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For more information about the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, and about training and career opportunities, please contact:

Undergraduate:
ugarec@ag.arizona.edu
Phone: (520) 621-6244

Graduate:
garec@ag.arizona.edu
Phone: (520) 621-2421

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Bureau of Land Management

Land Exchanges
Reshaping Land Ownership in the West

Since 1990, rural counties in the West have experienced high population and employment growth relative to the rest of the nation. In many rural counties, this rapid growth is occurring on a relatively small private land base. Across the western states, less than 40% of all land is privately owned. In some states only a small portion of the land is private—the rest being made up of Indian reservations, military bases, national parks, and other federal lands. In Arizona, for example, less than 18 percent of the land is privately owned.

Federal land exchanges are being used increasingly as a tool to mitigate negative environmental impacts of development and commercial activities on private lands. Through exchange, federal agencies acquire private lands with important public goods characteristics, such as old growth forests, endangered species habitat, or proximity to national parks. In return, public landholdings are privatized, allowing development and commercial activities in less environmentally sensitive areas. Federal agencies and private land owners exchange about 150,000 acres per year.

Environmental economists can play a key role in analyzing the impacts of proposed land exchanges. For example, researchers studying a proposed land exchange in Mohave County analyzed the effects the exchange would have on cattle ranching in the area. Economists may also analyze the environmental impacts and benefits for the lands being traded, as well as looking at alternatives to exchanging lands.

Faculty Involvement
George Frisvold and Trent Teegerstrom recently studied the economic impacts of the Hualapai Mountains Land Exchange, involving 140,000 acres in Mohave County, Arizona.

Additional Readings
Congressional Research Service, Major Federal Land Management Agencies: Management of Our Nation's Lands and Resources. Washington, DC, 1995. (Available online at http://www.cnie.org/nle/nrgen-3.html)

Ruyle, G., L. Smith, and P. Ogden. Strategies for Managing Grazing Allotments on Public Lands. Arizona Cooperative Extension, The University of Arizona, 1995. (Available online at http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/#Natural Resources)

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