Rethinking the Federal Lands

The federal government is by far the largest landowner in the United States. It is somewhat of an anomaly for the federal government to hold vast acreages of land in an economy where the prevailing ideology favours private ownership. The Reagan administration’s (1981-1989) proposal to increase energy and mineral development on federal lands, to accelerate timber harvesting in national forests, and to expand the sale of federal lands generated strong and vocal opposition. Originally published in