Working Landscapes: Mining, Forestry, Farming - Term Paper Example

Working Landscapes Introduction In the recent years, there has been a great concern for the conservation of the environment which has been continually polluted. Many strategies have been put in place to ensure that environment is properly conserved for the future generations. The conservation of the environment is not only beneficial to human beings, but it still benefits all other living things on the planet. In the protection of the environment, important components such as forests, farming and mining have to be put in to consideration. The proper management of forests, mining activities and farming would eventually lead to the production of healthy livestock, conducive environment for wildlife, and at last benefit all the human beings on the planet. The conservation of the environment should not be left alone to some people, but all people should work collaboratively to ensure that proper use of the natural resources are exercised. This paper will provide the definition of working landscapes, the components of landscapes and how they should be properly used. The paper covers issues in forests, mining and farming. Finally, the paper will conclude with a summarization of the main points covered in the whole paper. Working Landscape A working landscape refers to the use of land for the sole purpose of producing the needed goods. It is therefore necessary to plan for all reasonable land uses is all the communities. The main goal of working landscapes is to foster the production of both ecosystem services and market goods. The broad term has another meaning of bringing people to work together in order to create landscapes that mutually benefits the planet and all the human beings in it. In working landscapes, there is provision of protection in the production of healthy livestock and the protection of all areas that are habited by wildlife as well as human beings (Peter 2007, p. 100). Forestry A part from the production of wood which is important in making furniture, building houses, production of papers, forests are equally important since they provide habitat for wild animals. They also provide recreational opportunities, provision of fresh air through the absorption of carbon, and they are also sources of watershed. Both rangelands and forests are cultural and historic places and they great meaning for many people who live in USA. The government of USA has passed many policies and management synergies in order to enable the production goods for the market and ecosystem services (Peter 2007, p. 121). A good example is where there is the use planned burning of forests in order to make better the health of forests. The planned burning of forests also contributes to the reduction of disastrous wildfires, and at the same time increasing biodiversity in the areas. The other benefit of the planned burning of forests is to restore the management practices of Native American. The other perfect example for forest conservation is the use of livestock grazing in order to improve dwellings of scarce species such as rats, flowers, butterflies and kangaroo (Ferguson 2009, p. 234). In the United States, there are two types of private forests: Industrial and Non- industrial. The industrial forests are large tracts and they hold long term investments as compared to the non industrial which are composed more of hardwood harvest. The Federal and State Management have been set in the country so that there is conservation of forests for wood products, wildlife source of water and recreation. But sometimes, the uses of the forest get into conflicts such in harvesting issues and spotted owl. In the United States there are three types of harvesting methods. The harvesting methods are clear cutting where all trees are cut selective cutting where choice has to be made on the trees to be cut and High Grading where only the best trees of the best grades are cut (Peter 2007, p. 321). The federal legislation regulates the cutting of trees in the United States. In 1897 there was creation of Organic Act which created national forests. In 1960 the government passed the Multiple Use Sustained Yield Act and in 1974 the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resource Act was passed. In 1976 National Forest Management Act was passed which required that all regional plans that have balanced uses projections take in to account new growth. Mining In the whole world, America leads in most mineral dependent society with the production of 150 bil annually in the industry. Each of the American citizens consumes 20 tons of the mining products annually. In America, there are more than 100,000 active metal and nonmetal mines including Wyoming, Utah, Montana, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Kentucky. Still in America, there are more than 500, 000 mines which have been abandoned. Some of the mining concerns in the America include safe operation of the mine for workers, whereby the workers at the mines have to guarantee of their security. The other concern is the environmental effects of the neighborhoods and the community at large. There mined land has also lost its economic life and it is no more fertile. The other concern in mining in America is increase in competition among different users for lands that contain aggregates and minerals. Lastly, there has also been the concern of the social and economic effects that the mining have on the community (Peter 2007, p. 150). Although mining is a source of revenue to the USA government and a source of employment to many Americans, the activity if not used well can cause a lot of environmental problems not only to the communities around but to the whole nation at large. Some of the environmental problems caused by mining include lowering of water table thus causing water shortages in some parts of the country. Other environmental problem caused by mining in America involves soil erosion and also causing harm to the wildlife. The abandoned mines also pose a lot of danger both to the human beings and the wildlife in the area. The mining activities in America have resulted to more than 700 deaths, causing respiratory health problems to the people who work in the area. The mining activities have also caused hearing problems to the workers who work in the mines. In order to control the mining activities, several legislations have been passed. In 1872, General Mining Law was passed which stated that no royalties whatsoever was to be paid to government on minerals extracted. In 1971, the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act was passed which encouraged deep mining in order to conserve the environment. In 1977, the USA government passed an act on Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund where there was to be a fine of $0. 