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CURRENT LAND USE IN THE UNITED STATES
CURRENT LAND USE
IN THE UNITED STATES
Thirty-five percent of the
land in the United States, which encompasses all types of ecosystems
from tundra to desert, is owned by the federal government. This
includes land that contains important resources such as minerals and
fossil fuels, land that possesses historical or cultural significance,
and land that provides critical biological habitat. Most of the
federally owned land is in Alaska and the western states and is managed
by several agencies in the U.S. Department of the Interior and the
Department of Agriculture.
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Of the remaining land, about 55
percent is privately owned by citizens, corporations, and non
Regions of the Earth that have not been greatly disturbed by human
activities and that humans visit but Jo not inhabit are known as
wilderness. The Wilderness Act of 1964 authorized the U.S.
government to set aside public wilderness areas, ranging from tiny
islands to national parks that are several million hectares in size,
as part of the Natural Wilderness Preservation System. Although
mountains are the most common terrain to be safeguarded by this
system, representative examples of a
number of other ecosystems have been set aside, including
tundra, desert, and wetlands. |
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The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was passed
in 1968 to protect rivers with outstanding beauty, recreational value,
or important wildlife. As of mid-1992, 147 rivers (0.13 percent of the
nation's total river systems) were protected by this act, with others
being considered for inclusion. Rivers that have been given this
designation have little or no development along their banks; most have
no dams. Camping, swimming, boating, sport hunting, and fishing are
permitted, but development of the shoreline is prohibited. Mining claims
are permitted, however.
Millions of people visit U.S. wilderness
areas each year, and some areas are overwhelmed by this use: soil and
water pollution, litter and trash, and human congestion predominate in
place of quiet, unspoiled land. Government agencies now restrict the
number of people allowed into each wilderness area at one time, but it
is likely that some of the most popular wilderness areas will require
more in rensive management. This would include the development of
trails, outhouses, cabins, and campsites, amenities that arc not
encountered in true
Do We Have Enough Wildernesses?
Large tracts of wilderness, mast of it in
Alaska, have been added to the National Wilderness Preservation System
since the passage of the Wilderness Act in 1964. The designation of
wilderness areas is supported by people who view wilderness as a
nonrenewable resource. They think it is particularly important to
preserve additional land in the lower 48 states, where currently less
than 2 percent of the total land area is specified as wilderness.
Increasing the amount of land in the National Wilderness Preservation
System is usually opposed by groups who operate businesses on public
lands, including timber, mining, ranching, and energy companies.
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