Land ownership, including the percentage of ownership in each category, is shown for the San Bernardino Valley Basin in Figure 3.11-2.  The principal feature of land ownership in this basin is the significant amount of State Trust Land, the largest of any basin in the planning area.  A description of land ownership data sources and methods is found in Volume 1, Appendix A.  More detailed information on protected areas is found in Section 3.0.4  Land ownership categories are discussed below in the order from largest to smallest percentage in the basin.

State Trust

• 63.2% of land in this basin is held in trust for public schools and nine other beneficiaries under the State Trust Land system.
• Much of the state owned land in this basin is adjacent to other state owned lands but interspersed with parcels of privately owned and Bureau of Land Management lands.
• Primary land use is grazing.

Private

• 24.3% of land is private.
• Most private land is interspersed with state owned land.
• The largest portions of contiguous private land are near the communities of Cazador, Bernardino and Chiricahua.
• Primary land uses are domestic and grazing.

National Forest

• 7.3% of land is federally owned and managed by the United States Forest Service (USFS). 
• All forest land, although not contiguous, is in the Coronado National Forest, Douglas Ranger District.
• Primary land uses are grazing, recreation and timber production.

U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

• 4.3% of land is federally owned and managed by the Safford Field Office of the BLM.
• The majority of BLM land in this basin is in the east along the boundary with New Mexico.
• Primary land use is grazing.

Wildlife Refuge

• 0.9% of land is federally owned and managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS).
• All USFWS land is in the San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge.
• Primary land uses are wildlife protection and recreation.

Click to view Figure 3.11-2 San Bernardino Valley Basin Land Ownership

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