For those that wondering, Nevada comes in at first with 84.9 percent federally owned land. On the east coast, there are a few states with 0.3 percent, such as Connecticut and New York
Most of the West was acquired after the US as a country was established - the southwest through war and the rest through the Alaska Purchase from Russia and the Louisiana Purchase from France, both of which used Federal funds. The entire reason Lewis and Clark went on their expedition was because the government wanted to see what it had purchased. Then the government set up the GLO office to survey the west, a monumental undertaking. (That office eventually became the BLM.) The Federal government also built roads to enable settlement and forts to fight the Native Americans for the settlers. For a long time, anyone could homestead a piece of land and, as long as they met the requirements for time and productivity, that land was deeded to them. Millions of Federally owned acres were given away through this system, which was easily abused. To encourage settlement and expansion west, the Federal government also gave land to the railroads - in a “checkerboard” pattern you can see across the west along rail lines - so that towns, etc, could be built. It also gave states dedicated sections of land to be used for schools - the land grant universities. To top it off, the Federal government still makes PILT payments to local governments to make up for the tax money they lose by not being able to tax the land as if it had been private. Nowadays, it practically takes the approval of Washington for any Federal land to become private or vice-versa. Mining, solar, wind, grazing, recreation, hunting, fishing, etc. are all part of the multiple uses of this vast public land. Most activities can overlap unless an area is shut off for safety, etc. (such as a mine) and the land is still public; it does not become private regardless of the enterprise. Proceeds from things such as oil and gas go to the companies but the Federal, state and local governments also get a percentage. The importance of these public lands can’t be underestimated and they need to be preserved for all Americans, not just the wealthy and corporations.
![image showing Federal Land Ownership % by US State [OC]](2df72bc2-5384-59eb-b7ac-6c5ceb454399.jpg)
SgtAvocadoas on September 29th, 2019 at 02:55 UTC »
For those that wondering, Nevada comes in at first with 84.9 percent federally owned land. On the east coast, there are a few states with 0.3 percent, such as Connecticut and New York
iloveciroc on September 29th, 2019 at 02:56 UTC »
You should do by county. Much more interesting results bc you’ll get counties in Appalachia with nearly 80-90% federal ownership for national forests
Librashell on September 29th, 2019 at 04:36 UTC »
Most of the West was acquired after the US as a country was established - the southwest through war and the rest through the Alaska Purchase from Russia and the Louisiana Purchase from France, both of which used Federal funds. The entire reason Lewis and Clark went on their expedition was because the government wanted to see what it had purchased. Then the government set up the GLO office to survey the west, a monumental undertaking. (That office eventually became the BLM.) The Federal government also built roads to enable settlement and forts to fight the Native Americans for the settlers. For a long time, anyone could homestead a piece of land and, as long as they met the requirements for time and productivity, that land was deeded to them. Millions of Federally owned acres were given away through this system, which was easily abused. To encourage settlement and expansion west, the Federal government also gave land to the railroads - in a “checkerboard” pattern you can see across the west along rail lines - so that towns, etc, could be built. It also gave states dedicated sections of land to be used for schools - the land grant universities. To top it off, the Federal government still makes PILT payments to local governments to make up for the tax money they lose by not being able to tax the land as if it had been private. Nowadays, it practically takes the approval of Washington for any Federal land to become private or vice-versa. Mining, solar, wind, grazing, recreation, hunting, fishing, etc. are all part of the multiple uses of this vast public land. Most activities can overlap unless an area is shut off for safety, etc. (such as a mine) and the land is still public; it does not become private regardless of the enterprise. Proceeds from things such as oil and gas go to the companies but the Federal, state and local governments also get a percentage. The importance of these public lands can’t be underestimated and they need to be preserved for all Americans, not just the wealthy and corporations.