The United States has a rich body of Federal environmental and natural resource law that
has developed over the years through all three branches of government:
- Legislative Branch — laws passed by Congress
- Judicial Branch — cases decided by the courts
- Executive Branch — Executive orders and Federal agency regulations or rules.
Knowing the law is essential for participating in
management of federal lands. Having easy access to that knowledge helps
everyone to participate more effectively in collaborative processes.
Law used to be somewhat of a mystery because legal information
was only available at the specialty law libraries and from expensive
on-line services. Today, many of the laws, regulations and other
federal policy documents that can help individuals understand issues
and procedures are available on the internet. Some of these are easier
to access than others, but if you know where to look, most everything
is available.
Many useful guides are available to help understand how federal laws are developed and implemented. See, for example, two publications from American Forests' Forest Policy Center: The Federal Budget Process and The Federal Appropriations Process.
In many instances, legal rules that apply to collaborative conservation initiatives relate to broader notions of "good government" and public participation than to specific natural resources or environmental protection. See the policy report titled "The Legal Framework for Cooperative Conservation" (Univ. Mont. Public Policy Research Inst., 2006) for an overview of these rules and how they influence the institutions governing public resource management. See also President Obama's memo titled "Transparency and Open Government," which proclaims that “Executive departments and agencies should use innovative tools, methods, and systems to cooperate among themselves, across all levels of Government, and with nonprofit organizations, businesses, and individuals in the private sector.”
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Last Updated ( Monday, 27 April 2009 )
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The Clean Air Act (CAA) is the core law that establishes a comprehensive national program for reducing emissions from factories, cars, and other sources in order to protect human health and the environment. The law directs the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish national clean air standards, but then gives the states and tribes an opportunity to take a lead role in meeting those standards. The law also gives EPA the responsibility for setting emissions limits for many sources of pollution, including cars and trucks (mobile sources) as well as factories and power plants (stationary sources). Both EPA and the states can go to court to enforce air quality laws; in addition, citizens and businesses can challenge many EPA decisions in court.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 01 July 2009 )
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The Clean Water Act (CWA) is the
common name for the 1977 amendments to the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act of 1972 (FWPCA). The objective of the CWA is to restore and
maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the
Nation's waters. The 1977 law continued the FWPCA requirements to set
water quality standards for all surface waters. It also established the
basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters
of the United States and for addressing problems of nonpoint source
pollution. The CWA gave the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
authority to implement pollution control programs and to delegate those
programs to states and tribes. The 1977 law and several subsequent
amendments also established funding mechanisms for construction of
sewage treatment plants.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 16 June 2009 )
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A conservation easement is a voluntary, but legally enforceable,
agreement in which a landowner agrees to restrict future use or
development on his or her property in order to achieve conservation
goals. Conservation might include preservation of wildlife habitat,
agricultural land, or an historic site, or protection of scenic views
and open space. The agreement is typically made with a governmental
entity or non-governmental organization like a land trust. That party
is then responsible for enforcing the restrictions—seeing that the
landowner follows the agreement.
Conservation easements are donated by or purchased from the landowner
and recorded as deed restrictions that "run with the land" for a
specified period or, more commonly, in perpetuity.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 16 April 2009 )
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The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is one of the most powerful of this nation's environmental laws. Passed in 1973, the act's purpose is to both conserve and restore species that have been listed by the federal government as either endangered or threatened (referred to as "listed" species). The act has several provisions that promote those goals:
- First, the act broadly prohibits anyone from doing anything that would kill, harm, or harass an endangered species. Those prohibitions even apply when listed animal species are on private lands.
- Second, federal agencies have a special obligation to ensure that they do nothing that would harm a listed species. That obligation significantly affects activities on federal lands, like grazing, logging, and mining. But it also means that a federal agency has to assess whether its actions could affect a listed species before the agency signs off on projects like a new highway or a dam on non-federal land.
