This Land Is Your Land—but How Much Do You Know About It?
Americans own roughly 640 million acres of federal public land—nearly 1 million square miles. As the summer gets underway and people get out to enjoy these natural treasures, see how much you know about these lands we all share.
Thank you for taking our quiz on America’s public lands! For more information on The Pew Charitable Trusts’ work to protect our public lands, visit our U.S. public lands conservation page. # social text : I took the @pewenvironment U.S. public lands quiz. Try it and test your smarts on wilderness areas, national monuments, wildlife migration corridors, and more! # social url : https://pew.org/2mXam5B # _imgurl : /~/media/data-visualizations/interactives/2018/public-lands-quiz/images/ ? What percentage of America’s landmass is protected as wilderness? - 30 percent - 20 percent + 5 percent ! Just 5 percent of the nation’s landmass is permanently safeguarded as wilderness, and nearly half of that (2.3 percent) lies in Alaska. Only 2.7 percent of the contiguous United States enjoys this “gold standard” of protection. - 2.7 percent ? Which national park did not begin as a national monument? - Denali + Yellowstone ! Roughly 160 national monuments have been designated through the Antiquities Act. And of those, Congress has redesignated at least 30 as national parks (something only Congress can do). However, Yellowstone was our country’s first national park, designated by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1872. - Grand Canyon - Acadia ? Which agency is responsible for the most public land in the U.S.? - U.S. Forest Service ! The U.S. Forest Service manages 193 million acres of public lands, but this is not the most. - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ! The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services manages 150 million acres of national wildlife refuges, wetlands, and special management areas, but this is not the most. - National Park Service ! The National Park Service manages more than 84 million acres in every U.S. state, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, but this is not the most. + Bureau of Land Management ! The BLM oversees by far the largest portion of the nation’s public lands—246 million acres. The Fish and Wildlife Service manages 150 million acres of national wildlife refuges, wetlands, and special management areas, the Forest Service manages 193 million acres of public lands, and the National Park Service manages more than 84 million acres across every U.S. state, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. ? Steamboat Creek Watershed in Oregon is known for all but which of these fish? - Coho salmon + Pike ! The Steamboat Creek area, which would be safeguarded by the Frank Moore Wild Steelhead Sanctuary Designation Act, provides habitat for rainbow and summer and winter steelhead trout, chinook and coho salmon, and other native species. In fact, the bill would protect over 50 miles of rivers and streams. - Steelhead trout - Chinook salmon ? Quiet (nonmotorized) recreation—like hunting, camping, and bird-watching—on BLM lands generates how much for the U.S. economy? - $2.8 million - $78 million - $500 million + $2.8 billion ! Nonmotorized recreation on the 246 million acres of Bureau of Land Management lands supports 25,000 jobs and generates $2.8 billion for the U.S. economy, according to a study by ECONorthwest. ? A new bill would expand this Arkansas wilderness near Little Rock. - Poteau Mountain Wilderness ! This 11,141-acre area in Arkansas would not be expanded by the new bill. + Flatside Wilderness ! The Flatside Wilderness Enhancement Act (H.R. 5636) would add roughly 2,000 acres to the existing wilderness area’s northern and western sides, improving opportunities for hiking, hunting, fishing, camping, horseback riding, and more. While the Poteau Mountain Wilderness is in Arkansas, this 11,141-acre area would not be expanded by the new bill. The Wichita Mountains Wilderness is in Oklahoma, and a Broadside wilderness does not exist. - Broadside Wilderness ! This is not a wilderness area. - Wichita Mountains Wilderness ! Wichita Mountains Wilderness is located in Oklahoma and protects 8,570 acres of grasslands that were once home to countless American buffalo. ? Which National Monument has recently been reduced by more than half? - Gold Butte - Cascade-Siskiyou - White Sands + Bears Ears ! On Dec. 4, 2017, President Donald Trump significantly reduced the size of Utah’s Bears Ears National Monument to roughly 16 percent of its original size. The decision eliminated vital protections for important cultural and historical artifacts and special natural features. Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was also reduced by over half its size. ? How many miles is the longest-known land-based migration trek in the Lower 48 states? - 250 + 300 ! Mule deer in Wyoming travel more than 300 miles round trip annually from the low-elevation winter range of the Red Desert to the mountain slopes of the Hoback Basin. Scientists recently discovered the route after they outfitted mule deer with GPS-enabled collars. To date, the 300-mile round-trip migration is the longest known land-based migration in the contiguous U.S. - 500 - 1,000 ? Which animal’s habitat supports that of 350 other species? - Prairie dog - Chukker - Bighorn sheep + Sage-grouse ! This funny-looking bird that performs an amazing mating dance is considered an indicator species for the health of the sage-steppe ecosystem, as well as the 350 species that depend on it. However, sage-grouse populations have plummeted more than 90 percent over the past century, and almost half of the American West’s sagebrush habitat has been lost to development, agriculture, wildfires, and exotic plant invasion. ? How many U.S. presidents have not used the Antiquities Act to designate national monuments since its enactment in 1906? + 5 ! The only U.S. presidents who have not used the Antiquities Act to protect natural, cultural, and historical treasures for future generations are Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Donald Trump. - 10 - 15 - 20
National Monuments Protect America’s Heritage—and Economy
In early June, as Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke was reviewing 27 national monuments for possible shrinkage or elimination, I had the chance to visit one of them—the Rio Grande del Norte National Monument, which The Pew Charitable Trusts’ lands team had worked for many years to protect. Designated in 2013, this area in northern New Mexico is a remarkable place of volcanic cones, expansive plateaus, and deep river gorges. The monument features a spectacular view of Ute Mountain, which rises nearly 3,000 feet above the surrounding plains.
Conservation of Public Lands Helps Small Businesses Thrive
Conservation of Public Lands Helps Small Businesses Thrive
A key element of the growing outdoor recreation economy—which accounts for $887 billion in annual consumer spending and supports 7.6 million jobs, according to the Outdoor Industry Association—are small businesses, especially those that operate in the gateway communities around public lands. Sure, online shopping is convenient, but it’s to a local business that most visitors turn when they need a replacement tent or last-minute supplies before heading out to camp, fish, hunt, or find solace in the outdoors.
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