Advances in oil and gas drilling technologies have led to an on-shore shale boom in the United States. This has increased drilling on forest land and conflicts regarding the tradeoffs of this practice. This study examines the forest landowner perspective of oil and gas development on forest land, policies that regulate the industry, opinions of land use tradeoffs, and what influences landowner decision making. This study also examines the balance of power between federal, state, and municipal government regarding the regulation of the oil and gas industry. A systematic random sample of 1200 landowners with more than 10 acres of land in six counties within the Mississippi portion of the, Tuscaloosa Marine Shale play were chosen, to receive a mail survey. Each of the selected counties have seen an increase in drilling in the past 5 years. The survey was designed using prior research of community perceptions, land use tradeoffs, energy development, and information from focus groups within the region. Over 63% of landowners indicated that equal priority should be given to policies to protect the environment, and policies that increased economic returns from drilling. The primary reason for owning forest land was to pass it down to future generations, and 80% indicated a willingness to participate in an oil and gas lease. However, only 71% of those who ranked hunting as a very important reason for owning land would agree to an oil and gas lease. Improving leasing and restoration practices were recommended most frequently by the landowners to improve the drilling process while water quality and protecting natural resource income were the greatest concerns to landowners. Over 54% responded that they have a friend or family member employed by the oil and gas industry, and yet still believed that more transparency, communication, and better leasing practices are needed. Landowner values such as reasons for land ownership, economic stability, and potential community impacts, influenced decision making. Policy makers should be aware landowners are concerned about the need for policies that protect their property for investment and future generations, as well as benefit the local economy.

The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the motivation of absentee landowners located around a military installation in Texas to maintain their land in agriculture. Urban encroachment around military installations has become problematic, primarily as a result of many years of incompatible development due to the transfer of lands from agricultural use to urban use. Maintaining the land in agriculture increases military training capabilities, thus increasing military readiness both stateside and abroad. Absentee landowners are of particular interest, since their detachment from the land could be perceived as a disinterest in what occurs there. The determination of landowner motivations may allow programs to be developed which can appeal to the landowners’ motivations and allow the landowners to maintain their land in agriculture. Four research questions sought to identify landowner motivation. The research questions targeted current land use, the phenomena motivating absentee landowners to maintain their land in agriculture, change in land use over time, and whether a landowner’s emotional tie to the land affects land management decisions. Both the intrinsic motivation of family and the extrinsic motivation of money were identified as general motivating factors, and 15 specific motivating factors were identified within the four overarching themes. Recommendations were made based on applicability of the research to the Army, cooperative extension, legislators and government agencies, financial planners, tax appraisal offices, and estate planners.

3 pp. / Livestock are still an important part of rural life in Arizona. As more and more homes have been built adjacent to areas traditionally used for cattle grazing, the potential for conflict between livestock owners and homeowners has increased. Regardless of whether you yourself own large animals, you must be aware of your responsibilities towards your neighbors' livestock. The details of your responsibilities--and your liability--depend in large part upon where you live and whether you have a suitable fence around your property.

The purpose of this project is to determine landowners’ perceptions on the use of prescribed fire as a management tool. The majority of Texas rangelands are privately owned, and the sustainable management of almost all of the state’s rangelands is contingent upon private land management decisions. Therefore, it is imperative for policy makers and extension agencies to understand landowners’ perceptions, interests and concerns about alternative land management techniques. This is especially important for the use of prescribed fire, which has been identified as a critical management tool for maintaining the productivity of most Texas rangelands yet many landowners do not include it as an integral practice in managing their land. A better understanding of landowners’ perspective of the use of fire could facilitate the increased use of this management tool through the development of effective educational, costshare and fire planning programs. The study reported here consisted of a mail survey of all 185 members of the Edwards Plateau Prescribed Burn Association (EPPBA) and 600 landowners in six counties in Texas. Four of those counties were located in the Edwards Plateau (Sutton, Schleicher, Mason, Llano) and two counties were located in the Rolling Plains (Throckmorton, Shackleford). In each county, 100 landowners possessing at least 50 acres of land were randomly selected for inclusion in the survey. The mail survey approach followed Dilman’s five-step mailing procedure. Fire is an important rangeland management tool, but in a state where the majority of the land is privately owned fire suppression is still a dominant perspective. Our study suggests that important efforts to increase the use of prescribed fire include, educational programs about use of fire by landowners, increased assistance with prescribed fire plans, cost-sharing programs for fire implementation, and reduction in the legal liability associated with fire that burns out of control. Encouraging agencies to back educational programs and help teach landowners about the effects and uses of fire (burn plan assistance), and developing a resource pool to underwrite fire policies could increase the interest in and risk associated with the use of prescribed fires to more effectively manage rangelands in Texas, and elsewhere.

