I have a similar--but nowhere near as dramatic--tale from New York when amy father's building site on the side of a steep hill got declared a wetland because plants that sometimes grow in wetlands were found in a dry seasonal (winter snowmelt) stream. The land was now essentially worthless, and my parents subsequently sold out and moved out of New York State. How do ordinary citizens contend with unrestrained, unaccountable government agents?
Wow, you have so much free land -- by "free" I mean not enslaved by the government. Alaskans are seriously jealous. If the State of Alaska released all its state-owned land for purchase, we'd still only have 10% (and that's a generous estimate) of our land available for private individuals. Currently, about 1-2% of Alaska is in private -- not held by Native Corporations -- hands.
The federal government considers Alaska Native Corporation land to be "private" land. It's not. They can't sell it to non-Natives and most of it is essentially treated as preserves -- although some of the Native Corps are petroleum development companies that do put their land ot productive use. When I say "Private," I mean that which can be bought and sold and isn't subject to a board of directors tell you how you may use it.
Exactly. Now consider how FEMA flood plain overlays restrict land usage. A county building official opined to me that they are often based on ‘outdated’ hydrology models. “How convenient!”
This map does not take into account lands under ‘restrictions’ It is instructive though as government holdings are way bigger in western states as a rule.
I have a similar--but nowhere near as dramatic--tale from New York when amy father's building site on the side of a steep hill got declared a wetland because plants that sometimes grow in wetlands were found in a dry seasonal (winter snowmelt) stream. The land was now essentially worthless, and my parents subsequently sold out and moved out of New York State. How do ordinary citizens contend with unrestrained, unaccountable government agents?
Check out the situation in your own state.
https://www.worldofmaps.net/typo3temp/images/virginia-federal-lands-indian-reservations-map.png
Wow, you have so much free land -- by "free" I mean not enslaved by the government. Alaskans are seriously jealous. If the State of Alaska released all its state-owned land for purchase, we'd still only have 10% (and that's a generous estimate) of our land available for private individuals. Currently, about 1-2% of Alaska is in private -- not held by Native Corporations -- hands.
Wow! it looked better on a percentage map I found, but that map was probably put out by the government.
The federal government considers Alaska Native Corporation land to be "private" land. It's not. They can't sell it to non-Natives and most of it is essentially treated as preserves -- although some of the Native Corps are petroleum development companies that do put their land ot productive use. When I say "Private," I mean that which can be bought and sold and isn't subject to a board of directors tell you how you may use it.
Exactly. Now consider how FEMA flood plain overlays restrict land usage. A county building official opined to me that they are often based on ‘outdated’ hydrology models. “How convenient!”
Distribution of federal lands, not inclusive of ‘restricted’ lands:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1f/Map_of_all_U.S._Federal_Land.jpg/675px-Map_of_all_U.S._Federal_Land.jpg
And they wonder why western Americans complain about the federal government so much?
This map does not take into account lands under ‘restrictions’ It is instructive though as government holdings are way bigger in western states as a rule.
https://vividmaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/federal-lands.jpg