Public land

In all modern states, a portion of land is held by central or local governments. This is called public land. The system of tenure of public land, and the terminology used, varies between countries. The following examples illustrate some of the range. In all modern states, a portion of land is held by central or local governments. This is called public land. The system of tenure of public land, and the terminology used, varies between countries. The following examples illustrate some of the range. In several Commonwealth countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada, public lands are referred to as Crown lands. Recent proposals to sell Crown lands have been highly controversial. In France, (French: domaine public) may be held by communes, départements, or the central State. In Portugal the land owned by the State, by the two autonomous regions (Azores and Madeira) and by the local governments (municipalities (Portuguese: municípios) and freguesias) can be of two types: public domain (Portuguese: domínio público) and private domain (Portuguese: domínio privado). The latter is owned like any private entity (and may be sold), while public domain land cannot be sold and it is expected to be used by the public (although it can be leased to private entities for up to 75 years in certain cases). Examples of public domain land are the margins of the sea and of the rivers, roads, streets, railways, ports, military areas, monuments. The State's private domain is managed by Direção-Geral do Tesouro e Finanças and the State's public domain is managed by various entities (state companies and state institutes, like Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente, I.P., Estradas de Portugal, E.P.E., Refer - Rede Ferroviária Portuguesa, E.P.E., APL - Administração do Porto de Lisboa, S.A., etc.). Public lands on the West Bank of Israel are based on the Ottoman Empire law specifying that land not worked for over ten years becomes 'state lands'. This became the base for deciding cases brought up by Arabs when certain Israeli settlements were created on presumed barren land (see Halamish). In the United States governmental entities including cities, counties, states, and the federal government all manage land which are referred to as either public lands or the public domain. The majority of public lands in the United States are held in trust for the American people by the federal government and managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the United States National Park Service, the Bureau of Reclamation, or the Fish and Wildlife Service under the Department of the Interior, or by the United States Forest Service under the Department of Agriculture. Other federal agencies that manage public lands include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the United States Department of Defense, which includes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In general, Congress must legislate the creation or acquisition of new public lands, such as national parks; however, under the 1906 Antiquities Act, also known as the National Monuments Act, the President may designate new national monuments without congressional authorization if the monument is on federally-owned land. Each western state also received federal 'public land' as trust lands designated for specific beneficiaries, which the States are to manage as a condition to acceptance into the union. Those trust lands cannot any longer be considered public lands as allowing any benefits to the 'public' would be in breach of loyalty to the specific beneficiaries. The trust lands (two sections, or about 1,280 acres (5.2 km2) per township) are usually managed extractively (grazing or mining), to provide revenue for public schools. All states have some lands under state management, such as state parks, state wildlife management areas, and state forests.