Chapter 18
Land Resources and Conservation
Mojave Desert
Land Use
• World Land Use
Land Use in the United States
• Administration of Federal Lands
• 55% of US land is privately owned by citizens,
corporations, and nonprofits organizations
• 3% by native tribes
• contains all types of ecosystems
• Provide Important resources: minerals, fossil
fuels, historical and cultural importance
Land Use
• Land Use in the US
State
7%
Federal
Private
Government
55%
35%
Tribes
3%
Private
Tribes
Federal Gov.
State Gov.
Land Use in the United States
Managed by two US Agencies
• US Department of the interior
– #1 The Bureau of Land Mngmnt (BLM) national
resource land 109 million hectares (270mil acres)
– #3 Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS) National Wildlife
refuges 37 million hectares (92 mil acres)
– #4 The National Park Services (NPS) National Park
System 34 million hectares (84 mil acres)
• US Department of Agriculture
– #2 US Forest Services (USFS) National Forests
77 million hectares (191 million acres)
Land Use
BLM
• Administration of Federal Lands
BLM
109 mil
Hectares
(270) mil
acres
NPS
USFWS
USFS
USFS
77 mil hectares
191 mil acres
BLM
USFS
USFWS
NPS
Other
Land Resources and Conservation
Importance of natural areas
• Areas of low human density known as non-urban or
rural lands.
• Ecosystem services from these areas allow urban
concentrations to exist. (environmental services
such as clean air, clean water, fertile soil).
DO NOW:
• What are ecosystem services? How would you
respond to the critic who says, "Forests are only
good for providing timber"? Support your answer
with examples of at least four different ecosystem
services offered by forests.
DO NOW: ANSWERs
• Ecosystem services are important environmental benefits,
such as clear air, water, and fertile soil that ecosystems
provide.
• Forests provide many goods and services to support human
society besides lumber.
–
–
–
–
Forests supply nuts, mushrooms, fruits, and medicines.
Forests also influence local and regional climate conditions.
Biological cooling is a result of a process called transpiration.
Forests play an essential role in regulating global biogeochemical
cycles, such as those for carbon and nitrogen. By acting as carbon
“sinks,” forest help mitigate global warming.
– At the same time, forests supply essential oxygen
Land Use in these Natural Areas
• Provide habitat, flood & erosion control, &
groundwater recharge.
• Natural areas also break down pollutants and
recycle wastes.
• Provide recreation (camping, hiking, fishing)
Wilderness
•Wilderness: Unspoiled regions where people visit
but do not inhabit.
•Wilderness Act of 1964 established federally owned
lands to retain “primeval” quality (no permanent
improvements or houses).
•These lands remain unchanged for the benefit of
future generations.
Wilderness
•Wilderness areas range from very small (The Big
Gum Swamp in Florida @ 13,660 acres) to huge
(Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Area in Idaho @ 1.3
million acres).
Wilderness
•Wilderness areas are monitored by the NPS, USFS,
FWS, and BLM.
•630 wilderness areas @ 102 million acres in the
U.S., including mountains, tundra, deserts, & wetlands
•42% of wilderness areas are in national parks.
National Parks
• Yellowstone National park was the 1st (1872)
• The National Park System (NPS) parks was
established in 1916 and operates historic sites,
battlefields, buildings, and towns in addition to natural
areas.
Problems with Wilderness
Areas
• Dilemma: preservation or human use and
enjoyment?
• Millions of visitors erode hiking trails, soil,
water, waste, air pollution , litter, trash, traffic
congestion.
• # of visitors is now limited in some parks.
Problems with Wilderness
Areas
• Exotic species can invade wilderness and
upset the ecological balance.
• Example: Pine blister Rust (fungus) is wiping
out the White Pine (Pinus strobus) population.
•
Result...Pine seeds  Grizzly...Decline
• Organization may have to plant disease
resistant white pine trees. Is this still
wilderness?
Problems with Wilderness
Areas
Pine blister Rust (fungus)
http://na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/howtos/ht_wpblister/toc.htm
Problems with Wilderness
Areas
Wild and Scenic Rivers
• Wild & Scenic Rivers Act was passed in 1968 to
protect rivers of aesthetic, historic, & ecological value.
• Not all wilderness but little or no development.
Wild and Scenic Rivers
NPS maintains the National River
Inventory with 170 river segments @
11,300 miles.
