L factor (USLE). See Slope-length factor (USLE).

L factor (WEQ). See Unsheltered distance factor (WEQ).

LA - Land Allocation

LA - Legumes Anonymous

LA - Liberal Arts

Labor force - All the economically active people in a country between 15 and 65. Includes all employed persons, the unemployed, and members of the armed services, but excludes students and unpaid caregivers such as homemakers. - WB 2. A group consisting of persons that are either working or looking for work. - USDA/FS

Labor Market - A "place" in economic theory where labor demand and supply interact. - USDA/FS

LAC - Latin America and the Caribbean

LAC - Liberal Arts Curriculum

LAC - Limits of Acceptable Change (DOI/BLM)

LACBC - Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition (California)

Lacustrine System - Wetlands and deepwater habitats occurring in the Lacustrine System, one of five systems in the classification of wetlands and deepwater habitats (see Wetlands, Cowardin et al. 1979). The Lacustrine System includes wetlands and deepwater habitats with all of the following characteristics: (1) situated in a topographic depression or a dammed river channel; (2) lacking trees, shrubs, persistent emergent plants, emergent mosses or lichens with greater than 30% areal coverage; and (3) total area exceeding 20 acres. Similar habitats totaling less than 20 acres are included if an active wave-formed or bedrock shoreline feature makes up all or part of the boundary, or if the water depth in the deepest part of the basin exceeds 6.6 feet at low water. - National Resources Inventory

LAD - Land Administration Discipline

LAER - Lowest Achievable Emission Rate - EPA

LAFCO - Local Area Formation Commission (from LWVBA - The League of Women Voters of the Bay Area - California)

Laches - (legal term) failure to do a thing at the proper time, especially such delay as will bar a party from bringing a legal proceeding, i.e., "sleeping on an opportunity."

Lacustrine - Living or growing in or beside a lake. (UN)

Ladder Fuels - Vegetation located below the crown level of forest trees which can carry fire from the forest floor to tree crowns. Ladder fuels may be low-growing tree branches, shrubs, or smaller trees.

Lag - Variously defined as time from beginning (or center of mass) of rainfall to peak (or center of mass) of runoff. (After Am. Soc. Civil Engineers, 1949, p. 106.) - USGS

Lahar - Deposit formed by mudflow or water-saturated volcanic ash. (UN)

LAIA - Latin American Integration Association

Lake - A natural inland body of water, fresh or salt, extending over 40 acres or more and occupying a basin or hollow on the earth's surface, which may or may not have a current or single direction of flow. - National Resources Inventory

Lake Classification - Biological classification of lakes based on the amount of available food and trophic levels. It categorizes lakes according to three types: a) eutrophic (rich in nutrients); b) oligotrophic (poor in nutrients) and c) mesotrophic/dystrophic (having a humus-type bottom deposit put poor mineralization). (UN)

LAL - Lightning Activity Level

LAM - Learning About Mining

LaMPs - Lakewide Management Plans

LAN - Local Area Network

Land - Used to denote actual land, real estate, and real property, including the land itself, above or under water, all buildings, structures, improvements, machinery, equipment or fixtures erected upon, under, above or affixed to the same, all mines, quarries, geothermal sources, and vegetation, under or above the land, and any estate, right, title or interest whatever in the land or real property, less than fee simple. - Cadastral Data glossary

Land - Includes, where the context so requires, any buildings, trees or other fixtures thereto. 2. Real property not including improvements and fixtures on, above, or below the surface. (See Development Rights)

Land or Landing - To begin transfer of fish from a fishing vessel. Once transfer begins, all fish on board the vessel are counted as part of the landing. - MFCMA

Land Acquisition (ESA 5) - ...The Secretary is...authorized to acquire, by purchase, donation or otherwise, lands, waters or interests therein.

Land acquisitions that grew 13 original United States to 50 United States. Land Acquisition / Date Acquired / From / States derived from acquired land:

Land adjustments to improve national forest management and protect natural resource values (acres) - This measures the total acreage acquired through purchase, transfer, and exchange to consolidate national forest land ownership. Accomplishment is recorded when title has been transferred to the Forest Service. - FS

Land Allocation - The assignment of a management emphasis to particular land areas with the purpose of achieving goals and objectives. Land allocation decisions are documented in environmental analysis documents such as the Idaho Panhandle National Forests' FEIS and Forest Land and Resource Management Plans.

