Land management

Land management—the control of land use and the preservation of land—is essential to the proper maintenance of this limited natural resource.

Types of Land Use

Land is not reproducible; it is present in only a fixed amount, a fact often repeated in the adage “They’re not making any more real estate.” In addition, the location of land—important to its use and value—cannot be changed. Aspects of land include topography, which controls many uses; soil, which is vital to agricultural and other applications; subsurface structure and composition, which can prove to be either beneficial or problematic; and the availability of minerals, oil and gas, and other natural resources.

Land management is the science that has developed in response to the need for control of land use and preservation. Land-management programs attempt to organize, plan, and manage land-use activities. Well-developed programs are concerned with land and water, and address the issues of water-use rights and rights related to the surface, subsurface, and above-surface. Land-management activities can take place at local, state, and federal levels. They can be geared to single-purpose or multipurpose land uses and can be oriented toward rural or urban settings.

Land uses can be either reversible or irreversible. Reversible uses, such as agricultural activities, grazing of livestock, forestry, recreation, and mining, can allow for regression or reversal toward former or alternative uses. These uses are frequently applied in multiple-use programs of land management and are generally compatible. The purpose of programs such as these is to maximize use while allowing for the greatest good for the most people. A study published in Nature Communications in 2024 showed that grasslands and croplands may be able to provide multiple goods and services if land management includes the reduction of pesticides and mineral nitrogen fertilizer.

Irreversible land uses result in permanent changes in the character of the land, such that it cannot revert to a former condition or use. The filling-in of swamps or other water bodies, the building of cities, and the development of nonreclaimable surface mines result in irreversible and permanent changes. Activities such as these generally result in single-use situations and preclude the development of alternative-use plans. If the activity terminates (a mine is exhausted, for example), the land may be put to other uses but will not revert to its previous state.

Land-Use Issues

Major issues that require the application of land-management policies include new growth, declining growth, reclamation, resource exploitation and utilization, preservation of natural or cultural resources, plans for maintenance of stable populations, or environmental, economic, or social concerns. Each land-use issue and attendant land-management policy may require specialized knowledge and specific approaches. Science and technology are vital in developing land-use plans; science provides the knowledge, while technology provides the means to implement that knowledge. Successful application also requires appreciation of the political and economic issues that affect a population’s response to land-use policies.

All land-use issues can present or generate one or more uncertainties with respect to future applications of the land; these issues can represent a problem or an opportunity, be subject to the effects of supply and demand, and be dealt with systematically or conceptually. The degree of uncertainty in any land-use issue is a direct result of the availability of data regarding the use and prior experience with the issue. One of the focal points of well-developed land-management policies is to reduce or remove the uncertainties related to land use. Opportunities in land use are those activities that benefit a large segment of the population, either directly or indirectly. Examples range from the establishment of a national park to the development of a new airport. Problems in land use might include the subsurface disposal of radioactive waste or the threat to wildlife habitat from construction of a reservoir system. Supply dictates how much land should be subjected to a specific use in response to the perceived demand.

Ecological Considerations

Ecological diversity is an important aspect of land-use planning and also land-management policies. The ultimate goal of all land-management programs should be to put land to its multiple best uses. In the process, the ecological “carrying capacity” of a regional environment should not be exceeded. Natural resources should be maintained in a state of availability, and development should be encouraged only in areas best suited for it; development should be discouraged in areas of significant resource value. Development should also be discouraged in areas of natural or human-made hazards.

Land-management programs and policies are largely a result of the location of the land to be managed and the anticipated impact the programs might have on a given population. Economics will frequently dictate the preferred use of land, sometimes at the expense of wildlife, aesthetic beauty, and other ecological factors. Land-use issues can be addressed at different levels. Factors that help to determine the level at which any particular issue might be addressed include the number of people and localities that might be affected by the issue, the magnitude of the potential cumulative effects that may result from the issue, and the threshold at which an issue becomes significant. The availability (or lack) of water and the effect of water pollution are examples of factors that can have a cumulative effect, while air pollution is an example of an issue that has reached a threshold, elevating it from a local to an international concern.

