Federal land policy in Illinois

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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 1.14 percent of Illinois's total land, 406,734 acres out of 35,795,200 total acres.

Illinois ranked 38th in the nation in federal land ownership as of 2012.

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 states—including Alaska, 61 percent of which was federally owned. In contrast, the federal government owned 4 percent of land in the other 38 states. Federal land policy is designed to manage minerals, oil and gas resources, timber, wildlife and fish, and other natural resources found on federal land. Land management policies are highly debated for their economic, environmental and social impacts. Additionally, the size of the federal estate and the acquisition of more federal land are major issues.

According to the Congressional Research Service, Illinois spans 35.8 million acres. Of that total, 1.14 percent, or 406,734 million acres, belonged to the federal government as of 2012. More than 35.4 million acres in Illinois are not owned by the federal government, or 2.75 non-federal acres per capita. From 1990 to 2010, the federal government's land ownership in Illinois increased by 53,673 acres.

The table below shows federal land ownership in Illinois compared to a neighboring state, Indiana, and a Western state, Utah. The U.S. Forest Service owned 297,713 acres in Illinois compared to 202,832 acres in Indiana and more than 8.2 million acres in Utah. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages endangered species, owned 87,886 acres in Illinois compared to 14,871 acres in Indiana and 107,885 acres in Utah.

Federal land ownership in Illinois and other states by agency
State
Agency	Illinois		Indiana		Utah
	Acres owned	Percentage owned	Acres owned	Percentage owned	Acres owned	Percentage owned
U.S. Forest Service	297,713	73.20%	202,832	59.53%	8,207,415	23.43%
U.S. National Park Service	12	0.00%	10,596	3.11%	2,097,106	5.99%
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service	87,886	21.61%	14,871	4.36%	107,885	0.31%
U.S. Bureau of Land Management	0	0.00%	0	0.00%	22,854,937	65.24%
U.S. Department of Defense	21,123	5.19%	112,397	32.99%	1,766,260	5.04%
Total federal land	406,734	100%	340,696	100%	35,033,603	100%
Source: Congressional Research Service, "Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data"

Land usage

Recreation

National parks in Illinois

Federal lands and Indian reservations in Illinois by government agency (click on the image to enlarge)

Illinois has one National Park Service unit, two national forests, eight wilderness areas, one national historic site and three national historic trails. A study by the U.S. National Park Service found that 209,405 visitors attended Illinois’ national parks and monuments and generated $12 million in visitor spending in 2013.

Illinois Beach State Park

State recreation lands

The Illinois State Parks System is administered by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. There are 127 state parks and other natural areas in Illinois, which are listed in the table below.

