Overview

For most Americans, state lands are the most readily accessible type of public land; however, despite their ubiquity, they remain largely terra incognita. The Other Public Lands is a primer on state public lands and the political dynamics that underlie their management. Offering a wide-angle overview, Steven Davis focuses on how states prioritize competing claims related to conservation, resource development, tourism, recreation, and finances. The Other Public Lands looks at both differences and common patterns in state land management, including the structure of natural resource agencies. Davis examines the privatization and commercialization of state parks, and the tensions between recreation, revenue and the preservation of biodiversity and natural landscapes. He also raises issues about equity, access, appropriate development, and ecological health. Chapters review state forests, state wildlife management areas, and school trust lands. In addition, the roles of interest groups, the courts, and agency culture and behavior are compared and analyzed both between states and the federal government and between states with differing approaches to specific issues. As there has been a demand to transfer at least some federal lands to the states, The Other Public Lands concludes with an appraisal of whether states could handle this transfer and goes on to suggest ways to ensure adequate access in an era of increased demand.

Full Product Details

9781439925539

Table of Contents

Reviews

""The Other Public Lands is a great resource and a true joy to read. Davis does a masterful job explaining public lands and conservation patterns across the diverse fifty states. He authoritatively describes and meticulously researches information about the state lands in a way that helps the reader see both the 'forest' and the 'trees.' His breezy descriptions and exemplary stories of specific states, presented alongside more generalized patterns, are excellent ways to paint a full picture of these important lands.""--Tomas M. Koontz, Professor of Environmental Policy at the University of Washington Tacoma ""The Other Public Lands is a sophisticated and timely examination of an underexamined yet important part of American life: the many tens of millions of acres of public lands stewarded by the fifty states. Clearly written, compact yet deeply researched, and sprinkled with useful maps and tables, it categorizes these lands according to their primary management objectives (recreation, protection of natural amenities, and economic development) and deftly explores, with many examples, including comparisons to federally-controlled public lands, how these objectives are evolving--and how these lands continue to command wide public support that is little affected by our currently politically polarized culture.""--John Leshy, author of Our Common Ground: A History of America's Public Lands ""Davis has written the only comprehensive profile of the public lands that the American states manage. His overview covers trust lands, state parks, state forests, and state wildlife areas, and explains how states address competing political claims to prioritize access, conservation, resource development, or revenue generation.... The quality of the scholarship is outstanding, with thorough citations and thoughtful analysis. The jargon-free, delightful writing includes appropriate stories and illustrative examples. Summing Up: Recommended.""--Choice ""The Other Public Lands is most timely because it reveals the limits of state public land management by marshaling extensive history and documentation of the current status of state lands.... Steven Davis has done a great service at this fraught moment in public land history. He has given those of us who use and love public land much to think about and arguments to make against those bent on dismantling the federal public estate.""-- National Parks Traveler

Author Information

Steven Davis is Professor of Political Science and Environmental Studies at Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin and author of In Defense of Public Lands: The Case against Privatization and Transfer (Temple).

Tab Content 6

Countries Available