Federal land policy in Alabama
 in Alabama |
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Federal land policy involves the ownership and management of land owned by the federal government. As of 2012, the federal government owned between 635 million to 640 million acres, or 28 percent, of the 2.27 billion acres of land in the United States. Federal land is managed for many purposes, such as the conservation and development of natural resources, grazing and recreation. As of 2012, the federal government owned 2.67 percent of Alabama's total land, 871,232 acres out of 32,678,400 total acres.
Land ownership
- See also: Federal land policy and Federal land ownership by state
The federal government owned between 635 million and 640 million acres of land in 2012, about 28 percent of the 2.27 billion acres of land in the United States. Around 52 percent of federally owned acres were in 12 Western state (including Alaska, 61 percent of which was federally owned). In contrast, the federal government owned 4 percent of land in the other 38 states. According to the Congressional Research Service, federal land policy is designed to manage mineral, oil and gas, timber, wildlife, and other natural resources found on federal land.[1][2]
According to the Congressional Research Service, Alabama has a total acreage of 32.6 million acres. Of that total, 2.7 percent, or 871,232 acres, was owned by the federal government as of February 2012. In 2010, the federal government owned 73,272 fewer acres of land in Alabama than in 1990. In Alabama, 31.8 million acres were not owned by the federal government. Further details, including information for surrounding states, is provided in the table below.[1]
| Federal land ownership in Alabama and other states by agency[1] | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | |||||||||||
| Agency | Alabama | Georgia | Mississippi | ||||||||
| Acres owned | Percentage owned | Acres owned | Percentage owned | Acres owned | Percentage owned | ||||||
| U.S. Forest Service | 670,185 | 76.92% | 867,199 | 44.32% | 1,173,898 | 77.05% | |||||
| National Park Service | 16,714 | 1.92% | 39,754 | 2.03% | 104,004 | 6.83% | |||||
| U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 32,207 | 3.70% | 482,694 | 24.67% | 211,164 | 13.86% | |||||
| U.S. Bureau of Land Management | 3,523 | 0.40% | 0 | 0.00% | 241 | 0.02% | |||||
| U.S. Department of Defense | 148,603 | 17.06% | 567,072 | 28.98% | 34,266 | 2.25% | |||||
| Total federal land | 871,232 | 100% | 1,956,719 | 100% | 1,523,573 | 100.00% | |||||
| Source: Congressional Research Service, "Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data" | |||||||||||
Land usage
Recreation
National parks in Alabama
As of 2013, Alabama was home to seven National Park Service units, one national monument, one national forest, three wilderness areas, one national preserve, one national military park, one national heritage area, two national historic trails, two national historic sites, and 15 national recreation trails. A study by the U.S. National Park Service found that 749,855 visitors attended Alabama's national parks and monuments generated $27.9 million in visitor spending in 2013.[3]
State recreation lands
There were 22 state parks in Alabama managed by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources as of 2014. The table below contains a list of these state parks.[4]
| State parks in Alabama | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State park name | ||||||
| Bladon Springs State Park | ||||||
| Blue Springs State Park | ||||||
| Buck's Pocket State Park | ||||||
| Cathedral Caverns | ||||||
| Cheaha State Park | ||||||
| Chewacla State Park | ||||||
| Chickasaw State Park | ||||||
| DeSoto State Park | ||||||
| Florala State Park | ||||||
| Frank Jackson State Park | ||||||
| Gulf State Park | ||||||
| Joe Wheeler State Park | ||||||
| Lake Guntersville State Park | ||||||
| Lake Lurleen State Park | ||||||
| Lakepoint Resort State Park | ||||||
| Meaher State Park | ||||||
| Monte Sano State Park | ||||||
| Oak Mountain State Park | ||||||
| Paul M. Grist State Park | ||||||
| Rickwood Caverns | ||||||
| Roland Cooper State Park | ||||||
| Wind Creek State Park | ||||||
| Source: Alabama State Parks, "All Parks" | ||||||
Economic activity on federal lands
Oil and gas activity
- See also: BLM oil and gas leases by state