State parks in Illinois
State park name
Anderson Lake State Fish & Wildlife Area
Apple River Canyon State Park
Argyle Lake State Park
Baldwin Lake State Fish & Wildlife Area
Banner Marsh State Fish & Wildlife Area
Beall Woods State Park
Beaver Dam State Park
Big Bend State Fish & Wildlife Area
Big River State Forest
Buffalo Rock State Park & Effigy Tumuli
Cache River State Natural Area
Carlyle Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area
Castle Rock State Park
Cave-in-Rock State Park
Chain O'Lakes State Park
Channahon State Park
Clinton Lake State Recreation Area
Coffeen Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area
Crawford County State Fish and Wildlife Area
Delabar State Park
Des Plaines Fish and Wildlife Area
Dixon Springs State Park
Donnelley/Depue State Fish and Wildlife Area
Eagle Creek State Recreation Area
Edward R. Madigan State Fish and Wildlife Area
Eldon Hazlet State Recreation Area
Ferne Clyffe State Park
Fort Massac State Park
Fox Ridge State Park
Frank Holten State Recreation Area
Franklin Creek State Natural Area
Fults Hill Prairie State Natural Area
Gebhard Woods State Park
Giant City State Park
Golconda Marina State Recreation Area
Goose Lake Prairie State Natural Area
James "Pate" Philip State Park (Tri-County)
Green River State Wildlife Area
Hamilton County State Fish and Wildlife Area
Harry "Babe" Woodyard State Natural Area
Heidecke Lake State Fish & Wildlife Area
Henderson County Conservation Area
Hennepin Canal State Trail
Hidden Springs State Forest
Horseshoe Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area
Horseshoe Lake State Park (Madison County)
Illini State Park
Illinois and Michigan Canal State Trail
Illinois Beach State Park
Illinois Caverns State Natural Area
Iroquois State Wildlife Area
Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area
Johnson-Sauk Trail State Recreation Area
Jubilee College State Park
Kankakee River State Park
Kaskaskia River State Fish & Wildlife Area
Kidd Lake State Natural Area
Kickapoo State Recreation Area
Kinkaid Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area
Lake Le-Aqua-Na State Recreation Area
Lake Murphysboro State Park
Lasalle Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area
Lincoln Trail Homestead State Memorial
Lincoln Trail State Park
Lowden State Park
Lowden-Miller State Forest
Mackinaw River State Fish & Wildlife Area
Marseilles State Fish & Wildlife Area
Marshall Fish and Wildlife Area
Matthiessen State Park
Mautino State Fish & Wildlife Area
Mazonia/Braidwood State Fish & Wildlife Area
Mermet Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area
Middle Fork State Fish and Wildlife Area
Mississippi Palisades State Park
Mississippi River State Fish and Wildlife Area
Moraine Hills State Park
Moraine View State Recreation Area
Morrison-Rockwood State Park
Nauvoo State Park
Newton Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area
North Point Marina
Peabody River State Fish and Wildlife Area
Pere Marquette State Park
Piney Creek Ravine State Natural Area
Powerton Lake State Fish & Wildlife Area
Prophetstown State Recreation Area
Pyramid State Recreation Area
Ramsey Lake State Recreation Area
Randolph County State Recreation Area
Ray Norbut State Fish and Wildlife Area
Red Hills State Park
Rend Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area
Rice Lake State Fish & Wildlife Area
Rock Cut State Park
Rock Island State Trail
Saline County State Fish & Wildlife Area
Sam Dale Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area
Sam Parr State Fish and Wildlife Area
Sand Ridge State Forest
Sanganois State Fish & Wildlife Area
Sangchris Lake State Recreation Area
Shabbona Lake State Park
Shelbyville State Fish and Wildlife Area
Sielbeck Forest Natural Area
Siloam Springs State Park
Silver Springs State Fish & Wildlife Area
Snakeden Hollow State Fish & Wildlife Area
South Shore State Park
Spitler Woods State Natural Area
Spring Lake Fish & Wildlife Area
Starved Rock State Park
Stephen A. Forbes State Recreation Area
Ten Mile Creek State Fish & Wildlife Area
Trail of Tears State Forest
Tunnel Hill State Trail
Turkey Bluffs State Fish and Wildlife Area
Union County State Fish and Wildlife Area
Volo Bog State Natural Area
Walnut Point State Park
Washington County State Recreation Area
Wayne Fitzgerrell State Recreation Area
Weinberg-King State Park
Weldon Springs State Park
White Pines Forest State Park
William G. Stratton State Park
William W. Powers State Recreation Area
Wolf Creek State Park
Woodford State Fish & Wildlife Area
Source: Illinois Department of Natural Resources, "Illinois State Parks - Regional Map"

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 will produce 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.

In 2013, there were 47,427 active leases covering 36.09 million acres of federal land nationwide. Of that total, nine leases (0.02 percent of all leases), covering 1,651 acres, were in Illinois. In 2013, out of 3,770 new drilling leases approved nationwide by the BLM for oil and gas exploration, none were in Illinois.

The table below shows how Illinois compared to neighboring states in oil and gas permits on BLM-managed lands in 2013. Illinois had more active leases than Iowa and Wisconsin and the same as Indiana. Illinois had fewer acres under lease than Indiana.

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
Illinois	9	1,651	0.02%	0.00%
Indiana	9	11,842	0.02%	0.03%
Iowa	0	0	0.00%	0.00%
Wisconsin	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 roads.

The table below shows PILTs for Illinois compared to neighboring states between 2011 and 2013. Illinois received more PILTs in 2013 than Indiana and Iowa but fewer than Wisconsin.

Total PILTs for Illinois and neighboring states
State	FY 2011	FY 2012	FY 2013	State's percentage of 2013 total
Illinois	$1,111,152	$1,140,801	$1,119,970	0.28%
Indiana	$434,637	$465,777	$489,606	0.12%
Iowa	$455,637	$466,912	$453,945	0.11%
Wisconsin	$907,936	$1,087,158	$1,304,986	0.32%
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.

Choose your state...AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWashington, D.C.West VirginiaWisconsinWyoming

http://ballotpedia.org/Environmental_policy_in_STATE

See also

• 

  Environmental policy in the U.S.

• 

  Energy policy in the U.S.

• 

  Endangered species policy

External links

• U.S. National Park Service
• U.S. Bureau of Land Management
• Congressional Research Service

Footnotes

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