I am not posting this to make a political statement, but to show the percentage of land in each state owned by the federal government. The percentages on the map are a bit high (the map uses 2004 data) because some land was sold off. Therefore, more recent data is included below.
Unfortunately, an interactive map does not exist displaying the governmental agencies responsible for ski areas, proposed areas, proposed and existing connecting corridors of ski areas, and the often-used backcountry terrain.
Should the federal government sell off some of the lands it owns, or maintain all of it for the public good? That is debatable. What we can see is that a lot of the land west of the Continental Divide is owned by the federal government.
Federal land ownership by state (as of 2013)
State Federal land acreage Total state acreage Percentage of federal land
Alabama 844,026 32,678,400 2.6%
Alaska 223,803,098 365,481,600 61.2%
Arizona 28,064,307 72,688,000 38.6%
Arkansas 3,151,685 33,599,360 9.4%
California 45,864,800 100,206,720 45.8%
Colorado 23,870,652 66,485,760 35.9%
Connecticut 8,752 3,135,360 0.3%
Delaware 29,864 1,265,920 2.4%
Florida 4,599,919 34,721,280 13.2%
Georgia 1,474,225 37,295,360 4.0%
Hawaii 820,725 4,105,600 20.0%
Idaho 32,621,631 52,933,120 61.6%
Illinois 411,387 35,795,200 1.1%
Indiana 384,365 23,158,400 1.7%
Iowa 122,076 35,860,480 0.3%
Kansas 272,987 52,510,720 0.5%
Kentucky 1,094,036 25,512,320 4.3%
Louisiana 1,325,780 28,867,840 4.6%
Maine 211,125 19,847,680 1.1%
Maryland 197,894 6,319,360 3.1%
Massachusetts 61,802 5,034,880 1.2%
Michigan 3,633,323 36,492,160 10.0%
Minnesota 3,491,586 51,205,760 6.8%
Mississippi 1,546,433 30,222,720 5.1%
Missouri 1,635,122 44,248,320 3.7%
Montana 27,003,251 93,271,040 29.0%
Nebraska 546,759 49,031,680 1.1%
Nevada 59,681,502 70,264,320 84.9%
New Hampshire 798,718 5,768,960 13.8%
New Jersey 179,374 4,813,440 3.7%
New Mexico 26,981,490 77,766,400 34.7%
New York 104,590 30,680,960 0.3%
North Carolina 2,429,341 31,402,880 7.7%
North Dakota 1,736,611 44,452,480 3.9%
Ohio 305,641 26,222,080 1.2%
Oklahoma 701,365 44,087,680 1.6%
Oregon 32,614,185 61,598,720 52.9%
Pennsylvania 617,339 28,804,480 2.1%
Rhode Island 5,157 677,120 0.8%
South Carolina 846,420 19,374,080 4.4%
South Dakota 2,642,601 48,881,920 5.4%
Tennessee 1,273,175 26,727,680 4.8%
Texas 2,998,280 168,217,600 1.8%
Utah 34,202,920 52,696,960 64.9%
Vermont 464,644 5,936,640 7.8%
Virginia 2,514,596 25,496,320 9.9%
Washington 12,176,293 42,693,760 28.5%
West Virginia 1,133,587 15,410,560 7.4%
Wisconsin 1,793,100 35,011,200 5.1%
Wyoming 30,013,219 62,343,040 48.1%
United States total 623,313,931 2,271,343,360 27.4%
Source: U.S. Congressional Research Service, "Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data"
Unfortunately, an interactive map does not exist displaying the governmental agencies responsible for ski areas, proposed areas, proposed and existing connecting corridors of ski areas, and the often-used backcountry terrain.
Should the federal government sell off some of the lands it owns, or maintain all of it for the public good? That is debatable. What we can see is that a lot of the land west of the Continental Divide is owned by the federal government.
Federal land ownership by state (as of 2013)
State Federal land acreage Total state acreage Percentage of federal land
Alabama 844,026 32,678,400 2.6%
Alaska 223,803,098 365,481,600 61.2%
Arizona 28,064,307 72,688,000 38.6%
Arkansas 3,151,685 33,599,360 9.4%
California 45,864,800 100,206,720 45.8%
Colorado 23,870,652 66,485,760 35.9%
Connecticut 8,752 3,135,360 0.3%
Delaware 29,864 1,265,920 2.4%
Florida 4,599,919 34,721,280 13.2%
Georgia 1,474,225 37,295,360 4.0%
Hawaii 820,725 4,105,600 20.0%
Idaho 32,621,631 52,933,120 61.6%
Illinois 411,387 35,795,200 1.1%
Indiana 384,365 23,158,400 1.7%
Iowa 122,076 35,860,480 0.3%
Kansas 272,987 52,510,720 0.5%
Kentucky 1,094,036 25,512,320 4.3%
Louisiana 1,325,780 28,867,840 4.6%
Maine 211,125 19,847,680 1.1%
Maryland 197,894 6,319,360 3.1%
Massachusetts 61,802 5,034,880 1.2%
Michigan 3,633,323 36,492,160 10.0%
Minnesota 3,491,586 51,205,760 6.8%
Mississippi 1,546,433 30,222,720 5.1%
Missouri 1,635,122 44,248,320 3.7%
Montana 27,003,251 93,271,040 29.0%
Nebraska 546,759 49,031,680 1.1%
Nevada 59,681,502 70,264,320 84.9%
New Hampshire 798,718 5,768,960 13.8%
New Jersey 179,374 4,813,440 3.7%
New Mexico 26,981,490 77,766,400 34.7%
New York 104,590 30,680,960 0.3%
North Carolina 2,429,341 31,402,880 7.7%
North Dakota 1,736,611 44,452,480 3.9%
Ohio 305,641 26,222,080 1.2%
Oklahoma 701,365 44,087,680 1.6%
Oregon 32,614,185 61,598,720 52.9%
Pennsylvania 617,339 28,804,480 2.1%
Rhode Island 5,157 677,120 0.8%
South Carolina 846,420 19,374,080 4.4%
South Dakota 2,642,601 48,881,920 5.4%
Tennessee 1,273,175 26,727,680 4.8%
Texas 2,998,280 168,217,600 1.8%
Utah 34,202,920 52,696,960 64.9%
Vermont 464,644 5,936,640 7.8%
Virginia 2,514,596 25,496,320 9.9%
Washington 12,176,293 42,693,760 28.5%
West Virginia 1,133,587 15,410,560 7.4%
Wisconsin 1,793,100 35,011,200 5.1%
Wyoming 30,013,219 62,343,040 48.1%
United States total 623,313,931 2,271,343,360 27.4%
Source: U.S. Congressional Research Service, "Federal Land Ownership: Overview and Data"