Private mining companies, including oil and natural gas companies, can apply for leases from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to explore and produce energy on federal land. The company seeking a lease must nominate the land for oil and gas exploration to the BLM, which evaluates and approves the lease. The BLM state offices make leasing decisions based on their land use plans, which contain information on the land's resources and the potential environmental impact of oil or gas exploration. If federal lands are approved for leasing, the BLM requires an application from the company containing information on how the exploration, drilling, and production will be conducted. Afterward, the BLM produces an environmental analysis and a list of requirements before work on the land can begin. The agency also inspects the companies' drilling and producing on the leased lands.[5]
In 2013, the total number of active leases on federal land was 47,427, which covered 36.09 million acres of land in the United States. Of that total, 138 leases (0.29 percent of all leases), covering 75,390 acres (0.21 percent of all leased land in 2013), were in Alabama. In 2013, out of 3,770 new drilling leases approved nationwide by the BLM for oil and gas exploration, no leases were approved in Alabama.[6][7][8][9][10]
The table below shows how Alabama compared to neighboring states in oil and gas permits on BLM-managed lands in 2013.
| Oil and gas leasing on BLM lands by state | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Active permits on BLM lands (FY 2013) | Total acres under lease (FY 2013) | State percentage of total permits | State percentage of total acres | |||
| Alabama | 138 | 75,390 | 0.29% | 0.21% | |||
| Mississippi | 849 | 475,639 | 1.79% | 1.32% | |||
| Tennessee | 2 | 736 | 0.00% | 0.00% | |||
| Georgia | 0 | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% | |||
| Total United States | 47,427 permits | 36,092,482 acres | -- | -- | |||
| Source: U.S. Bureau of Land Management, "Oil and Gas Statistics" | |||||||
Payments in lieu of taxes
- See also: Payments in lieu of taxes
Since local governments cannot collect taxes on federally owned property, the U.S. Department of the Interior issues payments to local governments to replace lost property tax revenue from federal land. The payments, known as Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILTs), are typically used for funding services such as fire departments, police protection, school construction, and road maintenance.[11]
The table below shows PILTs for Alabama compared to neighboring states between 2011 and 2013.
| Total PILTs for Alabama and neighboring states | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | FY 2011 | FY 2012 | FY 2013 | State's percentage of 2013 total | ||
| Alabama | $721,010 | $805,176 | $901,119 | 0.22% | ||
| Mississippi | $1,560,083 | $1,611,979 | $1,580,410 | 0.39% | ||
| Tennessee | $1,695,519 | $1,826,471 | $1,877,039 | 0.47% | ||
| Georgia | $2,072,956 | $2,242,635 | $2,286,091 | 0.57% | ||
| Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, "PILT" | ||||||
Environmental policy in the 50 states
Click on a state below to read more about that state's energy policy.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Congressional Research Service, "Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data," accessed September 15, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Congressional Research Service, "Federal Lands and Natural Resources: Overview and Selected Issues for the 113th Congress," December 8, 2014
- ↑ U.S. National Park Service, "2013 National Park Visitor Spending Effects Report," accessed October 14, 2014
- ↑ Alabama State Parks, "All Parks," accessed November 3, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Bureau of Land Management, "Oil and Gas Lease Sales," accessed October 20, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Bureau of Land Management, "Number of Acres Leased During the Fiscal Year," accessed October 20, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Bureau of Land Management, "Total Number of Leases in Effect," accessed October 20, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Bureau of Land Management, "Summary of Onshore Oil and Gas Statistics," accessed October 20, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Bureau of Land Management, "Number of Drilling Permits Approved by Fiscal Year on Federal Lands," accessed October 20, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Bureau of Land Management, "Total Number of Acres Under Lease As of the Last Day of the Fiscal Year," accessed October 22, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Department of the Interior, "PILT," accessed October 4, 2014
