Protected Land Management and Governance in the United States: More Than 150 Years of Change

Abstract

The articles in this special issue of Society and Natural Resources explore the processes and challenges in the long-term protection of public and private land resources in the United States. The practice of land protection and the governance of protected lands have evolved over time through major philosophical conflicts, a progression of laws, and an array of funding programs by state and local governments, federal agencies, and the private sector. In recent decades, the addition of new lands to federal and state ownership has slowed. Meanwhile, the protection of private lands by government agencies and private nonprofit land trusts has sharply increased. The papers in this special issue highlight key changes in the governance of federal and state lands, as well as emerging concerns over the long-term management of protected lands in private ownership.