http://www.loc.gov/mods/v3 http://www.loc.gov/standards/mods/v3/mods-3-2.xsd
analysis of land management controls and their impact on resource modification and consumption
Land management in the United States has historically been regulated at the local level. With increasing population growth and rapid expansion of urbanization, resource and land management processes became progressively more difficult and complex to program, plan, and coordinate at the local level. Decision makers at the local governmental level realized that they had to consider more than local preferences and potential benefits for their own community when solving problems related to resource and land management. Failing to recognize conflicts in land use will eventually lead to more severe problems. Alternatively, failure to recognize local problems, can transpose these problems to a neighboring community, county, or region, creating a chain reaction of problems. In order to counter these land management problems, different states implemented land management legislation tailored to accommodate that state's specific needs and to serve as guide to local governments. This study analyzes two important land management laws - the Hawaii Land Use Act and the Florida Environmental Land and Water Management Act. The Hawaii law is very comprehensive and rigid, while in Florida (where the law was introduced twelve years after the Hawaii law), the enacted law is more selective and open-ended. Florida utilized the experiences from other states as well as examples from the proposed, but defeated, National Land Use Policy Bill and the American Law Institute's Model Land Development Code to enact their law. These two states are comparable in climatic condition and some major resources (such as prime agricultural land for growing unique crops), as well as excellent tourist/recreational potential. Also, both are under heavy development pressure related to a massive influx of new residents and tourists. Despite these similarities, land management laws and their implementation differ widely in these two states. In a comparative analysis of the land use control mechanism of the two states and the available results of these control measures, the following major observations were made: a. The intent of the two laws was established. b. The kind of agency or regulatory body, charged with implementing the law and their effectiveness was determined. c. The success or failure of the original intent of the laws was judged by the efficiency of administrations and by the actual manipulation of the environment. The objective of this study was to develop a set of recommendations (based on the physiographic characteristics of an area), for land management. The recommendations produced through this study should be useful to decision makers and regulatory authorities at all levels, from local to national. Political boundaries in the United States make it unlikely for land management to be based upon physiographic characteristics. To do so will require constitutional changes at both state and national levels. However, the physiographic unit (e.g., a watershed) is the most logical planning unit. Physiographic unit planning needs to be seriously considered, even when many "political planning units" are involved. Such planning should encompass reviews of past land management controls, subsequent impacts of controls, and projections about future impacts. It is important to realize that in most countries, planning by physiographic units has not been practiced, but if it may be accomplished, it can force the necessary "collaboration" between political units for more efficient land management.
"Major subject: Landscape Architecture."