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Private lands and outdoor recreation in the United States

Informally Refereed

Abstract

Outdoor recreation on private land is influenced by myriad factors. To provide background and context on these factors, this chapter first overviews the private land situation in the United States and provides general information and discussion related to ownership and tenure, land-use patterns, legal restrictions, and economic conditions, including taxation issues. Implications of these factors with respect to use of private land for outdoor recreation are also discussed.

Overall, there is little extant information on recreational use and access to private land. To help fill this information gap, the National Private Landowners Survey (NPLOS) was recently conducted (1995-1996). A major focus of NPLOS was to obtain data for estimating the amount of private land open for outdoor recreation in the United States and landowner practices and attitudes related to access to their lands for outdoor recreation. The NPLOS methodology, results, and the implications of these results are discussed after a brief review of recreation use of private land. This chapter ends by offering general conclusions about outdoor recreational use of private lands in the United States.

Parent Publication

Keywords

outdoor recreation, private land

Citation

Teasley, R. Jeff; Bergstrom, John C.; Cordell, H. Ken; Zarnoch, Stanley J.; Gentle, Paul. 1999. Private lands and outdoor recreation in the United States. In: Cordell, H. Ken; Betz, Carter ; Bowker, J.M.; and others. Outdoor recreation in American life: a national assessment of demand and supply trends. Champaign, IL: Sagamore Publishing: 183-218.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/770