In 2002 the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002 (MPRDA) was promulgated to regulate the exploitation of minerals and petroleum in South Africa. With the promulgation of the MPRDA landowners’ rights regarding the minerals embedded in their land have been annihilated. South Africa’s mineral and petroleum resources were statutorily bequeathed to all the people of South Africa and the state was statutorily appointed as the custodian thereof for the benefit for all South Africans. All the rights to minerals have been severed from the ownership of land and the MPRDA does not recognise the existence of common law mineral rights as they existed directly before the MPRDA took effect. As a result thereof, landowners are not entitled to compensation for the loss of the minerals that are mined from the soil of their land. In addition, landowners ostensibly no longer possess the right to enforce negotiations regarding compensation for losses suffered or damages caused during the course of mining operations. It is against this background that this study seeks to determine to what extent the MPRDA or common law provide for the protection of landowners’ rights regarding compensation claims against the holder of statutory prospecting or mining rights for the infringement of their ownership brought about by mining activities on their land. / LLM (Estate Law), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

In 2002 the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act 28 of 2002 (MPRDA) was promulgated to regulate the exploitation of minerals and petroleum in South Africa. With the promulgation of the MPRDA landowners’ rights regarding the minerals embedded in their land have been annihilated. South Africa’s mineral and petroleum resources were statutorily bequeathed to all the people of South Africa and the state was statutorily appointed as the custodian thereof for the benefit for all South Africans. All the rights to minerals have been severed from the ownership of land and the MPRDA does not recognise the existence of common law mineral rights as they existed directly before the MPRDA took effect. As a result thereof, landowners are not entitled to compensation for the loss of the minerals that are mined from the soil of their land. In addition, landowners ostensibly no longer possess the right to enforce negotiations regarding compensation for losses suffered or damages caused during the course of mining operations. It is against this background that this study seeks to determine to what extent the MPRDA or common law provide for the protection of landowners’ rights regarding compensation claims against the holder of statutory prospecting or mining rights for the infringement of their ownership brought about by mining activities on their land. / LLM (Estate Law), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Recent land ownership trends in Texas have created concerns for natural resource agencies throughout the state (Wilkins et al. 2000, 2003; Steinbach 2001, American Farmland Trust 2003). An increase in the number of small properties has been associated with drastic changes in management emphasis in many areas and has led to concerns regarding landscape and ecosystem-level processes. Additionally, these apparent changes in management emphasis have subsequently led to concerns regarding the effectiveness of traditional natural resource conservation programs for all types of landowners. In this study, I sought to quantify differences in landowner characteristics, attitudes, and motivations in the Leon River Watershed using an informant directed interview process (Holstein and Gubrium 1995). I contacted and interviewed 60 landowners in the 4 central Texas counties contained within the Leon River Watershed. I found that landowners in my study could be classified into 1 of 3 categories that represented distinct goals, attitudes and motivations regarding land ownership andagriculture and wildlife management. Born to the Land, Ag. Business, and Re-born to the Land owners each display strong ideals regarding the proper context of land management, extremely distinctive ethical attitudes regarding their role as stewards of their land, and identifiable differences in their willingness to participate in various natural resource conservation programs. Natural resource agencies and organizations will now have the ability to profile landowners as to their likelihood of participation in various types of programs and conservation initiatives. The findings of this study could lead to dramatic changes in the way landowners are viewed and dealt with by many natural resource professionals.

