Federal Land Designations: A Brief Guide (CRS Report for Congress)
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| Release Date |
Revised May 19, 2023 |
| Report Number |
R45340 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Laura B. Comay; R. Eliot Crafton; Carol Hardy Vincent; Katie Hoover |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
This report provides a brief guide to selected titles—such as national park, national
wildlife refuge, national monument, national conservation area, national recreation area,
and others—that Congress and the executive branch have used to designate certain U.S.
lands. These designations primarily apply to federal lands administered by land
management agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service (FWS), and National Park Service (NPS) in the Department of the
Interior and the U.S. Forest Service (FS) in the Department of Agriculture. The report
also discusses certain designations that Congress and executive branch entities have
bestowed on nonfederally managed lands to recognize their national significance. It
addresses questions about what the different land titles signify, which entity confers each
designation, who manages the land under each designation, which statutes govern
management decisions, and what types of uses may be allowed or prohibited on the
land. Depending on the authorities governing each land designation, congressional and
executive designations may bring few management changes to a site or may involve
significant management changes. The designations may authorize new federal funding
for an area, but they do not always do so.
The report begins by briefly discussing some general factors that Congress may consider
when contemplating which, if any, federal designation might be suitable for a given area.
It then compares selected designations across multiple attributes.