Regulatory Land Management

Land management is an ongoing activity, and policies may require change and/or modification with time. Land has an intrinsic (cash or exchange) value and an extrinsic (inherent or judgmental) value, both of which must be considered when dealing with or formulating a management plan. Effective planning and subsequent management, public or private, require that land-use controls be regulated and supported by sufficient authority.

Lands are generally managed and their use controlled by taxation, police and regulatory powers, and strategic considerations. Taxation serves as a management tool because taxes levied are generally a reflection of the perceived best use. Changes in tax status frequently result in changes in land use, as in the case of agricultural land that is converted to urban use as a direct result of an increase in taxes and the subsequent cessation of agricultural activities. Even if the tax rate does not change, rising land prices may make it attractive to sell farm land. Police and regulatory powers dictate what can and cannot be done on a specific piece of land. Subdivision regulations, environmental laws, and zoning ordinances are the most common form of regulatory land management. Master plans also control land use and are required by most local governments. They assist cities and counties in coordinating the regional implementation of statutes and/or regulations and include a statement of goals, an outline of societal needs, and a list of specific objectives. They are generally collective plans backed by extensive information and by many independent studies. Master plans also outline mechanisms by which the objectives are to be reached. Strategically located lands can affect the use of adjoining parcels. The presence of industrial areas could, for example, preclude adjoining residential development, while the existence of parks and golf courses could discourage adjacent industrial development. Airports, ski areas, forests, and rangelands can also have strategic value if situated properly.

A drive through cities and suburban developments shows that some areas have been assigned to industrial, commercial, or residential uses. These use areas are the result of zoning, taxation, and other management tools that attempt to encourage certain types of development in relation to the carrying capacity or suitability of the land and its annexed improvements. The availability of deep-water ports and rail transportation is, for example, more important to commercial and industrial development than to residential land use. By the same token, certain soils and other natural factors might favor residential development. Land reclamation, soil-erosion prevention measures, and imposed land-use limitations are all part of land management. The state of Georgia, for example, requires that all mine sites provide reclamation of as many acres as were actually mined during a given year, although the reclaimed acreage need not be that which was mined. Soil-erosion prevention programs are incorporated as part of nearly every development or activity plan that will result in disturbance or modification of a soil profile, including plans for wilderness or forest roads, residential subdivisions, construction along waterways or coastlines, and agricultural activities.

Management of Federal Lands

Federal and state land-management programs are widely recognized forms of land-use planning. These programs have a direct impact on the use of public land, such as parks, forests, seashores, and inland waterways. The US federal government has owned lands that were not otherwise owned by local government or private owners since the nation was founded. Approximately one-fifth of the public domain (lands owned by the federal government) was eventually granted to individual states. These lands were set aside for schools, hospitals, mental institutions, and transportation or were swamps and flooded lands—all part of an overall land-management plan.

The management of federal lands is largely custodial. It is carried out under the provisions of numerous statutes and regulations, including the Multiple Use-Sustained Yield Act of 1960, which legalized the multiple use of federal lands; the Wilderness Act of 1964, which set aside wilderness areas; the Classification and Multiple Use Act of 1964, which allowed for the classification of land for determining the best use and determining the lands that should be retained or discarded; and the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, which required the filing of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for major actions that would significantly affect the quality of the human environment.

Grazing is the oldest use of federal lands, but oil and gas activities generate the largest revenues. Mining of nonfuel minerals is governed by the Mining Laws of 1866 and 1872, while the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 provides for the competitive and noncompetitive leasing of land containing oil and gas, oil shale, coal, phosphate, sodium, potash, and sulfur. The US Forest Service administers all federal forest lands, while the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) administers all other lands.

Issues that must be addressed in all federal land-management programs include fraud and trespass (relating to illegal harvesting of timber or other valuable materials), resource depletion, reserved rights on lands that have been discarded, multiple use of lands, equity for future generations, the ability to maintain lands and retain their value, and the ideal of private land ownership. Policy issues that are closely related include how such land should be acquired by the federal government; how much land should be discarded; to whom the lands should be granted and what rights (such as access to minerals) should be retained and for how long; what the terms of land disposal should be; how much should be spent to maintain lands that are retained; to what use should retained lands be put; who should share in the benefits that accrue from lands retained; and who should develop and execute the land-management plan. Policy issues change with time, as do approaches to land management.

