Why So Much Land In The West Is Owned By The Federal Government

The United States federal government is the largest land owner in the entire country. In particular, most of its current land holdings exist within the western half of the contiguous United States, with very little in the eastern half. This might seem odd, but there's a very real reason why the federal government has held on to so much of the west...

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[powerwagon]

As a multi generation westerner I’m glad there is so much land owned by the Feds. I can camp, hike, explore on these lands unhindered. My mountain county is 85% public land full of recreational activities, besides you could never grow a crop here with the short dry summers, long cold winters, high elevations and rocky sandy soils.

[azdbuk]

Being from one of these states, I was astonished when I worked out of state for a couple years, how impossible it was to go biking, hiking, shooting freely in the temp state I was land everywhere, you could not go anywhere freely, it was bizarre, was glad to return home.

[garys.]

Would be interesting to redraw the Western state's boundaries minus the federal lands to truly represent their true shapes. For example, Nevada is actually one of the USA's smallest state's.

[htturk]

The Homesteads offered in the West ranged from 160-640 acres, which would be a lot of potential in the Midwest and East, but would only run 10-15 cows in the arid west. So almost all homesteaders claimed plots with water. They eventually went broke and sold their homesteads to bigger landholders. The West is vastly different than the East and many in Government had never seen the West and considered their policies based on Eastern and Midwest's fertile lands and wet climates. Awesome Video!!

[samerabdallah]

I can see why more people live on East Coast. I can see why the West has many different sceneries, such as grassland, forests, rivers, waterfalls, and deserts. I am from Arizona, we have everything except the ocean, but we are not far from it.

[KEW]

You're kinda forgetting something on Why So Much Land In The West Is Owned By The Federal Government. 🙁
The federal gov may have tried to give the land away for 100 years in desert areas and gave up about 84 years ago. The Fed gov, owning most of the land in the west, is because of Mineral Rights.

Central and Eastern US, don't have full mineral rights protection laws with land they buy/own referred to as "locatable minerals." Example, you buy/own 100 acres and stumble on valuable minerals, the Gov takes control of your land until they have exhausted the minerals from your land. You may have title to the mineral rights on a property you own, or a previous owner may have sold or leased them, in which case, they may not be yours.

In the West they do have full mineral rights protection laws with land they buy/own, The Gov REFUSES to sell land even back to the states, to be able to keep the mineral rights they do have.
They even run off private landowners to get their mineral rights. Uranium is a huge one, 7 western desert area states have all the Uranium that is used as fuel for nuclear power plants and the nuclear reactors that run naval ships and submarines. The Gov is never going to give that up..😞

Oregon is the Only state that produces emery and a major producer of common clay, gemstones, and zeolites.
Central Oregon is Not desert, It's perfectly clear they don't give a hoot about the forests, if they did, they would do their Job by LAW for the past 15 years with thinning/clearing and replanting the forest like they're supposed to, so there would be less forest fires. But they don't do their Job😠. You might ask why!😜

Most of the Land In The West Is Owned By The Federal Government because of mineral rights that the GOV don't have unless they keep the land....So the Gov trying to sell the land ended years ago once they realized what they were selling. And they will kill to get it all back from private owners...😢

[jenbasa]

I found you by accident and I so enjoy this channel, clear, direct, factual information and I love the maps. Thanks so much for your information, I really needed a refresher on locations. 🤗🤗🤗

[tylerahlstrom]

They need to move many of these land Agencies to the West, so the people making the decisions for these lands actually live next to it and care about the land and the opinions of their neighbors who actually use the land.

[Crypto_Circus]

Nevada is basically Federally owned, just make it the new Capital.

[thedevilandhertrumpets]

6:39 “As climate change worsens fires in the west”. Also mention the government policies that promote such large scale fires if you’re going to try to be fair and balanced.

[someonesomebody]

It would have made more sense to explain to the people how lots of this federal governant land is being sold to China, and surrounding farmland also, why nobody is talking about this is so concerning, considering most of what they buy surrounds our military bases- what they hell is our country thinking?

[brandenrunyan]

This explains why forest fires are getting so out of control. The Federal and State government cannot manage the land properly.

[clayhackney]

I moved out west from NC 7 years ago, and was suddenly confronted with smoky skies and the worst wildfires in decades. I hear climate change blamed for this and the drought, and I'm genuinely curious I want the truth no politics. California's water and river system is completely artificial diverting from North to South, and the water table region wide has been tapped and drained faster than it can replace itself, which no one argues. The forests have been badly mismanaged, preventing all wildfires to protect rural boomer McMansions rather than allow the seasonal burning of undergrowth natural to the forests, which we see clearly in fire scarred redwoods over a thousand years old. It seems like modern agriculture and forest mismanagement is to blame, and not "climate change" though that's a separate issue.

[TopeRopeTom]

I love how when i go to visit the southwest and vegas is all by itself because it’s surrounded by federal land. You have to go an hour towards zion to get back into another town.

[CarsTechWood]

Camping, hunting, and off roading are all so much better in the West due to Federal lands. In the east you have to have land or know someone with land or pay to go to some establishment. It’s lame

[cdlu.]

Always wondered about this. When I fly from Iowa to Vegas I'm always amazed at the nothingness between Colorado and Vegas.

[questingquillback]

Neat video,
I’d love to see a video like this on Alaska, I’ve heard the federal government owns 60-80% of the land there, I wonder if it’s for similar reasons or, are there different things at play there?

[sibannac]

Even if your name is on the deed you don't own the land. You are just a caretaker that's all. How could you "own" something if you constantly have to pay for the land year after year? Property taxes is essentially paying rent to the government. The government owns the land. Period.

[PetePuebla]

Did you see the map of Nevada? The government owns almost all of it.

[paulvandam]

Enjoyed your presentation. I do, however, have concerns about the BLM managing our lands well. In many areas of Utah there are concerns about over grazing and its effects on those lands. The fact that the BLM charges so little for grazing makes ranchers use our public lands rather than paying much more for private grazing rights. We are also fighting how they and the Fish and Wildlife Service manage (or mismanage) our Red Cliffs National Conservation Area, one of the last refuges for the threatened (should be "endangered") Mojave desert tortoise. Just a few things worth mentioning. Overall, your presentation is excellent.