In Idaho, Utah, California, Nevada, and Alaska, more than half the land belongs to Uncle Sam. Texas is not in that group because it was an independent republic, not a territory, before it became a state. The federal government owns a mere 1.7 percent of Texas. Federal land use Almost 70 percent of federal land is open to ranching, logging, oil, and gas drilling or mining. Western states also own vast acreage, much of it operated in trust to provide money for public schools.
Different laws govern federal and state lands, and rules also vary widely among states.
If anything, some federal rules have been even less friendly than the states toward big changes in public land uses. Last year, Mr. Babbitt approved new federal rules allowing conservation groups to compete with ranchers on the 270 million acres of rangeland he controls. A grazing bill written by Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., would forbid anyone but ranchers from bidding on federal land. So they don't dare do that. Ranchers who sometimes venture out in waist-seep snow to feed their livestock bristle at the idea that they're on some sort of government dole.