Land and Resource Management Planning - An integrated sub-regional consensus-building process that produces a Land and Resource Management Plan for review and approval by government. The plan established direction for land use and specifies broad resource management objectives and strategies.

Land and Water Conservation Fund - Federal matching assistance program which provides grants for 50 percent of the cost for the acquisition and/or development of outdoor recreation sites and facilities.

Land and Water Conservation Fund Act (1965) - Uses the receipts from the sale of surplus Federal land, outer continental shelf oil and gas sales, and other sources for land acquisition under several authorities.

Land Area - The area of dry land and land temporarily or partly covered by water such as marshes, swamps, and river floodplains (omitting tidal flats below mean high tide), streams, sloughs, estuaries, and canals less than 200 feet wide, and lakes, reservoirs, and ponds less than 4.5 acres in area. - USDA/FS

Land Banking - Acquiring and or reserving land for some future public purpose.

Land Between The Lakes Biosphere - http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-IMPACT/1994/December/Day-13/pr-253.html 

http://www.ssu.missouri.edu/Publications/Ozarks/chapter2.html 

http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/2386/pa09000.html - The regional reserve is called the Land Between the Lakes Area Biosphere Reserve. It encompasses seventeen counties in Western Kentucky and Tennessee. A biosphere reserve is an international designation made by the Man and the Biosphere Program, sponsored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization - http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/2386/pa10006.html. (4l) Biosphere reserves are located in the United States. A biosphere reserve is a unique category of safeguarded, natural environments combining conservation and sustained use of natural areas. They are not wilderness. The Biosphere Counties are: Kentucky Counties: Caldwell, Calloway, Christian, Crittenden, Graves, Livingston, Lyon, Marshall, McCracken, and Trigg. Tennessee Counties: Benton, Dickson, Houston, Humphrey, Henry, Montgomery, and Stewart. An LBL Biosphere Reserve Cooperative has recently been established under the leadership of Austin Peay University. The Cooperative is comprised of various representatives from 17 counties. Its purpose is to promote the sustainable use of the area's natural resources, TVA is only one of the Cooperative members. In no way does this Cooperative have jurisdiction over the property at LBL. FORWARD: For nearly 20 years, biosphere reserves have offered a unique framework for building the knowledge, skills and attitudes required for conservation and sustainable use of ecosystems. The 12 case studies in this volume chronicle many of the cooperative efforts to implement the biosphere reserve concept in the United States. Considered together, these efforts involve more than 20 types of protected areas, and the participation of all level of government and many private organizations, academic institutions, citizens groups, and individuals. Biosphere reserves are multi-purpose areas that are nominated by the national committee of the Man and the Biosphere Program (MAB) and designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to serve as demonstration areas for cooperation in building harmonious relationships between human activities and the conservation of ecosystems and biological diversity. Each biosphere reserve exemplifies the characteristic ecosystems of one of the world's biogeographical regions. It is a land or coast/marine area involving human communities as integral components and including resources managed for objectives ranging from complete protection to intensive, yet sustain able development. A biosphere reserve is envisioned as a regional "landscape for learning" in which monitoring, research, education, and training are encouraged to support sustainable conservation of natural and managed ecosystems. It is a framework for regional cooperation involving government decisionmakers, scientists, resource managers, private organizations and local people (i.e., the biosphere reserve "stakeholders"). Finally, each biosphere reserve is part of a global network for sharing information and experience to help address complex problems of conservation and development. Natural resource policies in the U.S. and other countries increasingly encourage cooperation in conserving biological diversity and meeting the needs of human communities for social and economic development. Biosphere reserves help implement these policies by providing international recognition of important regional efforts and a focus for stakeholders to cooperate in developing the knowledge, technologies, and perspectives needed to solve complex resource problems. UNESCO designated the first U.S. biosphere reserves in 1976. These first reserves were properties managed by the National Park Service, the Forest Service, or the Agricultural Research Service. The parks served as strictly protected core areas" for conservation and as benchmarks for monitoring ecological change against which to compare the effects of human activities in the surrounding region. The experimental research areas facilitated manipulations to improve understanding of these effects and develop ecologically sustainable management practices. Where possible, these separately designated biosphere reserves were paired to encourage cooperative research that could help regional interests formulate management goals. In 1984, UNESCO approved the Action Plan for Biosphere Reserves, based on the recommendations of the First International Congress on Biosphere Reserves held in Minsk, Belarus, in 1983. The plan clarified the concerns, characteristics and objectives of biosphere reserves, and recommended implementing actions for consideration by international organizations and National MAB Committees. Beginning in the early 1980s, U.S. MAB nominated multi-site biosphere reserves to strengthen regional cooperation in implementing biosphere reserve concepts. In recent years regional cooperative biosphere reserve programs have been established involving many agencies, private interests, and participating sites. In 1993, the interagency U.S. National Committee for MAB approved convening a national workshop of biosphere reserve managers and stakeholders to develop recommendations for an integrated U.S. Biosphere Reserve Program that would