Module 30 Land Management

Rangelands

A dry open grassland primarily used to graze cattle.

Grasslands

Many of these areas are already semi-arid.

Tragedy of the Commons

A situation where individuals use shared resources to the extent that demand exceeds supply and the resource becomes depleted.

Taylor Grazing Act

A law that required a permit to graze cattle on rangelands.

Forests

Land dominated by trees and other woody vegetation, sometimes used for commercial logging.

Clear Cutting

A method of harvesting trees that involves removing all or almost all of the trees within an area.

Selective Cutting

The method of harvesting trees that involves the removal of single or relatively few trees from a larger forest.

Ecological Sustainable Forestry

An approach to remove trees from forests in ways that do not unduly affect the viability of other noncommercial tree species.

Tree Plantation

A large area typically planted with a single rapidly growing tree species.

Prescribed Burn

A fire deliberately set under controlled conditions to reduce the accumulation of dead biomass on a forest floor.

National Parks

Areas managed for scientific, educational, aesthetic, and recreational use.

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)

A 1969 US federal act that mandates an environmental assessment of all projects involving federal money or federal permits.

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

A document outlining the scope and purpose of a developing project, analyzing its environmental impact.

Endangered Species Act

A 1973 US act designed to protect species from extinction.

Urban Sprawl

Urbanized areas that spread into rural areas, removing clear boundaries between the two.

Urban Blight

The degradation of the built and social environments of a city, often leading to migration to suburbs.

Induced Demand

The phenomenon in which an increase in the supply of a good causes demand to grow.

Zoning

A planning tool used to separate industry and business from residential neighborhoods.

Multi-use Zoning

A zoning classification that allows retail and high-density residential development to coexist in the same area.