Land resources are critical to the well being of everyone.  Whether a person lives in a city or in a rural area, they rely on crops and other goods produced using the world's vast quantities of land.

Humans need to have significant portions of land for crops, forests, rangeland, watersheds, and estuaries.  Without land available to be used for these purposes, people would lack the things they need to survive.

Crop land is one of the most important resources people have.  Without the ability to grow food, people throughout the world would not be able to survive.

About one-third of the planet is covered by forests.  Forests provide wood that can be used in buildings, paper, and heating and cooking.  A great variety of natural processes also occur in forests.  Without these processes, many environmental problems would be created.

Rangelands are being used to allow domesticated animals to feed.  About 40% of rangelands are now used for this purpose.  These areas are beginning to be affected by overgrazing, and the quality of the land is decreasing.

To protect the country's land resources, the United States has set aside over a third of its land for public ownership.  It has created National Forests, National Resource Lands, National Wildlife Refuges, National Parks, and National Wilderness areas.

Land usage will be a major factor in the future.  As the food problem becomes even more severe, those areas with sufficient land and the proper land conditions for sustaining life are likely to thrive.