Citation:
Federal Public Land and Resources Law, Third edition, GC Coggins, CF Wilkinson, JD Leshy, (Westbury New York: The Foundation Press Inc., 1993), 1092pp.
Federal Public Land and Resources Law is required reading for LAWS 6002 as taught by Professor Charles Wilkinson. This work is divided into eleven chapters, each of which is focused upon a particular area of interest in public land or natural resource law. Thus, the work will be of interest to those concerned with land and natural resources law. The first two chapters are devoted to an exploration of competing perspectives on public lands and the history of public land law respectively. Chapter one defines the field of public land law and presents perspectives of public land of philosophical interest. The second chapter traces the history of public lands in the United States from the Louisiana purchase through: takings from Native Americans, the settlement of the West, the era of reservation and withdrawal of public lands, to the permanent retention and management of public lands by the federal government. Finally, the competing interests for public lands are acknowledged and the move toward multiple use is examined.
Chapters three and four are concerned with authority on public lands. In the former the authors address: jurisdiction within federal enclaves, the property clause, federal preemption and takings limits on the exercise of congressional power. The second of the two chapters on authority focuses on the authority of the executive branch and the courts. The following five areas are examined through presentation of legal precedent in each of the areas. The areas are: judicial review of land use litigation; executive withdrawals and reservations; land exchanges, sales and transfers; the public trust doctrine in natural resources law; and an introduction to public land use planning.
The next seven chapters are each devoted to a particular natural resource. The chapter on the mineral resource begins its examination with the General Mining Law of 1872. The chapter then presents precedent involving the: discovery of minerals, their location, the assessment work involved, patenting of claims and rights of the mining claimant. Finally, a lengthy examination of mineral leasing is offered, the conclusion of which focuses upon split estates.
Chapter seven examines the legal precedents involving the timber resource with the Forest Service (often) as one of the litigants. Timber contracts and the comparison of traditional Forest Service management to modern forest management are the specific topics of this chapter. The chapter on the range resource examines grazing regulations as they evolved from common law through the Taylor Grazing Act to the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA). The majority of the chapter is focused upon Post-FLPMA public rangeland management; specifically the FLPMA itself, the National Environmental Policy Act and land use and planning on BLM lands.
The wildlife resource is the concern of the next chapter. A large portion of this chapter is focused upon the protection of endangered species and examines recent litigation from that filed on behalf of the Snail-darter to that concerned with the protection of the Northern Spotted- owl. The chapter concludes with consideration of the evolution of the National Wildlife Law and the National Wildlife Refuge System. The penultimate chapter is about the recreation resource. Discussion begins with the Land and Water Conservation Fund and proceeds through consideration of the National Park System, and National Recreation Areas. The chapter is concluded with an examination of off-road vehicle registration and liability issues surrounding recreational uses of federal lands.
The final chapter addresses the preservation resource, both in discussion and the presentation of relevant litigation. Discussion of the preservation of archaeological and historical artifacts and river preservation are examined briefly, with the bulk of the chapter devoted to wilderness preservation. The evolution of an official status for wilderness culminating in the Wilderness Act of 1964 is presented with several cases in which the Sierra Club was one of the litigants. The expansion of the Wilderness System as it involves the National Parks, Wildlife Refuge Systems, the National Forest System and BLM lands is examined prior to conjecture regarding the future of Wilderness consideration in view of the so- called Release issue.
Federal Public Land and Resources Law is a comprehensive examination of the evolution, often driven by litigation, of the federal public land system. It presents important cases and resultant precedent.