Land, Public and Private

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Chapter 10

• Land, Public and Private

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Julia Butterfly Hill

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vFyLiOnmBZLw
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vDT0LkvYNnfY
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vUXc_1V6-u4I

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Human Land Use affects the environment in many
ways

• Positive land use agriculture(food), housing
  (shelter), recreation, industry, mining, and
  waste disposal.
• Negative consequences mudslides (excessive
  logging), deforestation (climate change and
  environmental problems), species extinction,
  rerouting of water runoff, soil degradation, and
  water pollution
• Three important concepts Tragedy of the
  Commons, externalities, and maximum sustainable
  yield

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Tragedy of the Commons- Garrett Hardin(ecologist)
1968

• The tendency of a shared, limited resource to
  become depleted because people act from
  self-interest for short- term gain.
• Hardin asks us to imagine the grazing of animals
  on a common ground open to all. Individuals are
  motivated to add to their flocks to increase
  personal wealth. Yet, every animal added to the
  total degrades the commons a small amount.
  Although the degradation for each additional
  animal is small relative to the gain in wealth
  for the owner, if all owners follow this pattern
  the commons will ultimately be destroyed.
• Therein is the tragedy. Each man is locked into a
  system that compels him to increase his herd
  without limit - in a world that is limited.

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Externalities

• Externality is a cost or benefit of a good or
  service that is not included in the purchase
  price of that good or service. (bakery example)
• Negative externalities lead to serious
  environmental damage for which no one is held
  legally or financially responsible.
• In Environmental Science, we must always account
  for any potential harm that comes from the use of
  that resource.
• Prevention includes private ownership, regulation
• Ex In the Lorax the Onceciler did not have to
  pay for the harm he caused by taking down all of
  the truffula trees. That cost was passed on to
  others (the fish, the, birds, the bobiloots).

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Maximum Sustainable Yield

• MSY- of a renewable resource is the maximum
  amount that can be harvested without compromising
  the future availability of that resource.

This point is often reached when the population
size is about ½ the carrying capacity.
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Theory of MSY

• Harvesting the maximum sustainable yield will
  permit an indefinite use without depletion of the
  resource.
• In reality, we do not know the exact MSY of an
  ecosystem with certainty, so we will not know if
  a yield is truly sustainable until months or
  years later, when we evaluate the effect of the
  harvest on reproduction.
• Logging of trees too many, destruction of
  forest. Too few, younger trees dont grow

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International Land Protection

• Approx. 11 of Earths land area is protected
  internationally or nationally.
• In 2003, the UN classified protected lands into 6
  categories according to how they are used.
• National Parks-managed for scientific,
  educational, recreational use and for protecting
  certain animal species. (2.7) (natives)
• Managed Resource Protected Areas-allows for
  sustained use of biological , mineral, and
  recreational resources
• Habitat/Species Management Areas-to maintain
  biological communities through hunting/conservatio
  n
• Strict Nature Reserves and Wilderness Areas-to
  protect species and ecosystems
• Protected Landscapes and Seascapes
  nondestructive use of resources, allows tourism
  and recreation
• National Monuments

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Public Lands in the U.S.

• In the US 42 of the nations land area is
  publicly held- a larger percentage than any other
  nation.
• The federal government is the largest single
  landowner- 25 of the country. 55 in western 11
  states, 37 Alaska. This includes
• Rangelands
• National forests
• National parks
• National wildlife refuges
• Wilderness areas
• The resource conservation ethic people should
  maximize resource use based on the greatest good
  for everyone. Areas are preserved and managed for
  economic, scientific, recreational, and aesthetic
  purposes.

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Federal lands Protected in the US
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Land Use in the US

• More than 95 of all federal lands are managed by
  4 federal agencies and are classified as multiple
  use lands(may be used for recreation, grazing,
  timber, mineral extraction)
• Bureau of Land Management (BLM)-grazing, mining,
  timber harvesting, and recreation
• US Forest Service (USFS)-timber harvesting,
  grazing and recreation
• National Park Service(NPS)-recreation and
  conservation
• Fish and Wildlife Service(FWS)-wildlife
  conservation, hunting and recreation

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Land management practices vary according to land
use

• Rangelands-dry, open grasslands used primarily
  for cattle grazing.
• Benefits-land that cannot be used for farming(too
  dry) can be used, uses less fossil fuel energy
  than feedlots.
• Deficits stream banks can be damaged, surface
  water can be polluted, a region can quickly be
  denuded of vegetation if overgrazed, soil
  erosion. The BLM sets up guidelines for grazing
  but are not consistently successful in preserving
  rangeland ecosystems.

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The Taylor Grazing Act

• The Taylor grazing Act of 1934 was passed to halt
  overgrazing. It converted federal rangelands from
  a commons to a permit based grazing system which
  limits the number of animals grazing in a
  particular area. Critics argue the low cost of
  permits encourages overgrazing.
• The Fed. Govt spends more money managing its
  rangelands than it receives in permit fees.

