The recent debate over federal ownership of land in Utah brings
into sharp focus the ownership and use of land in states where the federal
government is a predominant or majority owner.
In California today, according
to a 2004 U.S. Geological Survey and a 2012 review by the Congressional
Research Service, about 45 percent of
state land is owned and administered by the federal government.
California’s early history sheds
light on how land ownership significantly influenced both the development of the
state and the lives of its inhabitants.
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BLM: Bureau of Land
Management; DOD: Department of Defense; FS: Forest Service;
FWS: Fish and Wildlife Service; NPS:
National Park Service
Western
Federal Lands Managed by Five Agencies
(detail), 2014
Congressional Research
Service
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