Bellringer
1. Why does wilderness need to be
preserved?
2. Why shouldn’t we consider the needs
of humans first?
3. Why don’t we consider only our
short-term needs and worry about the
consequences later?
Objectives:
1.Describe ways to preserve
farmland, rangeland, and forest
land.
2.Explain the functions of parks and
wilderness areas.
Land Management
and Conservation
Section 14.3
Main Categories of
Rural Land
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Farmland
Rangeland
Forest land
National and State Parks
Wilderness
Farmland
•
•
•
•
Used to grow crops and fruit
Provides an important oxygen source
Moderates temperatures
National Farmland Protection Program
helps protect farmland in danger of
being paved over or developed.
Rangeland
• Land that supports different vegetation
types and that is not used for farming
or timber production (anything from
deserts to swamp land)
• Most common use is for grazing of
livestock, so essential for world’s food
supply
Rangeland (cont.)
• Problems
– Overgrazing – allowing more animals to
graze than the land can support
– Once plants are gone (due to
overgrazing), soil can erode.
Rangelands (cont.)
• Maintaining the Range
– Public Rangelands Improvement Act of
1978: aims to improve land management
practice.
– Leave land unused to let vegetation
recover.
– Limit herd sizes to prevent overgrazing.
– Killing invasive plants and replanting
native plants
– Dig several small watering holes to spread
herds out over larger areas.
Forest Lands
• Harvesting trees
– Clear-cutting: removing ALL trees from an
area of land
• Destroys wildlife habitats
• Causes soil erosion
– Selective cutting: cutting and removing
only middle-aged or mature trees
• More expensive
• Less destructive – minimizes impact on the
forest
Forest Land (cont.)
• Deforestation: clearing trees from the
land and not replacing them
– Reduces wildlife habitats
– Soil erosion
– Local climate change
– Usually happens as populations expand
and need more land for homes,
businesses, and roads
• Reforestation: replanting to reestablish trees that have been cut
down in a forest land
Parks and Preserves
• 1870 – Yosemite became the first
national park
• Wilderness: an area in which the land
and its ecosystems are protected from
ALL exploitation
• These protected areas are still
threatened by growing populations:
– trash from visitors
– water and air pollution from surrounding
areas
– climate changes