• Recreation = yes 
• Mining = yes 
• Development = no 
Land Use in the United States
• 55% of US land is privately owned by
citizens, corporations, and nonprofits
organizations
• 3% by native tribes
• Encompasses varying ecosystems
• Provide Important resources: minerals, fossil
fuels, historical and cultural importance
• Managed by two US Agencies
DO NOW:
Land Use in the United States
•
In the United States, national parks serve to provide
biological habitat and facilitate human recreation.
Discuss the impact of at least three threats to
national parks. If a natural regulation policy were in
place at a national park, what effect would it have on
the management of the park? Why is natural
regulation controversial?
•
Overuse and overcrowding of the National Parks leads to urban
problems of crime, vandalism, litter, traffic jams and pollution of the
soil, water, and air.
Resource violations, including collection, plants, minerals, fossils and
defacing historical structure have led to restrictions being placed on
fragile environments in the park.
National Parks are not self-sufficient. The entrance fees alone are not
adequate to maintain, repair and operate the parks. Human activities
beyond park borders also affect national parks. Pollution does not
respect park boundaries.
Some national parks also have imbalances in wildlife population.
Introduction of predators help to control prey populations.
Because fires are an integral part of national park ecosystems, with
this policy in place, fires would not be suppressed unless they threaten
people or buildings. The controversy over natural regulation involves
what kinds of and how much human intervention are necessary to
maintain ecological systems in pristine condition.
Answers
•
•
•
•
•
Managed by two US Agencies
1. US Department of the Interior
a. The Bureau of Land Mngmnt (BLM) national resource land
•
270 million acres
b. Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS) National Wildlife refuges
• 92 million acres
c. The National Park Services (NPS) National Park System
• 84 mil acres
2. US Department of Agriculture
a. US Forest Services (USFS) National Forests
• 191 million acres
Wildlife Refuges
•National Wildlife Refuge system was established by
Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt in 1903.
•535 refuges with at least one in each of the 50 states
with 38.4 million hectares (95 million acres).
•These represent all the major ecosystems in the U.S.
and are home to most of the endangered species
(Whooping Cranes).
•Fish & Wildlife Service operates these lands for
observation, fishing, hunting, photography, and
education.
Whooping Cranes ??
Forests
• Forests occupy less than 1/3 of the Earth’s total land
area.
• Forests have economic as well as ecological value.
• Forests provide timber for fuel, paper, and
construction.
• Nuts, fungi, fruits, & medicines. Employment for
millions, recreation and “escape” from urban areas.
Forests
• Forests provide ecosystem services;
• They control the local climate via transpiration
(natural cooling).
• Control global biogeochemical cycles (nitrogen and
carbon cycles)
• Forests are carbon sinks & absorb copious amounts
of CO2 from the atmosphere.
• Roots anchor soil, protect watersheds, & provide
habitat for varieties of organisms.
Forest Management Practices
• Tree “farms” or plantations are often monocultures
with one variety of tree. Low diversity provides little
habitat/Disease prone.
• Herbicides & fungicides are used on tree farms because
monocultures are more prone to disease & pests.
• These farms limit the use of existing forests for timber
and timber products.
U.S. Forests
• Vermont’s forests are increasing,.
• The Rockies, New England, & the Great
Lakes regions have been constant.
• Conservation easements can protect forests
by owners selling the right to develop the
land to the U.S. government. The
government then protects the land for a
certain # of years.
Forests
• Natural Regulation: involves letting nature take
its course most of the time, with corrective
actions being taken as needed.
• Introduced in 1968.
Forests
DO NOW:
• Why was the 1968 Park management policy to
allow natural regulation of many US national
parks so controversial? Provide examples that
are occurring in Yellowstone as we speak.
•Hint think Elk over population.
DO NOW:
•
Natural regulation of Yellowstone elk? Weather and
predation (grizzlies and wolves)
Follow-ups:
1. Why are wildfires not always suppressed at
Yellowstone?
2. Why are they removing lake trout for Yellowstone?
“New” Forest Management
Practices
• Ecologically Sustainable Forest Management involves
mixing trees of different ages and species to increase
diversity and available habitat for organisms as well as
conserve forests for harvesting.
Management Practices
• Loggers, environmentalists, farmers, indigenous
peoples, and government agencies need to cooperate
for this type of management to be successful.
• Wildlife Corridors are uncut to set aside zones that are
connected to nearby un-logged areas.