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Forests Timber Harvest Practices

• Clear Cutting- removal of all or almost all trees
  within an area. When a stand or cluster of trees
  have been harvested, foresters often replant or
  reseed the area. When done on slopes, clear
  cutting increases
• wind and water erosion which causes soil and
  nutrient loss, adds silt and sediments to nearby
  streams, and harms aquatic populations. Denuded
  slopes can cause mudslides, habitat alteration
  and decreased biodiversity
• 73 of of the forests used for commercial timber
  operations are privately owned. Commercial
  logging companies are allowed to use US national
  forests in exchange for royalties

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• Selective Cutting- removes single trees or a
  small number of trees from among many in a
  forest. This produces optimum growth among shade
  tolerant tree species as only part of the floor
  will receive direct sunlight.
• Logging roads built to access forests fragment
  the forest habitat leading to species diversity
  changes, compaction of soil, leading to nutrient
  loss and reductions in water infiltration.
• Ecologically Sustainable Forestry- has a goal of
  maintaining all species of plants and animals in
  as close to a natural state as possible. Trees
  are removed in ways that do not unduly affect the
  viability of noncommercial tree species.

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Timber Harvest Practices
Clear Cutting
Selective cutting
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Conflicts over land use

• Conflicts over land use created by competing
  interests and values are clearly demonstrated
  with the issue of logging.
• Timber production is a mission of the USFS
• Maintaining biodiversity is also an important
  goal.
• All logging disrupts habitats, thus effecting
  species. Logging often replaces complex forest
  ecosystems with tree plantations that never
  develop into mature ecologically diverse forests.

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Fire Management

• Fire is a natural process that is important for
  nutrient recycling and regeneration.
• For years humans did all they could to suppress
  forest fires, which led to a large accumulation
  of dead biomass of the forest floor.
• Eventually this fuel built up until a large fire
  became inevitable.
• One way to reduce dead biomass is by starting a
  prescribed burn which reduces the risk of
  uncontrolled natural fires.

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1/3 of Yellowstone National Park burns in the
summer of 1988
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National Parks

• Many parks were originally established to
  preserve scenic views and unusual landforms.
• Now they are set aside to specifically protect
  ecosystems.
• Now they are managed for scientific, educational,
  aesthetic, and recreational use, as well as for
  conservation and protection of wildlife species.
• Goals of NPS is based on the multiple-use
  principle. Biggest challenge reducing the human
  activity impact on the parks.

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Wildlife Refuges and Wilderness Areas

• National wildlife refuges are the only federal
  public lands managed for the primary purpose of
  protecting wildlife.
• National Wilderness areas allow only limited
  human use and are designated as road less. These
  area are set aside with the intent on preserving
  large tracts of intact ecosystems.

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Federal Regulation of Land Use

• The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)1969
• Mandates an environmental assessment of all
  projects involving federal money or permits.
• This process is designed to ensure protection of
  the nations resources.
• Environmental Impact Statements(EIS) must be
  filed by developers. It outlines the scope and
  purpose of the project, describes the
  environmental context, suggests alternatives
  approaches to the the project, and analyzes the
  environmental impact of each.
• Environmental mitigation plans stating how they
  will address the projects environmental impact
  are often required as well.
• Endangered Species Act of 1973 was designed to
  protect species from extinction (if this is
  uncovered in the project.)

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Residential land use is expanding

• The greatest of population growth in the last
  50 years has occurred in suburban and exurban
  areas.
• The rural population has been declining since
  1900. The population of cities has declined as a
  percentage of the US population as well.
• This is due to the advent of the automobile,
  highway construction, living costs in the city,
  urban blight and government policies (zoning)
• This has led to urban sprawl- creation of
  urbanized areas that spread into rural areas and
  removed clear boundaries between the two.

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Urban Blight

• As people move away from the city to suburbs and
  exurbs, the city often deteriorates, causing yet
  more people to leave.
• This cycle is an example of a positive feedback
  system.
• Historically, urban blight has contributed to
  racial segregation when those leaving the cities
  for the suburbs were predominantly middle-upper
  income Caucasians resulting in highly
  concentrated minority populations in city
  centers.

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• Induced demand-an increase in the supply of a
  good causes the demand to grow. The Highway Trust
  Fund built roads that encouraged people to move
  and have to drive further and further away from
  work. As more roads are built, more people
  commute.
• Govt zoning can restrict areas for certain land
  uses. ie residential vs. commercial etc.
  Sometimes they allow multi-use zoning. However,
  most zoning promotes automobile-dependent
  development.

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Causes and Effects of Sprawl

• Automobiles and highway construction allow people
  to work in the city and live many miles away in a
  quieter community.
• Living Costs-You can obtain more land and a
  larger house for the same amount of money by
  living in the suburbs. However, this does exclude
  lower income families.
• Urban Blight-as people move away from the city,
  the city often deteriorates, causing yet more
  people to leave.

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Smart Growth-EPAs 10 basic principles

1. Mixed Land Uses
2. Create a range of housing opportunities and
   choices.
3. Create walkable neighborhoods.
4. Encourage community and stakeholder collaboration
   in development decisions.
5. Take advantage of compact building design.
6. Foster distinctive, attractive communities with a
   strong sense of place

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• 7. Preserve open space, farmland, natural
  beauty and critical environmental areas.
• 8. Provide a variety of transportation choices.
• 9. Strengthen and direct development toward
  existing communities.
• 10. Make Development decisions predictable, fair
  and cost effective.