Paradigm for Public Lands

Public lands are not historical accidents

They represent the outcomes of decisions that we have collectively made to produce goods and provide services from land owned by government rather than privately owned lands

Federal lands embody decisions to produce goods and provide services from lands owned by the federal government

Federal lands comprise two groups

A. Lands the federal government has always owned – lands that were never sold or granted to individuals, corporations, or states • never offered under the federal land statutes – became “available” after

1891 when the President was authorized to establish forest reserves• never acquired by individuals, corporations, or states – considered

"worthless"

• B. Lands that the federal government reacquired after having conveyed them to individuals, corporations, or states• acquired voluntarily – by purchases, exchanges, donations• acquired involuntarily – by condemnation, confiscation, bankruptcy

proceedings

Major Uses of Federal Land

•Rural Uses

•National Park System•National Forests•National Grasslands•Wilderness Areas•National Wildlife Refuges

•Dams and Reservoirs• Army Corps of Engineers• Bureau of Reclamation

•Urban Uses

•Federal Courthouses•Customs & Immigration Posts•Post Offices•Flood Control Structures •The Minneapolis Federal Reserve Building•VA Hospitals•EPA laboratories•Fort Snelling National Cemetery•Bureau of Mines property

•Minnesota Federal Buildings

Federal Lands

• Administered by a variety of agencies for a variety of purposes

• Acquired by the federal government at different times and in different ways

• Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data (CRS Feb. 2012)

• Public Land Statistics 2012 (BLM)

Question of Jurisdiction on Federal Lands

• Nowhere comprehensively compiled

• Article 1 Section 8 (Jurisdictional clause)

• The Congress shall have Power to exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases

• whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by

• Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat

• of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all

• Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the

• Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and

• other needful Buildings

Question of Jurisdiction on Federal Lands

• Nowhere comprehensively compiled

• Article 1 Section 8 (Jurisdictional clause)

• The Congress shall have Power to exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases

• whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by

• Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat

• of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all

• Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the

• Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and

• other needful Buildings

Minnesota Statutes 1.042 (Laws 1943 c 343)

• Subdivision 1. The consent of the State of Minnesota is given in accordance with the Constitution of the United States, Article I, Section 8, Clause 17, to the acquisition by the United States in any manner of any land or right or interest in land in this state required for sites for customs houses, courthouses, hospitals, sanitariums, post offices, prisons, reformatories, jails, forestry depots, supply houses, or offices, aviation fields or stations, radio stations, military or naval camps, bases, stations, arsenals, depots, terminals, cantonments, storage places, target ranges, or any other military or naval purpose of the United States

Minnesota Statutes 1.042 (Laws 1943 c 343)

Subd. 3. Conditions and reservations. The right of the state to cause its civil and criminal process to be executed in any ceded land or place is reserved to the state. The state also reserves the right to impose the following taxes

(A) an income tax on persons residing in the land or place or receiving income from transactions occurring or services performed there;(B) a sales or use tax levied on or measured by sales, receipts from sales, purchases, storage, or use of tangible personal property in the land or place;(C) a tax on personal property situated in the land or place, or on the use of personal property by a private individual, association, or corporation there, except personal property owned by the United States or by law exempt from taxation; and(D) a tax on the use of real property within the land or place by a private individual, association, or corporation

Forest Service

Established in 1905, the Forest Service is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and manages public lands in national forests and grasslandsBudgetHistory

How Statutory, Regulatory, and Administrative Factors Affect National Forest Management (2002)Forest Inventory and Analysis National ProgramRoadless AreasOff-Highway VehiclesForest Management

U.S. Forest Service

“To sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations”Ecosystem Management Coordination manages planning and decision-making in the Forest Service• National Forest Management Act Planning• Environmental Appeals and Litigation

• Forest Industry Court Cases • US Forest Service Research and Development – research topics• Publications

• State and Private Forestry provides technical and financial assistance to landowners and resource managers to help sustain the Nation’s forests and protect communities and the environment from wildland fires

Federal Forest Lands

• Weeks Act 1911 (36 Stat. 961) allowed federal government to acquire cutover forest land in mountainous areas – National Forest Reservation Commission

• Clark-McNary Act 1924 amended the Weeks Act, expanding it to allow the Forest Service to purchase lands needed to produce timber and to enter into agreements with the states to protect state owned and private lands against fire