Wildlife Corridors
Chapter 17
Role of forests in the Hydrologic Cycle
Land Resources and Conservation
Wilderness, Parks, and
Wildlife Refuges
• National Parks
• Most popular
Land Use in the Natural Areas
• Provide habitat, flood & erosion
control, & groundwater recharge.
• Natural areas also break down
pollutants and recycle wastes.
• Provide recreation (camping, hiking,
fishing)
Wilderness, Parks, and
Wildlife Refuges
• National Parks
•
Threats to US Parks
Land Use
• World Land Use
Forests
• Forest ownership in the US
Forest Legacy
Program in 1990
Farm Bill assists . . .
Forests
• Trends in Tropical Forests
Do Now- Harvesting Practices
• Compare the 4 Types of tree harvesting in
terms of methods, cost, and economic gain.
•
•
•
•
Selective Cutting
Shelterwood Cutting
Seed tree Cutting
Clearcutting(even-ages cutting)
Harvesting Practices
Selective Cutting: fells single trees or small
groups of trees.
Shelterwood Cutting: fells all the mature trees in
an area over time.
• Seed tree Cutting: fells almost all of the trees
in an area except a few trees that are left to
re-seed the area.
• Clearcutting (even-age harvesting): fells all the
trees from an area. (Cheapest type $$)
Do Now- Harvesting Practices
• Identify and discuss four ways in which forest
trees are currently harvested. Which method
is the most ecologically sound, and why?
Which method is the most economical? If
your answer is different for these two
questions, how could a compromise be
reached?
Do Now- Harvesting Practices
•
Ans: Selective cutting harvests mature trees by cutting individual or small clusters
of trees while the rest of the forest remains intact. This is ecologically sound
because it allows the forest to regenerate naturally through seeding from
remaining trees. While this method has fewer negative impacts on the forest
community, it is not profitable in the short term because timber isn’t removed in
great enough quantities. Shelterwood cutting removes all mature trees in an area
over an extended period of time. The first harvest removes dead or diseased
trees. The second harvest, perhaps ten years later, removes mature trees but
leaves some of the largest to shelter the younger trees. After another decade, a
third harvest removes the remaining mature trees. By now the younger trees are
established. This method is ecologically sound because it prevents soil erosion
and is self-sustaining. In seed tree cutting, almost all trees are harvest from an
area leaving a scattering of desirable trees to provide seeds for regeneration. This
method is not ecologically sound because it allows erosion and a severe alteration
of the forest ecosystem, including loss of habitat for other organisms.
Clearcutting is harvesting timber by removing all trees from a forest. Afterward,
the area is either allowed to reseed and regenerate naturally or is planted with one
or more variety of trees. This is the most cost effective method of harvesting
forests yet it is ecologically unsound because it destroys biological habitats and
increase soil erosion. The recreation and ecological services of forests are lost
and sometimes the forests do not regenerate. Because selective cutting is the
most ecologically sound and clearcutting is the most economical, a compromise
could be reached by clearcutting selective patches of the forest. This might
benefit the species who thrive in the regrowth of trees and shrubs that follow
removal of the overhead canopy.
Land Resources and Conservation
Harvesting Practices
Clearcuttin’ Phil says
“Clearcutting is the
cheapest method!”
Land Use in the Natural Areas
• Provide habitat, flood & erosion
control, & groundwater recharge.
• Natural areas also break down
pollutants and recycle wastes.
• Provide recreation (camping, hiking,
fishing)
Deforestation
• Increased loss of soil due to erosion and loss
of habitat.
• The World Commission of Forests was
established at the 1992 Earth Summit.
• 1999 report that the Earth’s forests are
decreasing by 15 million hectares (37 million
acres) annually.
• Major causes of deforestation; fires, drought,
clearcutting, agriculture, construction, tree
harvesting, pests, and disease.
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Deforestation leads to...
•
•
•
•
•
Decreased soil fertility
More runoff and sediment in waterways
Loss of species
Alteration of global climate???
Increase in global temperature???
Forests
• Forest Trends in the US
•
US National Forests
•
Case-in-Point: Tongass National Forest
Tongass National Forest
• Temperate rainforest similar to the Olympia
National Forest in Washington State.
• Contains old growth forest (primary succession)
with 700 year old trees.
• Grizzly Ursus arctos horribilis) &
• Bald Eagles (Haliaetus leuoccephalus)
• Clearcutting in the Tongass was slowed due to the
Tongass Management Plan (Modified 1997 Forest
Plan).
