Home > Protected areas of the United States
The protected areas of the United States are managed by an array of different federal, state, tribal and local level authorities and receive widely varying levels of protection. Some areas are managed as wilderness while others are operated with acceptable commercial exploitation. By international definitions, the United States had 7448 protected areas, not counting marine areas, as of 2002. These protected areas cover 1,500,000 km˛ (578,000 square miles), almost 16% of the land area of the United States. This is also one-tenth of the protected land area of the world. U.S. marine protected area s cover an additional 347,000 square miles (900,000 km˛) with varying levels of protection.Some areas are managed in concert between levels of government. The Father Marquette National Memorial is an example of a federal park operated by a state park system while Kal-Haven Trail is an example of a state park operated by county level government.
1 Federal level protected areas
Federal level protected areas are managed by a variety of agencies. National parks, which are managed by the National Park Service are often considered the crown jewels of the protected areas. Other areas are managed by the United States Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is claimed to provide 30 percent of the recreational opportunities on federal lands, mainly through lakes and waterways that they manage.
The highest levels of protection as described by the IUCN, the international conservation agency, are Level I (Wilderness areas) and Level II (National Parks). The United States maintains 12% of Level I and II lands in the world. These lands had a total area of 540,000 km˛ (210,000 square miles).
A confusing system for naming protected areas results in some types being used by more than one agency. For instance, both the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service operate areas designated National Preserves and National Recreation Areas. Both the NPS and the Bureau of Land Management operate areas called National Monuments. Wilderness Areas are designated within other protected areas managed by various agencies and sometimes wilderness areas span areas managed by multiple agencies.
- List of U.S. national parksAll United States National Parks and most National Monuments are maintained by the United States National Park Service which also maintains several other types of protected areas of the United States: National Parks (See also List of U. national parks by
- List of National Wild and Scenic RiversThis is a list of the designated National Wild and Scenic Rivers in the United States. Some rivers may be listed more than once if they have designated sections in different states. Initials of the managing agency follow the name of the river. Abbreviatio
- List of BLM protected areas
- List of U.S. National ForestsThis is a list of all the National Forests and National Grasslands in the United States. If looking at national forests on a map, be aware that, in general, those west of the Great Plains show the true extent of their area, while those east of the Great P, includes National GrasslandNational Grassland is a designation for certain protected areas in the United States. National Grasslands are designated by the Secretary of Agriculture and are permanently held by the Department of Agriculture. National Grasslands are authorized by Titles
- List of USFS protected areas
- List of U.S. Corps of Engineers protected areas
- List of U.S. marine protected areas
- List of U.S. National Wildlife Refuges
- List of U.S. wilderness areasFour federal agencies of the United States government administer the National Wilderness Preservation System, which includes 662 wilderness areas and 105,695,176 acres (427,733 km˛). These agencies are: United States Forest Service United States National
- List of Biosphere Reserves in the United StatesThis is a list of Biosphere Reserves in the United States of America . See: Biosphere Reserve, World Network of Biosphere Reserves, Protected areas of the United States Aleutian Islands Biosphere Reserve, 1976 Big Bend Biosphere Reserve, 1976 Cascade Head
