In the United States the federal government owns more than a quarter of the nation's landscapenearly 640 million acres; or more than a million square miles which if consolidated would make it the tenth largest nation on earth. Primarily managed by four federal agenciesthe Bureau of Land Management the U. S. Forest Service the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service--American public lands have been central to developing the American economy state and identity. The history of these lands intersects with critical components of the American pastnamely nature politics and economics. From the beginning the ideal of public has been the subject of controversy from visions of homesteaders realizing the ideal of the Jacksonian republic to western ranchers who use the open range to promote a free enterprise system to wilderness activists who see these lands as wild places free from human encumbrance. Environmental historian Adam Sowards synthesizes public lands history from the beginning of the republic to recent controversies. Since public lands are located everywhere including iconic national parks like Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon Americans at large have a stake in these lands. They are after all ours. In a real sense this book is for those citizens who camp in the national forests drive through the national parks or admire distant wilderness landscapes. These readers will gain a greater appreciation for the long and complex history of the range of these places. . Language: English