take into account the many differences among U.S. biosphere reserves. The workshop, involving more than 80 participants, was held in Estes Park, Colorado, in December 1993. To help workshop participants evaluate the U.S. experience, the National Park Service amended its cooperative agreement with Partners in Parks to provide for preparation of a series of case studies as examples of efforts to implement biosphere reserve concepts. The case studies focus on U.S. biosphere reserves that are actively developing cooperative biosphere reserve programs. The case study areas represent many terrestrial and costal/marine biogeographic regions illustrating a variety of resource issues: ecological, social, and economic conditions; and different types and patterns of ecosystem uses, management strategies, and land ownerships. Each case study includes a brief description of the natural and human environment of the biosphere reserve and the significant resource issues of regional concern; a history of the initial designation of the biosphere reserve and subsequent planning and implementation of the biosphere reserve concept; an overview of accomplishments, and an assessment of benefits, constraints, and the lessons learned. The initial nine case studies are based on information from the files of the National Park Service and from interviews of biosphere reserves managers and stakeholders conducted in mid-1993 by Dr. Sarah H. Bishop, President of Partners in Parks. These nine case studies prepared by Dr. Bishop and myself, were distributed to participants in the national workshop of biosphere reserve managers. Following the workshop, U.S. MAB convened a small working group to consider recommendations from the workshop in preparing a "Strategic Plan for the U.S. Biosphere Reserve Program." The plan sets forth the mission and goals of the Program and recommends actions for implementation by the National Committee and its member agencies, the Biosphere Reserve Directorate of U.S. MAB, and the biosphere reserves. The U.S. MAB National Committee approved the plan in July 1994 and established a Biosphere Reserve Directorate to facilitate implementation of the U.S. Biosphere Reserve Program. The new Biosphere Reserve Directorate recommended publication of the original nine case studies, and additional studies for the Virginia Coast Reserve by Barry Truitt and John W. Humke. The New Jersey Pinelands by Terrence D. Moore, and Land Between The Lakes by Tim Merriman. All twelve case studies were updated by the reserve managers in late 1994. Dr William Gregg, Chief, International Affairs Office National Biological Service. LAND BETWEEN THE LAKES BIOSPHERE RESERVE: Land Between The Lakes Biosphere Reserve is a multiple-use recreation area manage by the Tennessee Valley Authority. The area has a long history of research, primarily by local universities. New programs of outreach to the community have begun. I. AREA DESCRIPTION: Land Between The Lakes (LBL) is a 68,800 hectare biosphere reserve in western Kentucky and Tennessee. It is bounded on the east by Lake Barkley, an impoundment of the Cumberland River, and on the west by Kentucky Lake, an impoundment of the Tennessee River. The LBL Area Biosphere Reserve (LBLABR) consists of a l7-county area made up of the lowermost drainage portions of the Tennessee and Cumberland River valleys, including LBL and the 101,175 hectares of waters in the two major lakes. It was dedicated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations (UNESCO) Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) in June 1991. LBL is located in the Interior Low Plateaus bio-geographical province, which includes most of Kentucky and Tennessee and extends into southern Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio and northern Mississippi and Alabama. Eighty-nine percent of the vegetative cover is hardwood forest. Less than four percent of LBL land, 2,590 hectares, is developed with facilities for recreation, education, or administration. The relatively small amount of non-forested land, 5,079 hectares is represented by a variety of open land type -- row cropped fields, hay fields, wildlife woods openings, wildlife plantings, managed prairie areas, and utility easements. This ecologically diverse area has been designated as an Experimental Ecological Reserve by the National Science Foundation. Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, documented 733 vascular plants on a 325 hectare natural area site within LBL. More than 1,300 species of plants have been found in the LBL area. The vertebrate fauna of the entire area includes documentation of 53 species of mammals, 232 species of birds, 30 species of amphibians, 42 species of reptiles, and 97 species of fish. Aquatic invertebrates include stone flies, mayflies, Caddis flies, dragonflies, damselflies, and midges; but terrestrial invertebrates have not been extensively sampled. LBL is very well suited for large-scale manipulative research. About 40 research projects are currently in progress; and more than 240 studies have been conducted over the past 31 years, primarily in the area of natural resources. II. Major Issues: Achieving sustainable development in the 17-county region while preserving the cultural and economic values and traditions of the area is the primary challenge of the LBLABR Cooperative. The economy of the region is built upon tourism, light industry, and agricultural commodities, including tobacco, soybeans, corn, wheat, cattle, and hogs. The large cities within 250 miles of the biosphere reserve include Nashville and Memphis, Tennessee; St. Louis, Missouri; and Louisville, Kentucky. The tourist economy of the region is primarily focused on Kentucky and Barkley Lakes and Land Between The Lakes with a variety of resorts, marinas, shopping centers, and restaurants serving customers in the area. Boating, fishing, hunting, and sightseeing are the primary recreational uses of the region. In early 1994, approximately 350 stakeholders in the l7-county region were identified and invited to attend one of three initial workshops in Paris, Tennessee; Hopkinsville, Kentucky: and Gilbertsville, Kentucky, at nearby state park resort. Approximately 77 people attended to learn more about biosphere reserves and to share their perspectives on issues and opportunities for LBLABR. This group serves as the pool of shareholders from which an executive committee, cooperative, and five committees are being formed. The following is a list of participants by general categories.

