Land—The Far Horizon

Abstract

The theme of this session is Increasing Conflicts over Land Use. Perhaps that title is a bit myopic. There have always been intense conflicts over land use-Romans versus barbarians, Indians versus settlers, fences versus range, sheep versus cattle, to name a few. Indeed, conflict over land use is more basic and is found in nature in the form of territory and niche. While man overwhelms the territorial claims of other species, within human societies conflict also arises over territorial rights. In the United States our institutions are strong enough to regulate simple territorial claims without great conflict; thus, the law determines rights where like users seek to displace one another. But conflict also comes from a different source-from the pressures of increased use and from incompatible types of use. Greater intensity of use, whether with fixed or changing technology, implies more active competition for land, and some competing uses may be excluded for economic or technical reasons. The effects of land use change are rarely confined to the plot concerned, so nonowners have a stake in the outcome. That is what is happening in our society. Whether this means that the conflict has grown more acute in our time is problematical, but at least its changing character makes us think so, and our legal and economic institutions ensure that the conflict will be extended, litigious, and inconclusive. Now, as before, the problem is how to accommodate changing demands on the land. If new demands have sufficient economic or