• Also continued the cooperative relationships with nonfederal forestry programs formalized by the Weeks Act

Federal Forest Lands

Public-Private Mix of Landownership

National Forest System

• National Forests legislation 16 USC Chapter 2• Superior National Forest• Chippewa National Forest

• Roadless Areas• New rule opens up forests• Off-highway regulations

• National Grasslands• National Trails

Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

Wilderness Act (PL 88-577, 78 Stat. 890, 16 USC 460ll and elsewhere) • to establish a National Wilderness Preservation System for the permanent good of the

whole peopleBoundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and Boundary Waters Canoe Area Mining Protection Act (PL 95-495, 92 Stat. 1649, 16 USC 1132-1133)Isaac Walton League

Wilderness Laws: Statutory Provisions and Permitted and Prohibited Uses (CRS 2010) Wilderness: Overview and Statistics (CRS 2010)The Wilderness Acts: Legal Mandate for Wilderness Classification and ManagementThe Boundary Waters Canoe Area: Arguments for Eliminating Motorized RecreationThe Problem with Wilderness (Harvard Environmental Law Review 2008)Wilderness, Wild and Scenic Rivers, and Protected Areas

National Park Service

Manages a national park system comprising

• 379 separate units that cover over 80 million acres • 2 million acres of which are privately owned• approximately 16,000 permanent structures and • 8,000 miles of roads

161,498 urban acres and 72,380,105 rural acres

National Park legislation 16 USC 1 et seq NPS regulations. 36 CFR 1-199

Court cases• Legal Background of Archeological R

esources Protection• U.S

. Laws & Court Cases Involving Sacred Lands

Listing of Acreage by UnitPark Histories

National Park Service

The National Park Service carries out its responsibilities under the authority of federal laws, regulations, and Executive Orders, and in accord with policies and Director's Orders established by the Director of the National Park Service and the Secretary of the Interior

Budget

Publications

Chronology of the National Parks

Lee, Ronald (1972) Family Tree of the National Park System

National Park Service in Minnesota

• 16 US Code National Parks, Military Parks, Monuments and Seashores

• 16 USC Voyageurs National Park

• Wild and Scenic Rivers Legislation• St. Croix National Scenic Riverway• Lower St. Croix

• Mississippi National River & Recreation Area• Pipestone NM• Grand Portage NM • North Country National Scenic Trail

Establishing a National Park

Enacting legislation creating a park• 16 USC Voyageurs National Park• Minnesota Statutes 84B Voyageurs National Park

Acquiring the necessary land• State donations – tax forfeit, trust fund land, land in a state forest • Private purchases• Transfers from Forest Service

Voyageurs National Park. The Battle to Create Minnesota’s National ParkThe Political Geography of National Parks (Pacific History Review 2004)

Voyageurs National Park

• Contains 218,054 acres - 134,265 acres of land and 83,789 acres of water • Authorized on January 8, 1971 (16 USC 160 et seq)

• The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to establish the Voyageurs National Park in the State of Minnesota, by publication of notice to that effect in the Federal Register at such time as the Secretary deems sufficient interests in lands or waters have been acquired for administration ….

• Formally established on April 8 1975 (40 FR 15921)

• National Park Service Site• Voyageurs National Park Association• Snowmobile Restrictions in Voyageurs NP

St. Croix Wild & Scenic River

• Upper St Croix authorized in Wild & Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 (16 USC 1271 et seq)

• The Lower St. Croix River added in 1972

• National Park Service Site

• Time and the River: A History of the St. Croix (Karamansky, 2002)

• Endangered? The Scenic St. Croix (Water Resources Center, UMN)

Upper St. Croix

• The segment between the dam near Taylors Falls, Minnesota, and the dam near Gordon, Wisconsin, and its tributary, the Namekagon, from Lake Namekagon downstream to its confluence with the Saint Croix

• To be administered by the Secretary of the Interior

• “No funds … may be expended to acquire or develop lands in that portion of the Saint Croix River between the dam near Taylors Falls, Minnesota, and the upstream end of Big Island in Wisconsin, until sixty days after the date on which the Secretary has transmitted to the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives a proposed cooperative agreement between the Northern States Power Company and the United States”

