This casebook is an authoritative introduction to the study of public land and resources law. Case studies, case notes, and examples illustrate points under consideration. Thought-provoking questions generate classroom discussion and hone students' legal reasoning. Representative topics include authority on public lands, wildlife resource, preservation, resource, and history of public land law.

This text focuses on the history of the development of law in relation to the public lands , the colonial land systems, the origin of the public domain, and the conflicting interests generating change in land policy from colonial times to the 20th century. As a special feature it discusses the legal aspects of mineral resources exploitation.

The little-known story of how the U.S. government came to hold nearly one-third of the nation's land primarily for recreation and conservation.