Agricultural Professionals Chamber of Commerce/Tourism Congressional Staff County Government Development Districts Educators Environmental Organizations Health Professionals Industry Media Natural Resource Professionals Police Resource Clubs Utilities

In trying to involve representatives from economic, environmental, and social sectors of the region, it was clear that some gaps exist between a group with balanced representation and the individuals who volunteered to be involved. With 1994 as the startup year for the LBLABR Cooperative, it was decided that a mission and basic organizational structure and objectives would be developed first. Then the group will pursue recruitment of stakeholders ( http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/2386/pa09001.html ) who provide balance among the three sectors -- environmental, social, and economic. A final decision has not been made about the legal status of the cooperative but one option is to seek non-profit status under the Internal Revenue Service law, 501c3. Presently, five committees do the work of the cooperative: Education and Training, Ecological and Economic Research, Sustainable Development, Communications, Needs Assessment. Program objectives are expressed in three clusters of activities. Build harmonious relationships between humans and the environment through an international cooperative program. 2. Develop greater understanding in wise use of the area's renewable resources, in conserving and promoting the conservation of its unique and fragile attributes, and in supporting environmentally compatible economic development. 3. Enter into cooperative relationships with other biosphere reserves nationally and globally to attain common objectives. V. BENEFITS, CONSTRAINTS, OPPORTUNITIES: LBLABR is intensively managed and consumptive uses of resources are permitted. Hunting, fishing, trapping, and firewood and Christmas tree cutting are allowed with purchase of appropriate permits. Berry and mushroom picking, and nut gathering are allowed year round at no charge except in restricted areas. Off-highway vehicle use is permitted at no charge in the designated 1,012 hectare OHV area at Turkey Bay. These management activities offer ample opportunities for research and observation. Three university consortia bring undergraduate students to LBL each year to observe management practices and discuss the decision-making environment. In 1995, the organization faces an approximately 30 percent reduction in the appropriated budget with a mandate to operate more efficiently. Due to an early-retirement and early-out bonus package, coupled with the loss of other positions, about 60 staff members left at the end of fiscal year 1994. As with many other federal facilities, major changes in operations must be made to accommodate the fiscal austerity trend. Since dedication of the LBLABR in 1991, the primary emphasis has been on identifying the core, managed use area, and zone of cooperation while completing the Environmental Impact Statement and Natural Resource Management Plan. The formation of the cooperative will require considerable effort by the stakeholders to be successful. Currently there is a limited commitment of staff time to the cooperative and much of the planning and development of the program will depend upon recently recruited stakeholders. It will require many years of cooperative effort to determine the roles of this group in improving communication and collaboration among diverse stakeholders. PRINCIPAL CONTRIBUTORS: Tlm Merriman, Manager, Research and Innovations, Land Between The Lakes; Charles E. Massey, Manager Property and Resource Services, Land Between The Lakes; and Rick Lowe, Natural Resources Team Leader, Land Between The Lakes.

Land Bridge - A narrow isthmian link between two large landmasses. They are temporary features - at least in terms of geologic time subject to appearance and disappearance as the land or sea level rises and falls.

