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Chapter 2: Western Public Land Law And The Evolving Management Landscape, John C. Ruple
Chapter 2: Western Public Land Law And The Evolving Management Landscape, John C. Ruple
Wallace Stegner Center for Land, Resources, and the Environment publications
Our nation’s history, and the history of the lands that we inhabit, are inextricably intertwined. Ranchers, miners, loggers, and intrepid homesteaders of the Old West embodies manifest destiny era ideals that set our nation on a trajectory which continues to shape the choices we make today. Laws enacted to speed westward expansion and resolve land ownership indelibly marked the Western landscape, where the vast majority of our public lands are found today.
The US government acquired the Western frontier with federal blood and treasure, and then enacted laws conveying much of that landscape to states, railroads, and the indomitable men …