NSP Agreement

• the company agrees to convey to the United States, without charge, appropriate interests in certain of its lands between the dam near Taylors Falls, Minnesota, and the upstream end of Big Island in Wisconsin, including the company’s right, title, and interest to approximately one hundred acres per mile

• the company would retain the lands and interests in the lands between said points adjacent to the river in a manner which shall complement and not be inconsistent with the purposes for which the lands and interests in land donated by the company are administered under this chapter

Lower Saint Croix, Minnesota and Wisconsin

• The segment between the dam near Taylors Falls and its confluence with the Mississippi River

• The upper twenty-seven miles of this river segment shall be administered by the Secretary of the Interior

• The lower twenty-five miles shall be designated by the Secretary upon his approval of an application for such designation made by the Governors of the State of Minnesota and Wisconsin

• The Lower St. Croix (NPS)• The Wild & Scenic Lower St. Croix River (Minnesota) • Lower St. Croix National Scenic Riverway (Wisconsin)•

Stillwater Bridge

St. Croix River Crossing Project Authorization Act (S.Rpt 112-124 (2012)St. Croix River Crossing Project Authorization Act

St. Croix River Crossing (Minnesota Department of Transportation

Sierra Club sues to block new Stillwater bridge (Minnesota Public Radio, 2007)Sierra Club protests St. Croix River bridge (Star Tribune, 2009)Judge blocks 'massive' bridge over St. Croix Star (Tribune March 11, 2010)

It’s time to build St. Croix bridge (Star Tribune April 7, 2011)

Mississippi National River & Recreation Area

• Established in 1988 (16 USC 460zz et seq)• Boundaries enclose about 54,000 acres and 72 miles of river• Either side of the Mississippi - from Dayton and Ramsey to

Hastings• Only 35 acres are owned by the federal government • Contain the only gorge and waterfall on the main course of 2,350

miles of river

• A New Mississippi National River and Recreation Area (Minnesota House Research)

National Park Service

40 U.S.C. 550(b) and (e) authorizes the National Park Service to convey surplus federal land to communities, usually at no cost, for public park and recreation purposes Over 1,550 properties, approximately 178,000 acres, have been transferred to state and local governments for parks and recreation areas since the program's inception in 1949 Federal Lands To Parks

Federally-owned historic buildings that are no longer needed by the Federal government are declared surplus by the General Services Administration The Department of Defense also uses the Historic Surplus Property Program to dispose of historic military bases that have been closed

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

93,628,302 acres of land 5,418 buildings

Digest of Federal Resource LawsNational Wildlife Refuge LegislationNational Wildlife RefugesFisheries and Habitat ConservationEndangered Species Program

Duck Stamps

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

BudgetLaws and RegulationsEcological Services Program provides national leadership for the conservation of species and the habitats on which they depend, including species protected by the Endangered Species Act, the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, the Coastal Barrier Resources Protection Act, and the Clean Water Act

National Wildlife Refuge SystemMigratory BirdsWildlife & Sport Fish Restoration• About WSFR

Wildlife Refuges

US Fish & Wildlife Service in Minnesota

Twin Cities Ecological Services Field Office• About • Endangered Species• Bald Eagle• Environmental Contaminants• Conservation Planning Assistance

Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge

• 16 USC 721 et seq

• Longest refuge – extending 261 miles along the Mississippi River

• The Upper Mississippi River Wild Life and Fish Refuge Act enacted June 7, 1924

• Authorized the Secretary of the Interior to acquire land for a refuge between Rock Island, Illinois and Wabasha, Minnesota

• Contains approximately 240,000 acres of land and water

• Includes land administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 19 counties across four states

•

Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge

• Established in 1976 (Pub. L. 94-466, Oct. 8, 1976, 90 Stat. 1992; 16 U.S.C. 668kk et seq)

• The Minnesota National Wildlife Refuge has been set out in the table of National Wildlife Refuges under section 668dd of this title

• To provide habitat for migratory waterfowl, fish, and other wildlife species threatened by commercial and industrial development

• Comprises 14,000 acres, stretching for 70 miles from Fort Snelling State Park to Jordan, Minnesota

• Refuge has eight units, four of which have trails and interpretive signs • The Visitor Center is located in Bloomington, one mile east of the Mall of

