The objectives of this study were to: l) determine the contribution of federal land grazing to beef production in Utah and the 11 western states, and 2) trace the impact of hypothetical incremental reductions in federal land grazing in the 11 western states on total beef supply and retail beef prices in the United States. The federal land animal units in the 11 western states were obtained from Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service records. The animal units were converted into the number of breeding cows and feeder calves totally dependent on federal land grazing, with the help of animal units per breeding cow. The animal units per breeding cow were calculated from a representative stock count chart of a typical 50 cow Utah ranch. The same chart provided percentage proportions of the number of calves and feeder calves. These feeder calves are the animals that originate and are totally dependent on federal lands. The minimum contribution of federal land grazing in the 11 western states to total beef supply in the United States ranges between dressed beef from feeder calves and cull cows on one end, and slaughter animals and cull cows on the other. The actual minimum contribution is somewhere to the middle of these extremes. The hypothetical incremental reductions in federal land grazing were calculated in terms of percentage reduction in the number of cows, calves and feeder calves, and the resultant decreases in beef tonnage on the lower and upper limits of minimum contribution of these lands to total beef supply in the United States. These reductions in beef supply were compared to total United States' beef supply and reductions in total beef supply were estimated in percentage. To estimate the economic and other impacts on individual ranchers, local communities and regional economy, the feed grain in corn equivalents and forage production were compared to livestock and poultry requirements in the 11 western states. It appears that Utah is deficient both in feed grain and roughage production as compared to requirements. The 11 western states as a group were surplus in 1974 in both feed grain and roughage production as compared to livestock and poultry requirements. The contribution of federal lands in roughage production was also estimated. The importance of federal rangelands' contribution, in my study is only 25 percent of total roughage production in the 11 western states and is discussed in the light of other benefits that would be lost if grazing were eliminated from federal lands. Lastly, the impact of reduction in federal grazing in the 11 western states on retail beef prices was estimated by using the concept of price elasticity of demand. It was concluded that an increasingly higher percentage increase in retail prices would occur for given percentage decreases in beef supply (by way of hypothetical incremental reduction in federal land grazing) for increasingly inelastic coefficients of elasticity.

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This study examines the history of federal land grants given to railroads in Texas upon their admittance to the Union in the "Iron Horse Age" of Texas. Covering the rise of the land grant idea, the first period of special land grants, the period of the first general land grant act, the period of prohibition of land grants, and finally last of the land grant periods,

Federal revenue sharing programs aim to make up lost tax revenue to counties that contain federal land, as counties do not receive any property tax revenue from publicly owned lands. This may have a significant impact on rural school districts with a limited tax base, as most funding for public education comes from property tax revenue. My analysis seeks to determine the full impact of certain federal revenue sharing payments (paid out by the U.S. Forest Service) on school districts in counties that contain U.S. Forest Service land. My analysis shows that the payments have little impact on school district budgets, indicating that states likely smooth for variations in the U.S. Forest Service payments.

This dissertation examines how federal land management agencies implement group work processes to meet land management objectives focused on natural resource-dependent outdoor recreation management. This dissertation is composed of two separate studies, one focused on the U.S Forest Service interdisciplinary teams implementing environmental analyses in support of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to comply with the 2005 Travel Management Rule and one focused on U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service management of partnerships to support recreational trails. These studies help answer the question "what factors lead to more or less successful group work in federal land management?" The first study is primarily informed by qualitative analysis and the second study is informed by quantitative and qualitative analyses. Chapter two reports the results and analyses of semi-structured interviews with 49 U.S. Forest Service employees on ten NEPA interdisciplinary teams. Chapter two examines interdisciplinary teams at the US Forest Service that had recently completed environmental analyses for recreational travel management plans in support of the 2005 Travel Management Rule. This study develops typologies of teamwork processes and how teams may change how collaborative they are over time and examines how external context and leadership approaches may influence process outcomes. Chapters three and four report the results of an online survey completed by 89 government and non-government points of contact for trail partnerships. Chapter three explores the factors that influence success in partnerships to support trail work at the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service. Chapter three analyzes the survey responses of 89 federal land managers and non-government persons involved in 69 partnerships to work on trails on U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service lands. This analysis uses linear regression to develop a model of the factors that are important to the success of these trail partnerships. The chapter reveals that trust, interdependence, and capacity are the most important factors to the success of trail partnerships. Chapter four compares the survey responses for 28 partnerships where both the government and non-government point of contact provided complete survey responses. Through comparison of these responses, chapter four explores the concept of agreement in partnerships and how agreement on key factors related to partnership success may relate to ratings of overall partnership success. The final chapter synthesizes the findings of the two studies to examine group work across contexts. Group work that is more collaborative and has higher levels of group interdependence lead to more positive outcomes across both contexts. I conclude by proposing a framework that could incorporate the principles of liberal education and transdisciplinary learning into individual and group training to help federal land managers internalize the findings of this research into their work. / Doctor of Philosophy / This dissertation delves into how federal agencies manage group collaboration to achieve their goals in natural resource-based outdoor recreation. The study consists of two main parts: one focuses on U.S. Forest Service teams working on environmental analyses under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to adhere to the 2005 Travel Management Rule, while the other examines how both the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service manage partnerships to enhance recreational trails. The research seeks to answer the question: what makes group work in federal land management more or less successful? The first part relies on qualitative analysis, examining interdisciplinary teams at the U.S. Forest Service that had recently completed environmental analyses for recreational travel plans. This part identifies teamwork processes, explores how teams evolve in their collaboration, and considers the impact of external factors and leadership styles on their performance. The second part combines both quantitative and qualitative methods, focusing on the factors influencing successful partnerships for trail management within the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service. The study reveals that trust, interdependence, and capacity are key factors contributing to the success of these partnerships. By comparing survey responses from both government and non-governmental partners, the research also explores the relationship between agency-partner agreement on key success indicators and perceptions of overall partnership success. Overall, the findings highlight that collaborative group work with a high level of interdependence leads to better outcomes across different contexts. The dissertation concludes by suggesting a framework that incorporates transdisciplinary learning principles into training programs for federal land managers, helping them apply these research insights in their work.

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