• On Vancouver Island was clearcut 1911 and ahs
regrown 20% of their original size
Do Now:
• Identify the criteria used by the Defenders of
Wildlife to rank the endangered ecosystems in
the United States.
• Identify three endangered ecosystems that meet
these criteria and explain how the criteria apply
to them.
Do Now: Answer
• The criteria used to rank the most endangered ecosystems
include:
– a) The area lost or degraded since Europeans colonized North
America
– b) The number of present examples of a particular ecosystem or
the total area
– c) An estimate of the likelihood that a given ecosystem will lose a
significant area or be degraded during the next 10 years
– d) The number of threatened and endangered species living in that
ecosystem
• The three most endangered ecosystems in the U.S. are the
South Florida landscape, Southern Appalachian spruce-fir
forests, and longleaf pine forests and savannas. They fit the
criteria of being lost and degraded and the organisms that
compose these ecosystems are declining in number and in
genetic diversity.
Most
endangered
ecosystems
in the US
Why are forests disappearing?
• Population growth seems to be the major cause.
• Causes differ based upon economic, cultural, & social
issues.
• Govt. policies sometimes favor deforestation ex: Brazil
selling forest to fast food companies (McDonald’s) for
grazing land.
• 1999 Brazil set aside 10% of rainforest for
conservation.
• Sponsored by the World Bank & the WWF (World
Wildlife Fund).
Why are forests disappearing?
• Subsistence agriculture causes deforestation.
Families produce enough to survive & that’s
it. They don’t own the land they use.
Farmers typically follow logging roads, and
slash & burn the forest to raise crops there.
1st batch of crops use nutrients from the
burn but then soil quality declines fast. So
the family then moves to the next patch of
forest to start the process again. Ranchers
use the land soon after.
Why are forests disappearing?
• Compared to 50 years ago, only ½ of the
world’s tropical forests remain.
• Commercial logging contributes to 20% of
tropical forest depletion.
• Cattle Ranching: contributes to 12% of
tropical forest depletion.
• 20 years after ranching the land is left as
scrub savanna.
Tropical Forests
• Tropical RainForests: have 200 or more cm of
rain annually (>79 in).
• These are found in Central & S. America, S.E.
Asia, and Africa. Brazil, Congo, & Indonesia
have the majority of this type of forest.
Tropical Forests
• Tropical Dry Forests: have less than 200 cm
of rain annually (<79 in). During the dry
season these forests shed their leaves &
become dormant similar to deciduous tree in
temperate climates.
• These are disappearing rapidly in S. Asia,
Indonesia, C. America, and the Phillipines.
Tropical Forests
• These forests both (rain and dry) are
disappearing at a rate of 12.6 hectares (31.1
million acres) annually.
• All will be gone at current rate by the first
half of the 22nd century (2150) but probably
sooner .
Why are forests disappearing?
• Population growth seems to be the major cause.
• Causes differ based upon economic, cultural, & social
issues.
• Govt. policies sometimes favor deforestation ex: Brazil
selling forest to fast food companies (McDonald’s) for
grazing land.
• 1999 Brazil set aside 10% of rainforest for
conservation.
• Sponsored by the World Bank & the WWF (World
Wildlife Fund).
Why are forests disappearing?
• Subsistence agriculture causes deforestation.
Families produce enough to survive & that’s
it. They don’t own the land they use.
Farmers typically follow logging roads, and
slash & burn the forest to raise crops there.
• 1st batch of crops use nutrients from the
burn but then soil quality declines fast.
• So the family then moves to the next patch
of forest to start the process again.
• Ranchers use the land soon after.
Why are forests disappearing?
• Compared to 50 years ago, only ½ of the
world’s tropical forests remain.
• Commercial logging contributes to 20% of
tropical forest depletion.
• Cattle Ranching: contributes to 12% of
tropical forest depletion.
• 20 years after ranching the land is left as
scrub savanna.
Why are forests disappearing?
• Plantation style agriculture grows citrus fruits
(pineapple) and bananas for export.
• DDT and fertilizers are then introduced to
the area.
• Dry Tropical forests also provide biomass
energy for families. As Woodfuel (heat,
light, cooking)
What About the Boreal Forest Biome?
• Circumpolar distribution of boreal forest biome
• The term boreal finds its roots in Boreas, the
Greek God of the North Wind.
• Often referred to as Taiga, a Russian word
meaning "land of little sticks", boreal forests are
the world northernmost forests.