Forests are an important target of land-management activities because they occupy approximately one-third of the total land area of the United States. Of that area, nearly two-thirds is occupied by commercial forests, while the remainder is reserved from harvest. Forests are used as watershed areas, renewable consumable resources, recreational areas, and wilderness preserves. Policy issues that affect the management of forests include questions regarding how much forest to maintain, how much to restore, how much to withdraw from use, and how they should be harvested. Several criteria must be met to establish practical forest policy: the physical and biological feasibility of an action, economic efficiency and equity, social acceptability, and operational practicality. Not all uses of forests are compatible in a potential multiuse scenario; some uses will necessarily exclude others, which must be considered in a forest-management program. For example, interactive effects must be considered in the harvesting of timber, which affects the watershed, soil, regenerative growth, and wildlife. Policy areas directly related to the maintenance and management of forest resources include taxation, often a large cost of forest ownership; housing programs, which affect the demand for forest products; foreign trade with attendant import duties, quotas, or tariffs that affect the merchantability of forest products; transportation, which affects the marketability of forest products; direct aids to forest development programs, such as research, education, and production subsidies; and the administration of public forests.

Coastal Land Management

Coastal land management is as complex as the management of inland areas, if not more so. In Florida, for example, the value of shore properties frequently dictates the reclaiming of lost lands or the creation of new lands for urban use. Swamps and intertidal areas along coastlines may be filled in at the expense of what is frequently a fragile environment. At issue is whether development can take place in such a manner that people can live in an area without destroying the natural features and beauty that attracted them in the first place. One approach has been to set aside land as parks or conservation areas. This approach is increasingly popular in the formulation of land-management policy. Aesthetic concerns aside, coastal land management may discourage development in hazardous areas, such as those prone to storm surges.

On a stroll along the beach, one may observe a person fishing from a jetty or surfcasting from the base of a seawall. Sailboats cruise the inner harbor, protected from the sea by the distant breakwater. All these physical structures—the jetty, seawall, and breakwater—are part of the coastal land-management program. The jetty attempts to prevent beach erosion by the longshore current that runs nearly parallel to the shoreline, while the seawall aids in the maintenance of a stable coastline that might otherwise erode under the constant battering of winter storms. The breakwater helps to maintain quiet waters in the shallow inner harbor area, which would otherwise be subjected to high and frequently damaging waves.

Mining and Agriculture

Mining activities generally require extensive land-use planning and must be carried out under well-defined land-management policies. These policies control mining activities from the earliest stages of exploration, through the actual mining and production of mineral materials, and finally through reclamation. Most management policies are in place to help preserve the character of the land to the greatest possible degree. The routing and design of access roads on federal lands must generally be approved by either the Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Management. Some restrictions also apply on private lands, which require special permits.

Mineral-exploration activities frequently are limited in size on federal land so that they do not interfere with natural wildlife habitats or other approved uses of the land. Once a valuable deposit has been identified, mining permits must be applied for, EIS’s may be required, and reclamation procedures must be outlined prior to the extraction of the deposit. Once mining has been completed, the land must be reclaimed in accordance with an approved plan. All these activities take place under the land-management plan.

Crop rotation and strip farming are land-management mechanisms employed in agriculture. Different crops require different kinds and levels of nutrients for proper development. Crop rotation, or changing the type of crop grown on a particular tract of land with each growing season, allows for the greatest yield of nutrients from the soil. Strip farming regenerates nutrients and also serves as a soil-erosion prevention measure. Early farming techniques put all lands under cultivation and as a result all were subject to wind erosion. Strip farming leaves alternating strips vegetated or cultivated, helping to prevent erosion.

Principal Terms

land: in the legal sense, any part of the earth’s surface that may be owned as goods and everything annexed to that part, such as water, forests, and buildings

land use: the direct application of a tract of land

multiple use: the simultaneous use of land for more than one purpose or activity

subsurface features: land features or characteristics that are not visible or apparent, such as minerals, oil and gas, and structural features lying beneath the land surface

taxation: a land-management tool that usually reflects the perceived best use of land

topography: the collective physical features of a region or area, such as hills, valleys, streams, cliffs, and plains

zoning: a land-management tool used to limit and define the conditions and extent of land use

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