- Third, the act tells federal agencies to develop plans that show how the listed species could be restored—or "recovered"—so that it no longer needs the act's protections ("delisted").
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 01 July 2009 )
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The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (the Farm Bill) is along, complex law dealing with everything from farm loans, credit and subsidies, trade, energy, nutrition and research to rural development,forestry and agricultural conservation programs which amended the Food Security Act of 1985. Renewed every six years, the Farm Bill authorizes the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish and fund environmentally friendly practices on forested and non-forested agricultural land and to establish conservation reserves. While not specifically designed to support collaborative efforts, Farm Bill funding and technical advice can support public-private partnerships for conservation.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 12 March 2009 )
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Congress passed the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) to open up the process through which non-government groups give advice to federal agencies, Congress, and the president. Federal advisory committees play an important role in shaping public policy by providing advice on a wide array of issues, such as stem cell research, drinking water standards, space exploration, drug approvals, and federal land management. About 950 advisory committees perform peer reviews of scientific research; offer advice on policy issues; identify long-range issues; and evaluate grant proposals, among other functions.
The law and its regulations provide detailed rules for creating and operating official committees that advise the federal government. These rules include special requirements for balancing committee memberships, conducting open meetings, and keeping detailed records. These rules are designed to limit the influence (at least the behind-the-scenes influence) of special interest groups on federal agencies and the president. FACA does not apply to individuals and many groups — including most collaborative groups — giving advice. The following descriptions focus specifically on groups that advise federal agencies, but many of the rules apply to congressional and presidential advisory groups as well.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 24 June 2009 )
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The Federal Land Policy Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA) is the principal law governing how the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages public lands. It guides the BLM in management, protection, development, and enhancement of the public lands. FLPMA specifically requires the agency to manage for the multiple use and sustained yield of public land resources for both present and future generations
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Last Updated ( Monday, 22 June 2009 )
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Mineral extraction in the United States is governed by various federal and state mining, land use, and environmental laws, depending in large part on the type of minerals being extracted and who owns the land. Minerals are generally categorized as locatable, leasable or saleable minerals. This section of RLCH LAWs focuses on the law regarding development of locatable (also known as hardrock) minerals on federal lands. The General Mining Law of 1872, the organic acts of the various federal land management agencies, and federal and state environmental statutes control development of these minerals.
For information on development of oil and gas, which are leasable minerals, see the Oil and Gas Resource Development section.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 01 July 2009 )
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The Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 significantly changed the way the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management can do fuel reduction projects to reduce the risk of catastrophic fire. In addition to specifying how special fuels reduction projects should be created and implemented, the law also promotes use of biomass and small diameter materials; creates a forest reserve program; provides technical assistance for private landowners; and addresses insect infestations and other environmental threats to healthy forests. While the new law changed the rules for fuels reduction projects, it did not include money for project implemention, consequently, doing fuel reduction projects,funding for agency projects under the program is still a challenge.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 15 June 2009 )
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The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is the nation's basic environmental law that applies to almost
all actions taken by — or approved by — federal agencies. The first part of NEPA (section 101) establishes broad
environmental goals for the nation. The second part (section 102) contains the statute's requirements for agency
actions. Its principle is that federal agencies should "look before they leap." Thus, NEPA requires that before
federal agencies take a major action, they must disclose the environmental impacts of their proposed action and
evaluate alternatives that would have fewer environmental costs. NEPA requirements apply to all agencies of the
federal government, but not to Congress, the courts, or the President.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 08 June 2009 )
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The U. S. Forest Service in the Department of Agriculture manages our national forests in compliance with federal laws, presidential and agency policy directives (including the agency's own rules), and legal precedents created by court cases. The principal federal laws directing management of the national forests are:
- Transfer Act of 1905;
- Multiple Use-Sustained Yield Act of 1960;
- Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974; and
- National Forest Management Act of 1976.