Boreal Forests
• Occur in Taiga and comprise the world’s largest
Biome (11% of Earth’s land area).
• Worlds Largest Biome
• Primary source of wood & wood fiber comes
from this area via clearcutting. (almost twice the
area as Amazonia).
• Spruce, fir, cedar, hemlock
Do Now:
• Describe public rangelands, stating which
government agencies administer them in the U.S.
• What is the carrying capacity of a rangeland and
what results when this capacity is exceeded?
Do Now:
• Rangelands are grasslands, in both temperate and
tropical climates that serve as important areas of food
production for humans by providing fodder for livestock
such as cattle, sheep, and goats.
• In the U.S. the rangelands are administered by the:
– BLM guided:
• Taylor Grazing Act of 1934
• Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976
• Public Rangelands Improvement Act of 1978.
• The USFS manages an additional 50 million acres.
• The carrying capacity of a rangeland is the maximum
number of animals the rangeland plants can sustain over
an indefinite period without deterioration of the
rangeland.
• When the carrying capacity is exceeded, overgrazing
leaves the ground barren and susceptible to erosion.
Rangelands and Agricultural Lands
• Agricultural Lands
• US has 300 million acres of prime farmland
• Main problem: suburban spread onto
agricultural land
Rangelands and Agricultural Lands
• Rangelands
Rangelands
• These important grasslands are comprised of grasses,
forbs (small herbaceous plants), and shrubs with
extensive fibrous root systems.
• Cattle, sheep, goats, and other domestic animals graze
these lands.
• Rangelands are renewable within a specific carrying
capacity.
Rangelands
• Roughly 2/3 of U.S. rangelands are privately
owned, the feds own much of the rest.
• There are more than 89 million hectares of
federally owned rangeland in the U.S.
• The BLM manages most of the rangelands
with the remainder overseen by the USFS.
Do Sometime Today Please
• Identify some of the major
Rangeland Management issues?
Rangeland Management issues
• Overgrazing can result in barren, exposed soil that is prone to
erosion. (remember the dust bowl)
• Degradation of soil affects future productivity.
• Continual degradation leads to desertification, the
development of unproductive desert like conditions in once
fertile areas.
• federal costs:
– 2004 $1.43 on lands managed by BLM, + $1.52/ month lands
managed by the USFS
•
•
i. Monthly cost on private land is $13/month
ii. Taxpayers contribute $67 million more than the
grazing fees collect by public rangeland.
•
iii. Money used to maintain rangelands, installing
water tanks+fences, fix damages caused by over grazing.
Rangelands
• The federal government issues permits that
allow private livestock operators to use public
rangelands for grazing.
• Others feel that public rangelands should be
used for habitat, recreation, and aestethic
value.
– Cutthroat trout?????
Rangelands and Agricultural Lands
• Rangeland Trends in the US
•
Rangelands comprise 30% of land in US
•
1/3rd public, 2/3rd private
• Issues Involving Public Rangelands
•
Grazing permit fees
•
Wild horses and burros
Rangeland Management issues
• 44,000 Wild horses and burros are not indigenous and
need to be managed.
• Adopt-a-horse program sold to slaughterhouses.
• Contraceptives are now used for females.
Agricultural lands, Corn belt:
• It is now commonly called the Feed Grains and
Livestock Belt.
• Located in the north central plains, Large-scale
commercial and mechanized farming prevails in this
region of deep, fertile, well-drained soils and long, hot,
humid summers.
• The belt produces much of the U.S. corn crop, but
agriculture has diversified; soybeans are an important
yield.
• Winter wheat and alfalfa are also significant crops in
the area
Agricultural lands, Corn belt:
North
Dakot
a
South
Dakota
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Nebraska
Michigan
Iowa
Illinois
Kansas
Ohio
Indiana
Missouri
Land Use
• Land Use in the US
State
7%
Federal
Private
Government
55%
35%
Tribes
3%
Private
Tribes
Federal Gov.
State Gov.
Do Now:
• Identify the factors contributing to the
desertification of Rangelands.
Dust Bowl
"And then the dispossessed were drawn west- from Kansas,
Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico; from Nevada and Arkansas,
families, tribes, dusted out, tractored out.
Car-loads, caravans, homeless and hungry; twenty thousand and
fifty thousand and a hundred thousand and two hundred
thousand.
They streamed over the mountains, hungry and restless - restless
as ants, scurrying to find work to do - to lift, to push, to pull, to
pick, to cut - anything, any burden to bear, for food.
