Federal land policy in Virginia
 in Virginia |
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| Public Policy |
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| State environmental policy |
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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 9.25 percent of Virginia's total land, 2,358,071 acres out of 25,496,320 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 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.[1][2]
According to the Congressional Research Service, Virginia spans 25.5 million acres. Of that total, 9.25 percent, or 2.4 million acres, belonged to the federal government as of 2012. More than 23 million acres in Virginia are not owned by the federal government, or 2.8 non-federal acres per capita. From 1990 to 2010, the federal government's land ownership in Virginia increased by 38,548 acres.[1]
The table below shows federal land ownership in Virginia compared to its neighbor, Pennsylvania, and a Western state, Utah, as a comparison.[1]
| Federal land ownership in Virginia and other states by agency | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | |||||||||||
| Agency | Virginia | Pennsylvania | Utah | ||||||||
| Acres owned | Percentage owned | Acres owned | Percentage owned | Acres owned | Percentage owned | ||||||
| U.S. Forest Service | 1,664,467 | 70.59% | 513,418 | 83.23% | 8,207,415 | 23.43% | |||||
| U.S. National Park Service | 304,289 | 12.90% | 50,014 | 8.11% | 2,097,106 | 5.99% | |||||
| U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | 129,566 | 5.49% | 9,962 | 1.61% | 107,885 | 0.31% | |||||
| U.S. Bureau of Land Management | 805 | 0.03% | 0 | 0.00% | 22,854,937 | 65.24% | |||||
| U.S. Department of Defense | 258,944 | 10.98% | 43,502 | 7.05% | 1,766,260 | 5.04% | |||||
| Total federal land | 2,358,071 | 100% | 616,896 | 100% | 35,033,603 | 100% | |||||
| Source: Congressional Research Service, "Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data" | |||||||||||
Land usage
Recreation
National parks in Virginia
Virginia has 22 National Park Service units, three national monuments, one national forest, 24 wilderness areas, one national historic site and four national historic trails. A study by the U.S. National Park Service found that 22.02 million visitors attended Virginia's national parks and monuments and generated $870.9 million in visitor spending in 2013.[3]
State recreation lands
Virginia's state parks, which are listed below, are operated by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.[4]
| State parks in Virginia |
|---|
| State park name |
| Bear Creek Lake (BC) |
| Belle Isle (BI) |
| Breaks Interstate (BK) |
| Caledon (CA) |
| Chippokes Plantation (CP) |
| Claytor Lake (CL) |
| Douthat (DO) |
| Fairy Stone (FS) |
| False Cape (FC) |
| First Landing (FL) |
| Grayson Highlands (GH) |
| High Bridge Trail (HB) |
| Holliday Lake (HL) |
| Hungry Mother (HM) |
| James River (JR) |
| Kiptopeke (KP) |
| Lake Anna (LA) |
| Leesylvania (LE) |
| Mason Neck (MN) |
| Natural Bridge (NB) *** |
| Natural Tunnel (NT) |
| New River Trail (NR) |
| Occoneechee (OC) |
| Pocahontas (PO) |
| Powhatan (PW) |
| Sailor's Creek Battlefield Historic (SC) |
| Shenandoah River (SH) |
| Shot Tower (ST) |
| Sky Meadows (SK) |
| Smith Mountain Lake (SM) |
| Southwest Virginia Museum Historical (SW) |
| Staunton River (SR) |
| Staunton River Battlefield (SB) |
| Tabb Monument |
| Twin Lakes (TL) |
| Westmoreland (WE) |
| Wilderness Road (WR) |
| York River (YR) |
| *Note: This park is set to open in late 2016. Source: Virginia State Parks, "Find a park" |
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.[5]
In 2013, there were 47,427 active leases covering 36.09 million acres of federal land nationwide. Of that total, 39 leases (or 0.08 percent) were in Virginia. In 2013, none of the 3,770 new drilling leases approved nationwide by the BLM for oil and gas exploration were in Virginia.[6][7][8][9][10]
The table below shows how Virginia compared to neighboring states in relation to oil and gas permits on BLM-managed lands in 2013. Virginia had more active permits than Maryland and North Carolina but fewer than West Virginia.
| 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 |
| Virginia | 39 | 28,547 | 0.08% | 0.08% |
| Maryland | 4 | 2,632 | 0.01% | 0.01% |
| North Carolina | 0 | 0 | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| West Virginia | 257 | 119,883 | 0.54% | 0.33% |
| 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.[11]
The table below shows PILTs for Virginia compared to neighboring states between 2011 and 2013. Virginia received more PILTs in 2013 than Maryland and West Virginia but fewer than North Carolina.
| Total PILTs for Virginia and neighboring states | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | FY 2011 | FY 2012 | FY 2013 | State's percentage of 2013 total | ||
| Virginia | $2,791,489 | $3,113,070 | $3,263,807 | 0.81% | ||
| Maryland | $99,852 | $102,393 | $99,591 | 0.02% | ||
| North Carolina | $3,919,443 | $4,030,522 | $3,997,200 | 1.00% | ||
| West Virginia | $2,863,940 | $2,953,219 | $2,892,560 | 0.72% | ||
| 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
- ↑ Virginia State Parks, "Home page," accessed December 8, 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
