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1 1 (December 16, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/goveezw0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Informing the legislative debate since 1914 U.S. Forest Ownership and Management December 16, 2021 The United States contains 765 million acres of forestland. The potential scope of congressional involvement in U.S. forest resources varies, based primarily on ownership. The majority (69%) of U.S. forests are nonfederal forests: forests that are owned by private entities or state and local governments. The remaining 31% of U.S. forests are federally owned. The distribution of forest ownership varies nationwide and across the four major regions as defined in the Forest Resources of the United States report prepared by the U.S. Forest Service; see Figure 1 and Figure 2. Most of the forests in the North and South regions are nonfederal, whereas most of the forests in the Rocky Mountain (Rockies) and Pacific Coast (Pacific) regions are federal. The variation in ownership patterns arises in part from the historic pattern of land settlement across the United States. For a more in-depth discussion, see CRS Report R46976, U.S. Forest Ownership and Management: Background and Issues for Congress. Role of Congress Congress has a direct role in the management of forests owned by the federal government but an indirect role in the management of forests in nonfederal ownership. Congress's role in nonfederal forest management generally relates to authorizing and appropriating funding for programs to provide financial, technical, or other resources to states, individuals, or other entities for forest ownership, stewardship, or management. Figure 2. U.S. Forest Ownership Source: FRUS. https://crsreports.congress.gov The U.S. Constitution authorizes Congress to acquire, dispose of, and manage federal property. As such, Congress has the authority to enact laws that address all aspects of managing federal forests and their resources. Much of Congress's legislative activity has focused on authorizing federal forests to be managed and used for specific purposes, and appropriating funding for those purposes. Figure 1. Summary of U.S. Forest Ownership Ownership Nationwide, % share of 765 million acres 11a 38% PUBLICI I PRIVATE Ownership by Region, millions of acres 0 5P 100 150 200 250 North South Rockies Pacific Source: Sonja Oswalt et al., Forest Resources of the United States, 2017, Forest Service, GTR-WO-97, 2019. Hereinafter, FRUS. Notes: See Figure 2 for the legend and map of the regions. Pacific Coast Ownership Class * Federal Nonfederal Other Public Private Noncoporate Private Corporate Non Forest

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