The kids are hungry. We got no place to live. Like ants scurrying
for work, for food, and most of all for land."
- John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath, 1939
Dust Bowl
Desertification 1
Desertification 2
Desertification 3
Desertification 4
QUESTION ABOUT THE:
The Trout Creek Mountain Working Group
In 1988 this group was organized to improve the habitat
of a threatened species the Lahontan Cutthroat
trout. Mainly due to local cattle grazing many species
of plants (Willow, aspen, alder, and wild rose)
• Define an Ecosystem Management, what must it take
into account and what was done to protect this
species?
ANSWERS:
• Ecosystem Management: a long term flexile
collaboration (scientists, land owners, gvnmt workers,
business leaders) to sustain or restore ecosystems.
• Must account:
– economic well being of human communities is linked to
sustainable resources.
– Ecosystems:
• do not recognize political boundaries extending between federal,
state country and private lands.
• An interdisciplinary approach towards social, geographic,
economic, scientific and political factors.
ANSWERS:
How was it repaired?
• Species declared threatened\endangered
– ESA was used to protect Riparian Areas (buffering zone)
– Local cattle ranchers withdrew 3000 cattle from sensitive stream
from 1989-1992 (prevented cattle grazing zone and inc temperatures
and pollution into waterways)
– Compromise: open parts to some cattle 1992
• How did improving the Riparian Zone help?
– Willow, aspen, alder, wild rose Willow, aspen, alder, wild rose are
reestablishing themselves
– Sedimentation has decreased
– Water temperatures decreased
Page 418
• 2005 Group conducted a PRESCRIBED burn and closed
local roads in an attempt to reestablish flood plains.
The Trout Creek Mountain Working
Group
• Riparian areas are the zones along water bodies that
serve as interfaces between terrestrial and aquatic
ecosystems.
• Typically they are more structurally diverse and
more productive in plant and animal biomass than
adjacent upland areas.
• Riparian areas supply food, cover, and water for a
large diversity of animals, and serve as migration
routes and connectors between habitats for a variety
of wildlife
Riparian Areas
Wetlands and Coastal Areas
• Wetlands
Do Now-Wetlands
•
•
•
•
•
Definition?
Ownership?
Ecosystem services and economic value?
Threats?
Protection?
ANSWERS-Wetlands
• Definition? Transitional areas-Wet part or all of year
• Ownership? Government owns 25%/ Rest is privately held
• Ecosystem services and economic value? Filter groundwater,
breeding grounds, flood control, home to many species,
commercial use.
• Threats? Are being drained for development, mosquito
control, mining, solid waste disposal.
• Protection? Partially protected by Clean Water Act of 1972.
Coastlines
• Are being overdeveloped, highly polluted, and
overfished.
• Estuaries are “nurseries for the sea”
Wetlands and Coastal Areas
• Coastlines
• Severely degraded or destroyed in US by filling
and draining
• Residential and industrial development common
• Resulting problems: ????
Wetlands and Coastal Areas
•
•
•
•
•
•
Human activities that threaten wetlands:
Draining for agriculture or mosquito control
Dredging for navigation
Channelization
Construction of dams, sea walls, dykes
Filling in for solid waste disposal, roads,
residential / industrial development
• Conversion to aquaculture
Seawalls and Beach erosion
Wetlands and Coastal Areas
• US legislation has attempted to maintain a “no
net loss” of wetlands
Reconstructed
wetland in San
Diego
Wetlands and Coastal Areas
• Coastlines
• Coastal Demographics
• In US, 19 of 20 most densely populated
areas along coast.
• Worldwide, coastal management plans
rarely integrate land and offshore water
concerns
• Results in overdevelopment and pollution
Wetlands and Coastal Areas
• Coastlines
•
National Marine Sanctuaries
• US has 12
• Managed for multiple uses, including
conservation, recreation, education, etc.
• Commercial fishing permitted, though
there are “no take” zones
Suburban Sprawl
Suburban sprawl results in...
• Loss of agricultural land
• Urbanization...More pollution
• Depletion of resources...Ex. “water”
Wise-Use Movement Want List
(Feel that lands should serve the $)
• All National forest under timber management.
• Allow mining and development of wilderness
areas, wildlife refuges, and National Parks.
• Unrestricted development of wetlands.
• Change the Endangered Species Act to consider
$economic factors$.
• Sell resource rich federal lands to mining, oil,
ranching, and timber groups.