Land Capability (classification) - The quality of soil resources for agricultural use is commonly expressed as land capability classes and subclasses, which show, in a general way, the suitability of soils for most kinds of field crops. Soils are grouped according to their limitations when they are used to grow field crops, the risk of damage when they are used, and the way they respond to treatment. Capability classes, the broadest groups, are designated by Roman numerals I through VIII, with I being the best soils and VIII being the poorest.

Land Capability Class - One of eight classes of land in the land capability classification of the USDA -- Soil Conservation Service, distinguished according to the risk of land damage or the difficulty of land use.

Land capability classification (class and subclass) - Land capability classification is a system of grouping soils primarily on the basis of their capability to produce common cultivated crops and pasture plants without deteriorating over a long period. Land capability classification is subdivided into capability class and capability subclass nationally. Land Capability class - The broadest category in the system. Class codes I to VIII indicate progressively greater limitations and narrower choices for agriculture. The numbers are used to represent both irrigated and nonirrigated land capability. Land Capability subclass - The second category in the system. Class codes e (erosion problems), w (wetness problems), s (root zone limitations), and c (climatic limitations) are used for land capability subclasses. - National Resources Inventory

LANDCARE - National Landcare Program (Australia)

Land Class - The topographic relief of a unit of land. Land classes are separated by slope; this coincides with the timber inventory process. The three land classes used in the forest Plan are defined by the following slop ranges: zero to thirty-five percent; thirty-six to fifty-five percent; and greater than fifty-five percent.

Land Classification - Land categories, reflecting quality classes, capability classes or grade, depending upon the characteristics of the land and/or its potential for agricultural use. (UN)

Land Conservation and Development Commission: (LCDC) A commission appointed to determine land use policy in Oregon. - Bioenergy Glossary

Land Cover - See land use.

Land cover/use - A term that includes categories of land cover and categories of land use. Land cover is the vegetation or other kind of material that covers the land surface. Land use is the purpose of human activity on the land; it is usually, but not always, related to land cover. The NRI uses the term land cover/use to identify categories that account for all the surface area of the United States. - National Resources Inventory

Land Degradation - Land Degradation - An umbrella term for decline in soil quality which can occur in a number of ways, including erosion, salinization, water logging, heavy metal and other chemical pollution, and desertification. (UNESCO) 2. Reduction or loss of the biological or economic productivity and complexity of rain-fed cropland, irrigated cropland, or range, pasture, forests or woodlands resulting from natural processes, land uses or other human activities and habitation patterns such as land contamination, soil erosion and the destruction of the vegetation cover. (UN)

Land Disposal - A transaction that leads to the transfer of title of public lands from the federal government. - BLM

Land Drainage - Removal of excess water from fields through the construction of channels or conduits. It improves crop growth through aeration and root development, checks weed growth and reduces the incidence of plant diseases. (UN)

Land Evaluation and Site Assessment System (LESA) - A technique that can be used at the local level to determine the quality of land or agricultural uses and to assess sites or areas of land for their agricultural viability. It was first used in the early 1980s.

Land Exchange - This authority allows CVNP -Cuyahoga Valley National Park - [in this instance] to trade lands under its control for those under the control of other governmental entities located within the boundaries of the park, to meet mutual goals. - DOI/NPS http://www.nps.gov/cuva/management/rmprojects/ruraleis/ 

Landfill - Final placement of waste in or on the land in a controlled or uncontrolled way according to different sanitary, environmental protection and other safety requirements. (UN)

Land Grant - The donation of public lands to a subordinate government, a corporation, or individual. - Cadastral Data glossary Land Patent - Some property owners are developing a radical defense against zoning impositions and the payment of real estate taxes. Controversial applications of case law include citing Summa Corp. v. California ex. rel. Lands Commission (U.S. Supreme Court 1984, Justice Rehnquist) "California cannot at this late date assert its public trust easement over petitioner's property, when petitioner's predecessors-in-interest had their interest confirmed without any mention of such an easement in proceedings taken pursuant to the Act of 1851" (providing repose to land titles that originated with Mexican grants). (California's asserted public trust easement in tideland would leave the landowner "little more than the naked fee," and had to have been asserted in 1851 to be effective.) - Zoning (Case Law) Glossary

Land Grant Colleges of Agriculture - The Morrill Act of 1862 granted federal land to states to sell, and instructed each state to use the proceeds to endow a college to teach 'agriculture and the mechanical arts.' States not having any federal land within their borders were given 'land in scrip,' permitting them to sell federal land located in other (usually western) states in order to establish an agricultural college. The original schools are called the 1862 Institutions. Subsequently, the Morrill Act of 1890 created the black colleges of agriculture, called the 1890 Institutions. The Elementary and Secondary Education Reauthorization Act of 1994 then gave land grant status to 29 Native American colleges, called the 1994 Institutions.