35 for every ton surface mined and 0. 15 for every ton deep mined (Ferguson 2009, p. 98). Farming Farmers and the ranchers are the ones who own most of the private land in USA. Collectively, they own approximately 40 % of USA. Both ranchlands and farmlands are natural resources which are renewable and they have the capability of producing fiber and food which can be consumed throughout the years. Therefore, it is necessary to protect and conserve the natural resources since they can easily decline if they are converted for building businesses malls, polluted, abandoned or overused (Daniel 2003, p. 279). In the United States, Agriculture is regarded as big industry since it forms a backbone to many rural communities. Though Agriculture has been the backbone to many rural communities, the nation has many challenges in the maintaining of working agricultural landscapes in the United States. The following are the five challenges that ranchers and farmers face in the maintenance of their operations is the United States (Peter 2007, p. 240). One of the challenges is profitability. In the United States, ranching and farming are considered as businesses. Since businesses experiences changes overtime, it is therefore necessary for the farmers to adapt and innovate. In order to make the highest profit possible, the farmers and ranchers have to make decisions on the following three issues. They have to consider selling their farm for development purposes to the highest bidder, passing it to a relative either through selling, giving it as a gift or a will. Finally, they have to consider selling the land to another rancher of farmer (Ferguson 2009, p. 77). The other challenge that both ranchers and farmers face is safe and environmentally sound management. In this challenge, farmers and ranchers have to comply with the set rules and policies governing the protection of the environment. It is well known that farming and ranching are the most causes of soil erosion (Daniel 2003, p. 283). Farmers and ranchers therefore are obliged by the law to practice farming activities that would conserve the environment rather than polluting. Farmers are also required to regulate the amount of pesticides that they spray their crops since a lot of the pesticides causes pollution to safe drinking water (Peter 2007, p. 291). The other challenge facing the ranchers and the farmers is passing on the Farm. Since the average age of many ranch and farm owners in the United States is between 55 and 65 years, this has meaning that in the next two or three decades of the 21st century land will change hands. The heavy taxes being imposed on the ranch and farm owners has made it difficult to pass the land to the next generations (Daniels 2003, p. 285). The other challenge is the resisting the temptation to sell land for development. Since land meant for development fetches higher prices than land meant for farming activities, farmers are faced with the conflict of choosing which side they should belong. Many farmers are faced with the temptation of selling their farms for development purposes (Daniels 2003, p. 288). Protecting farmland from conflicting land uses is another challenge that faces the farmers and the ranch owners in the United States. Since in the recent times farming is considered as an industrial activity, it therefore becomes incompatible with most residential activities. Some of the farmer’s activities include applying chemicals on their crops which can sometimes drift to their neighbors’ properties (Daniels 2003, p. 289). Plowing activities which lead to the production of dust can cause harm to the neighboring properties due to the blowing of the dust. Generation of large amounts of manure due to livestock farming causes a lot odors and unpleasant smells. Also, there is noise pollution due the use of large trucks for food processing which produce a lot of noise (Peter 2007, p. 340). The United States Government has found the need to conserve the farmland and the ranches so that the maximum benefits can be realized. Some of the acts which have been passed in order to protect the farmland include federal soil management programs, federal water management programs, federal Rangeland management and preferential property taxation (Ferguson 2009, p. 453) . Conclusion Through collaborative management processes, there can be discovery of good policies and creation of better decisions. By giving incentives, private land owners can be helped in the support management and as a result, the entire society would benefit. The paper has discussed several issues in the conservation of the environment. Some of the major concerns are the mining activities, forestry and farming. The paper has discussed how the above activities can be controlled in order to conserve the environment. The United States Government has passed strict rules and policies which should be observed by each and every cititizen since the conservation of the environment is a collective responsibility. Work Cited Kirsten Ferguson. Saving working landscapes: a campaign for Hudson Valley Farms. New York: Scenic Hudson. 2009. Print Peter F. C. The Working Landscape: Founding, Preservation, and the Politics of Place. New York; MIT Press. 2007. Print Thomas L. Daniels. The Environmental Planning Handbook for Sustainable Communities. United States: Taylor & Francis Group. 2003. Print Read More