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<br />lH1L;_ {J <br /> <br />B-9 <br /> <br /> <br />On the often watershort plains area, perhaps no habitat type is more important <br />to wildlife than the cottonwood-willow community found along the creeks and <br />streams. The importance of this narrow ribbon of riparion vegetation belies the <br />small ar~a it occupies, perhaps 1 percent of the land area. Its preservation and <br />management are vital to the continued existence of much of the prairie fauna. <br /> <br />Recreation <br /> <br />Outdoor recreational opportunities range from the excitement of downhill <br />skiing to backpacking and hiking activities in both the mountains and plains. <br />Hunting, fishing, and a myriad of outdoor activities, attracting both residents and <br />non-residents (tourists), are provided by the vast recreational resources of the <br />basin. <br /> <br />Land Ownershi p <br /> <br />The basin was included in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Title to the <br />Louisiana Territory was delivered to the United States, thereby placing all of the <br />area in federal ownership at the time of the purchase. Through sales, land grants, <br />and various special and limited homestead acts passed by the Congress, most of the <br />area passed to private and state ownership. (See map) <br /> <br />The farmers and ranchers are the largest landowners in the basin, within the <br />"private-county-state category". State-owned lands, mostly school grant lands, <br />are interspersed with private lands and are generally leased by the farmers and <br />ranchers for agricultural purposes. Lands owned by the United States are managed <br />by several federal agencies: The Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, <br />National Park Service, Corps of Engineers, and Bureau of Reclamation. Lesser <br />acreages are managed by the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Department <br />of the Treasury, and Department of Justice. <br /> <br />Pri vate Lands <br /> <br />The management of private lands within the basin is vested with thousands of <br />individuals, corporations, and legal entities. Except for some general <br />restrictions and zoning laws, these individual managers have traditionally had the <br />right to use their land much as they see fit. It has been the decisions of these <br />managers which have determined the present patterns of land use. <br />