Federal Lands Experience Potential Growing Pains On Borders

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. —University of Arkansas researchers have found that between 1970 and 2000, the population in counties with federal lands within their borders has grown faster than population in counties without federal lands. Their findings point to areas where federal lands may clash with urbanization in the absence of thoughtful planning.

Former University of Arkansas graduate student Irene C. Frentz, now at Virginia Commonwealth University; Frank L. Farmer, professor of rural sociology; Kimberly Smith, professor of biological sciences; and James M. Guldin of the USDA Forest Service, report their findings in an upcoming issue of the journal Society and Natural Resources.

"Gateway communities," or towns that border national parks and other federally managed lands, have attracted growing numbers of people seeking to live near the Great Outdoors, and these communities have a substantial environmental impact on the federal land that attracts people to live there.

Once, the boundaries of federal lands comprised spacious tracts used as cattle range and for forestry, but recent evidence points to changes in land use. This land is being broken into smaller parcels and sold. This may impact the federal lands themselves, because the boundary lands form part of the natural ecosystem within the forests, wilderness areas and parks.

"This change in land use has the potential to change the ecology of the system," Farmer said.

The researchers sought to answer three questions: Is there a significant difference in population change between counties with and without federal lands? Does it matter if the county is metropolitan or rural, or what region of the country it is in? And does population growth in counties containing public land vary with the managing agency?

They examined data for the 48 contiguous states, using Census Bureau statistics from 1970, 1980, 1990 and 2000. They used maps and databases from the U.S. Geological Survey to determine county boundaries and the location of federal land parcels 640 acres and larger. They used Geographic Information System (GIS) software to aggregate this information.

They looked at land managed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), the Department of Defense (DOD) (including Army Corps of Engineers), USDA Forest Service (USFS), USDI Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), USDI National Park Service (NPS), Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and other federal agencies.

They found that median percentage population growth was higher for counties with federal lands than for counties without, regardless of the land management agency.

However, not all federal lands experienced the same rise in growth. Some of the fastest growing counties for all time periods contained land managed by the National Park Service and the USDA Forest Service.

The researchers said their research cannot be used to predict future population trends-rather, it serves to alert federal land managers to population pressures that lands under their care may face.