Showing papers by "Keith Wiebe published in 1996"

Partial Interests in Land: Policy Tools for Resource Use and Conservation

Abstract: Property rights arise out of law, custom, and the operation of private markets, with important implications for how land and other natural resources are used and conserved. Over the past several years, debate about the nature and scope of property rights has combined with budget concerns and reauthorization of the Farm Bill, the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act to focus public attention on Federal natural resource policy. This report examines the nature of land ownership and the evolving Federal role in land use and conservation, with particular attention to the voluntary acquisition and conveyance of conservation easements and other partial interests in land.

Wetlands potentially exempted and converted under proposed delineation changes

Abstract: The federal government currently tries to balance the needs of wetland owners with the needs of the general public through two laws that restrict alteration of wetlands: Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, which requires permits for certain activities that affect wetlands; and the so-called “swampbuster” provisions of the 1985 Food Security Act, which deny farm program benefits to farmers who alter wetlands. Wetland delineation is a critical step in determining where these federal restrictions apply, and as such, has long been a contentious feature of the wetlands debate. A variety of changes in federal delineation criteria have been proposed in recent years, including exemptions for farmed wetlands and for areas not inundated for at least 21 consecutive days during the growing season. While these exemptions were not incorporated in this year's Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act (the 1996 farm bill), they remain part of the on-going debate over federal wetlands policy. Despite the potentially significant changes in areas delineated as wetlands (and thus subject to Section 404 or swampbuster) under such proposals, little empirical analysis has been done to determine the extent of such changes on a national scale. Even less …