America

• Wetland Management District

Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge

Airport Noise

Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge Protection Act of 1999 Impact of Airport Expansion on the Minnesota Valley NWR (House Committee on Resources, Oversight Hearings)

• Refuges are typically set up in two stages

• The Service is provided the authority to create the refuge

• by Congress, either through specific legislation or earmarks in the Service’s land and water fund appropriation

• by the President, through an executive order • by the Service Director

• At the time a refuge is created, land may or may not be associated with it, and its boundaries may or may not have been fixed

•

• The land is acquired and the refuge is considered to be “established”

• Subsequently, a refuge can be expanded when additional land is acquired

• Such an expansion can occur with land acquired within the original refuge boundaries or, following a decision to extend the boundaries, with land acquired outside the original boundaries

• Migratory Bird Conservation Commission – recommends areas to be acquired

• Uses two funds to purchase land for establishing or expanding refuges

• The Migratory Bird Conservation Fund• The Land and Water Conservation Fund

The Migratory Bird Conservation Fund

Provides the Department of the Interior with money to acquire migratory bird habitatFour major sources of money• Revenue received from the sale of

Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamps, commonly known as Duck Stamps (Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act of March 18, 1934, as amended)

• Appropriations authorized by the Wetlands Loan Act of October 4, 1961, as amended

• Import duties collected on arms and ammunition • Receipts from the sale of refuge admission permits as provided for by the

Emergency Wetlands Resources Act of 1986

Supplemented by receipts from the sale of products from rights-of-way across national wildlife refuges, disposals of refuge land, and reverted Federal Aid funds

The Land and Water Conservation Fund

• Established in 1964 to acquire recreation land• Also supported by several revenue sources,

such as user fees for outdoor recreation activities

• For expenditures from this fund, the Service annually proposes acquisitions for federal funding, and the Congress appropriates funds and specifies which refuges can be established or expanded with land and water funds

• In fiscal year 1999, the Service received about $65 million from the migratory bird fund and about $48 million from the land and water fund to acquire refuge land

• LAWCON Minnesota

• The Service can also acquire land for refuges through other means

• donations from nonfederal entities • transfers of land from other federal agencies• exchanges of federal land parcels for

nonfederal land parcels

• Generally not required to inform the Congress of these acquisitions

Army Corps of Engineers

• building and maintaining America’s infrastructure and providing military facilities where our service members train, work and live

• dredging America’s waterways to support the movement of critical commodities and providing recreation opportunities at our campgrounds, lakes and marinas

• devising hurricane and storm damage reduction infrastructure• protecting and restoring the Nation’s environment including critical efforts in the Everglades, the

Louisiana coast, and along many of our Nation’s major waterways• cleaning sites contaminated with hazardous, toxic or radioactive waste and material in an effort to

sustain the environment

Provides over 30 percent of the recreational opportunities on Federal lands. Largest provider of water-based recreation with over 25 million individuals visiting a Corps project at least once each year

History

St. Paul District

Civil WorksEmergency ManagementNavigationRecreationRegulatory

District ProjectsLevee Safety ProgramList of locks and dams of the Upper Mississippi River (Wikipedia)“The secret history of the earliest locks and dams” Minnesota History (1995)33 CFR 207.340 Reservoirs at headwaters of the Mississippi River; use and administration

Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT)

• Federal payments to local governments that help offset losses in property taxes due to tax-exempt federal lands within their boundaries

• The key law is Public Law 94-565, dated October 20, 1976 amended by Public Law 97-258 on September 13, 1982 and codified at Chapter 69, Title 31 of the United States Code.

• 2013 Annual Report

• PILT (Payments in Lieu of Taxes): Somewhat Simplified (CRS, 1998)• Payment in Lieu of Taxes (Department of the Interior)• State and Local Government Payments 2005 (Department of the Interior)• Revenue Sharing or Payment in Lieu of Taxes on Federal Lands ( Don

Seastone Land Economics 1971)

Take Home Points

• Public lands are not historical accidents

Take Home Points

• Public lands are not historical accidents

• They represent the outcomes of decisions to produce goods and provide services from land owned by government

Take Home Points

• Public lands are not historical accidents

• They represent the outcomes of decisions to produce goods and provide services from land owned by government

• They reflect the role we have asked the federal government to play and the responsibilities that go along with that role