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Show ADMINISTRATION OF FEDERAL LANDS BY AGENCY. 1968 25% 5 1 )% 75% TOTAL FEDERAL LAND 100% 755.4 BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT 62% 470.4 25% FOREST SERVICE 186.9 DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE OTHER AGENCIES ~| 4% n 4% J3% J2% 30.7 26.6 23.3 17.5 The bulk of the Federal lands are administered by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service. substantial because of the variety of lands included in the national park and national wildlife refuge systems, and their location throughout the country. Location of the Public Lands About one-half of the public lands are in Alaska. Because of its remoteness and northern location, development has not made progress in Alaska to the same extent as in other states. As a result, the Federal Government still owns over 95 percent of all the lands in the state. The other half of the public lands are located in the 48 contiguous states, but are not evenly distributed throughout the states. Over 90 percent of the Federal lands outside of Alaska are in the 11 western states. The huge expanse of the public lands of the Far West is difficult for many to comprehend. Yet, to understand adequately the Commission's conclusions and recommendations, this vastness must be studied, understood, and kept in mind. More than 86 percent of the State of Nevada is owned by the Federal Government, and the public land area in that state is twice the size of the entire State of New York. Similarly, public land in California amounts to eight times the total area of the State of Massachusetts. Utah's public lands are about equal to the total area of the State of Florida, and Idaho's about equal to the size of Arkansas. The entire area of Pennsylvania is smaller than the Federal public land holdings in either Oregon or Wyoming. The public lands in Montana and New Mexico are 22 each about equal to the total area of Virginia. Federal lands in Colorado are equal to the total area of Indiana; and the public land area in the State of Washington is twice as great as the total area of New Hampshire. Despite the heavy concentration of public lands in the western states, Federal land ownership nevertheless is vitally important to other states as well. Minnesota, for example, has Federal public lands which exceed the area of Connecticut. In addition, there are 10 other nonwestern states in each of which the public landholdings of the Federal Government approximate or exceed the land area of the State of Delaware.4 There are also significant but comparatively lesser acreages in New Hampshire, Vermont, and several Appalachian states, which are substantial in relation to the total of the area of each state involved. The public lands must also be viewed in the context of their location relative to the population of the Nation. Of the 11 contiguous western states only two, California and Washington, have population densities equal to or exceeding the national average. The other nine western states have population densities substantially less than that of Maine, the most lightly populated state east of the Mississippi. In fact, two of them have a density of about one-tenth that of Maine and four more have a density less than one-third that of Maine. Alaska, of course, is not comparable to any of the other states, and it is difficult to make any meaningful comparison with Alaska's sparse population. But it can be noted that the population density of Alaska is now about one-tenth that of the United States at the time of the first census in 1790. In part because of the uneven distribution of public lands, but also because of the obvious importance of these lands to all regions-including the South, the Northeast, and the Midwest-the Commission has necessarily given substantial weight to regional as well as national considerations. We have found that Federal land ownership is important to all areas because of the diversity and regional concentration of the lands. Diversity of the Public Lands One of the most important characteristics of the public lands is their great diversity. Because of their great range-they are found from the northern tip of Alaska to the southern end of Florida-all kinds of climate conditions are found on them. Arctic cold, rain forest torrents, desert heat, mountain snows, 4 They are Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia, and Wisconsin. |