Bellringer 1.Why does wilderness need to be preserved? 2.Why shouldn’t we consider the needs of...

Bellringer

1. Why does wilderness need to be preserved?

2. Why shouldn’t we consider the needs of humans first?

3. Why don’t we consider only our short-term needs and worry about the consequences later?

Land Management and ConservationSection 14.3

Objectives:1.Describe ways to preserve

farmland, rangeland, and forest land.

2.Explain the functions of parks and wilderness areas.

Main Categories of Rural Land

1. Farmland

2. Rangeland

3. Forest land

4. National and State Parks

5. Wilderness

Farmland

• Used to grow crops and fruit

• Provides an important oxygen source

• Moderates temperatures

• National Farmland Protection Program helps protect farmland in danger of being paved over or developed.

Rangeland

• Land that supports different vegetation types and that is not used for farming or timber production (anything from deserts to swamp land)

• Most common use is for grazing of livestock, so essential for world’s food supply

Rangeland (cont.)

• Problems– Overgrazing – allowing more animals to

graze than the land can support– Once plants are gone (due to

overgrazing), soil can erode.

Rangelands (cont.)

• Maintaining the Range– Public Rangelands Improvement Act of

1978: aims to improve land management practice.

– Leave land unused to let vegetation recover.

– Limit herd sizes to prevent overgrazing.– Killing invasive plants and replanting

native plants– Dig several small watering holes to spread

herds out over larger areas.

Forest Lands

• Harvesting trees– Clear-cutting: removing ALL trees from an

area of land• Destroys wildlife habitats• Causes soil erosion

– Selective cutting: cutting and removing only middle-aged or mature trees• More expensive• Less destructive – minimizes impact on the

forest

Forest Land (cont.)

• Deforestation: clearing trees from the land and not replacing them– Reduces wildlife habitats– Soil erosion– Local climate change– Usually happens as populations expand

and need more land for homes, businesses, and roads

• Reforestation: replanting to re-establish trees that have been cut down in a forest land

Parks and Preserves

• 1870 – Yosemite became the first national park

• Wilderness: an area in which the land and its ecosystems are protected from ALL exploitation

• These protected areas are still threatened by growing populations: – trash from visitors – water and air pollution from surrounding

areas – climate changes