Land Use Puzzle

The main thrust of this publication, like its predecessor, The States' Role in Land Resource Management, is an examination of the role and responsibility of state government in land resource management. It is concerned with: (1) a description of the status of state activities in land resource management; (2) a description of alternative types of state action, and (3) a discussion of the effects of enacted and proposed federal legislation pertaining to land use. It was stated in the first report that there was insufficient communication about the progress being made in state land resource management programs. Therefore, one of the main purposes of this revised edition is to provide up-to-date data and background knowledge for future development of state land resource management programs. Since national attention is focusing on this issue, it is imperative that each State be aware of its actual and potential role in federal programs. Unlike the first edition, we shall open what many may consider "Pandora's Box." In a rather embryonic fashion, we hope to show the fundamental interrelationships between land resource management and other crucial issues facing States. The purpose of this is to encourage debate and innovative thinking within State Legislatures on the overall effects and interdependencies of land resource management legislation and related areas of socioeconomic and environmentally oriented legislation.