Land acquisition: Providing ecosystem services

More than 192 million acres of public land are managed as national forests and grasslands. The protection of these lands and resources is a fundamental Forest Service responsibility.

Through direct land management practices the land acquisition program enables the agency to better manage Federal lands within or adjacent to national forest boundaries. The program acquires high priority land that provides and maintains access to National Forests, and protects the quality of scientific, scenic, historical, environmental, air, water, and archeological values of National Forests.

Most important land acquisitions provide direct ecosystem services for humans such as water, wood and fiber, intact ecosystems for wildlife travel corridors, and additional protection of mountain watersheds that benefit people, fish, and plant habitats.

This program of real estate management of National Forest System lands includes land adjustments (purchases, donations, and land exchanges); rights-of-way; boundary management; and protection of land ownership title, including encroachment and trespass resolution. This management program secures and protects the American public’s rights, title, value, and interests in its national forests and authorizes a variety of uses on those lands to meet the needs of present and future generations.

Land acquisition on the Sequoia National Forest meets an increasing demand for recreational activities such as hunting, hiking, fishing, camping, biking, horseback riding, and viewing wildlife and scenery. The Sequoia is one of the few forests in the country that has legislation to allow the use of forest receipts for land purchase. Consequently, the forest has an active land acquisition program and over the years have purchased several key parcels including wilderness inholdings and land in giant sequoia groves.

We continue to seek partners to join with us in our land acquisition program and help to ensure future generations of Californians continue to benefit from clean water, abundant wildlife habitat and resilient forests able to sustain communities and families.

Only with the participation of our partners, and the public can we truly manage and protect these invaluable resources.

Kevin Elliott is supervisor for Sequoia National Forest.