilson, Randall K. ''America's Public Lands: From Yellowstone to Smokey Bear and Beyond''. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2014.

[[Category:Federal government of the United States]]
[[Category:Geography of the United States]]
[[Category:Land registration]]