The General Land Law Revision Act of 1891 gave the president authority to "set aside and reserve...any part of the public lands wholly or partly covered with timber or undergrowth, whether of commercial value or not," but did not explicitly authorize the use or development of resources on the reserved lands. That year, President Benjamin Harrison created the Yellowstone Park Forest Reserve, and in 1897, President Grover Cleveland added 13 additional reserves. Congress subsequently enacted the Organic Administration Act of 1897 authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to administer the reserved forest lands and opening them to regulated use. The Transfer Act of 1905 transferred administration of the forest reserves to the Department of Agriculture under the Bureau of Forestry, which became the Forest Service. The forest reserves were subsequently renamed national forests.
Fifty-five years later, the Multiple Use-Sustained Yield Act of 1960 (MUSYA) authorized the Forest Service to manage national forest system lands for additional purposes, and required the Forest Service to manage for multiple use and sustained yield of the products and services of the forests. The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (RPA) required the Forest Service to periodically assess the renewable resources of the forests and to develop national-level plans to manage and develop them. Finally, the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (NFMA) reiterated the basic charges of MUSYA and amended the RPA to require the Forest Service to develop management plans for each national forest. NFMA also set standards and procedures for timber harvesting and sales.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 03 July 2009 )
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Oil, gas (including coalbed methane), and coal are the nation's principal non-renewable energy resources. Development of federally owned oil and gas resources is regulated by several federal laws and associated regulations:
- Leasing of federal resources is regulated primarily under the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 (MLA) as amended by the Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Reform Act of 1987 (FOOGLRA).
- Environmental impacts of development are regulated through: federal agency organic acts like the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) and the National Forest Management Act (NFMA); and national environmental laws like the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act.
State and local laws and regulations also regulate oil and gas development on federal, state and privately-owned lands. State laws and regulations can control the location of exploration and production facilities and the environmental impacts of development. The role of local ordinances varies from state to state. As oil and gas development has accelerated in recent years, some states have responded with stricter regulations requiring broader public participation in leasing decisions. See, e.g., "New rules for Colo., N.M.'s Santa Fe County face challenges," Land Letter, 12/18/2008.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 02 July 2009 )
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Stewardship End Result Contracting (stewardship contracting) is a
relatively new tool that Congress gave to the U.S. Forest Service and
the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for managing and restoring federal
lands. With stewardship contracting, the agency can more completely
address the total ecological needs of an area by using timber sale
contracts, service contracts, agreements, and new integrated resource
contracts—or any combination thereof. The agency can describe the "end
result" it wants to achieve in a certain area and its contractor can
then develop and implement a mutually agreed-upon plan to achieve that
goal. Stewardship contracting also allows the agency to enter into
multi-year contracts and to use the value of any products removed and
sold as a by-product of the restoration or maintenance work to offset
some or all of the costs of the work. Finally, with stewardship
contracting, the agency can work with the local community to design and
implement the contract, and in the process, build community capacity
and bring jobs and income into the local community.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 17 June 2009 )
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In 1964, the United States
Congress enacted the Wilderness Act that creating a new land
classification to preserve wild lands in their natural state. In that
legislation, establishing the National Wilderness Preservation System,
the Congress immediately designated 54 areas (9.1 million acres) in 13
states as Wilderness, and directed the Secretaries of the Interior and
Agriculture to survey their lands (but not including Bureau of Land
Management Lands) for other areas that could be added to the wilderness
system. To protect these lands in a natural state, the Wilderness Act
prohibits many activities that would impair the areas' wilderness
character, but does not limit activities such as hunting and fishing.
Both the original and subsequent acts "grandfathered" some activities
that pre-dated designation, such as pre-existing irrigation systems and
hydroelectric dams. The National Wilderness Preservation System now
includes 680 areas (106,619,199 acres) in 44 states. Of that total
acreage, about 54 percent is located in Alaska.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 15 June 2009 )
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