Despite women’s involvement in agriculture, their contributions have been overlooked in society. Women make up at least a third of those involved in agriculture as farmers, landowners, and in agricultural faculty positions. These numbers do not appear to be decreasing. Although there are several agricultural roles, this study focuses primarily on those women who own agricultural land, but do not farm the land themselves. Rather, these women rent it out to a farmer who operates the land for them (women nonoperating landowners or WNOLs, in short). Previous research suggests these women may be facing considerable barriers as an agricultural landowner and several gaps exist in research. This dissertation contributes to this body of research through a series of three studies. I first begin by conducting an analysis of 361 photos posted on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) website and social media to determine how they are representing women in agriculture. In terms of the numbers of women portrayed, who is the focus of the photograph, and if women are portrayed in an agricultural role, the findings reveal that women are severely underrepresented in comparison to males. The second study compiles a series of interviews with WNOLs to understand power dynamics in terms of decision-making between the woman landowner and her farm operator, or renter (as they are referred to in this study). The findings reveal three groups of women: those who are begrudgingly yielding their power to their renter; those who share power mutually; and those who refuse to yield power. Each of these groups of women reveal the many experiences facing WNOLs today. In the third study, interviews are conducted with WNOLs and agricultural agency women staff, both of whom have been involved in participating in a unique outreach method. This method helps provide women opportunities to increase their human, social, and cultural capital through engagement with one another and learning about various agricultural practices. Both groups of women are asked about the barriers they perceive WNOLs to be facing, along with what aspects of the outreach they feel are most beneficial in addressing these barriers. Results from this study suggest that women face considerable barriers to ownership, both from feeling they lack knowledge and with issues in their renter relationship. However, the outreach methods prove to be a powerful tool that help these women connect with one another and increase their knowledge about agricultural practices. Overall, these three studies help to advance the research on women in agriculture.

This study determines the impact of ESTA on estate planning. The researcher indicates the extent to which ESTA alters the traditional property concept and analyses the practical implications of ESTA on estate planning. It appears, from the research that the traditional property concept has developed to include rights in property which are inferior to traditional ownership. The land reform process creates new rights which are afforded constitutional protection. These new rights create tension between land owners' perception of what their ownership entails, and the reality. The writer attempts to indicate that estate planning may minimize the possible disadvantages of ESTA. / Thesis (LL.M. (Estate Law))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2006.

Landscape change induced by population growth and urban development is impacting the ecosystem goods and services provided by open space, which is essential to supporting many urban and rural populations. Conserving open space cannot be attained without obtaining public support especially in a state like Texas where most open space is privately owned. This dissertation was aimed at exploring the role of place identity as an intrinsic incentive for landowner involvement in conserving open space threatened by landscape change. Four objectives addressed in this research include: 1) defining place identity and identifying its underlying dimensions; 2) developing and refining a place-identity scale; 3) developing and testing a conceptual framework to explain the relationships among commitment, place identity, behavior/behavioral intention to manifest place identity, and perception of landscape change; and 4) drawing implications for open space conservation. Identity theory and identity control theory were applied to conceptualize place identity and develope structural models for hypothesis testing. Place identity was defined as comprising meanings that individuals ascribe to a place through their interaction with that place and become defining elements of their self-identity. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used in this research. Results from semi-structured interviews with a convenience sample of landowners in the Texas Hill Country were used to develop the place-identity scale. Survey data from randomly selected Hill Country landowners were used in confirmatory factor analysis, mean and covariance structure analysis, and invariance testing based on the covariance structure to test and refine measures, to compare differences between landowner groups, and to test hypotheses. Findings suggested that identity theory and identity control theory provided valuable insight to place identity in the face of change. Results also supported a model of place identity comprised of cognitive and affective dimensions, and identified variations among individuals in their affective place-identity. Moreover, findings indicated that both dimensions exhibited different effects on identity-related behavior/behavioral intention under the influence of landscape change. Implications were provided for engaging landowners in open space conservation. This dissertation addresses several research gaps, and also raises questions important in understanding and applying place identity to promoting conservation.