A Model for Federal Public Land Surface Rights Management

The U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) control large tracts of federal public lands. Management goals for these tracts are described as “multipleuse.” Some of the lands are forested, mountainous, contain wildlife or possess other scenic and recreational attributes and warrant the multiple-use designation; however, a significant portion, especially that under BLM control, contains little scenic, recreation or wildlife value, thus offering little multiple-use potential and non-pecuniary value. Inherent in the management of all federal lands is a defacto fiduciary responsibility to prudently and efficiently manage these assets. We develop a framework that measures present values of both quantitative and qualitative economic benefits and costs of federal public lands to assist managers and policy makers in determining future management policy. By applying this framework, federal public land policymakers may be aided in fulfilling their fiduciary responsibilities.