Land Grant University - The term used to identify a public university in each state that was originally established as a land grant college of agriculture pursuant to the Morrill Act of 1862. In most states the original agricultural colleges grew over time into full- fledged public universities by adding other colleges (e.g., arts and sciences, medicine, law, etc.); in states where a public university existed prior to 1862, the first Morrill Act resulted in a college of agriculture being added to the university. USDA funds go only to the original land grant colleges of agriculture within the so-called land grant universities.

Land Improvement - Alteration in the qualities of land that improves its potential for land use. (UN)

Land in Farms - The acreage designated as "land in farms" consists primarily of agricultural land used for crops, pasture, or grazing. It also includes woodland and wasteland not actually under cultivation or used for pasture or grazing, provided it was part of the farm operator's total operation. Large acreages of woodland or wasteland held for nonagricultural purposes were deleted from individual reports during the processing operations. Land in farms includes acres set aside under annual commodity acreage programs as well as acres in the Conservation Reserve and Wetlands Reserve Programs for places meeting the farm definition. (USGS)

Landform - A discernible natural landscape, such as a floodplain, stream terrace, plateau, or alluvial fan.

Land Management Services Contracts - A proposed national forest timber sale contract where purchasers would be required to perform activities, other than those directly related to timber cutting and removal, in or near the sale area, in exchange for a reduction in the stumpage price. Pilot tests of this contract arrangement have been conducted, but its general use is not authorized.

The Land Ordinance of 1785 - Provided the method of surveying and a plan for disposal of the lands, but also reserved one-third part of all gold, silver, lead, and copper mines to be sold or otherwise disposed of, as Congress shall thereafter direct.

Ø Treaty of Paris/1783/Great Britain/Alabama (95%), Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota (33%), Mississippi (95%), Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin

Ø Louisiana Purchase/1803/France/Arkansas, Colorado (40%), Iowa, Kansas (80%), Louisiana, Minnesota (67%), Missouri, Montana (90%), Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma (85%), South Dakota, and Wyoming (60%)

Ø Florida Purchase/1819/Spain/Alabama (5%), Florida, and Mississippi (5%)

Ø Texas Accession/1845/Republic of Texas(Mexico)/Colorado (30%), Kansas (20%), New Mexico (65%), Oklahoma (15%), Texas, and Wyoming (5%)

Ø Webster-Ashburton Treaty/1846/Great Britain/Idaho, Montana (10%), Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming (15%)

Ø Guadalupe-Hildago Treaty/1848/Mexico/Arizona (75%), California, Colorado (30%), Nevada, New Mexico (33%), Utah, and Wyoming (20%)

Ø Gadsden Purchase/1853/Mexico/Arizona (25%), and New Mexico (2%)

Ø Alaska Purchase/1867/Russia/Alaska

Ø Hawaii Accession/1898/Republic of Hawaii/Hawaii

Ø The 13 original colonies, Vermont (from New York), and West Virginia (from Virginia) are excluded. Numbers in parentheses represent estimates of percent of the State's territory associated with the acquisition. Compiled from Gannett, 1900.

Land Reclamation - Gain of land from the sea, or wetlands, or other water bodies, and restoration of productivity or use to lands that have been degraded by human activities or impaired by natural phenomena. (UN)

Land reclamation - Previously unusable land, sea or lake bed developed for agriculture etc. - UNEP Children's Glossary

Land retirement - Permanent or long-term removal of land from agricultural production. - Bureau Of Reclamation -- BOR -- Water Acquisition Glossary

Landscape - An area composed of interacting and inter-connected patterns of habitats (ecosystems) that are repeated because of the geology, landform, soils, climate, biota, and human influences throughout the area. Landscape structure is formed by patches (tree stands or sites), connections (corridors and linkages), and the matrix. Landscape function is based on disturbance events, successional development of landscape structure, and flows of energy and nutrients through the structure of the landscape. A landscape is composed of watersheds and smaller ecosystems. It is the building block of biotic provinces and regions. - USDA Forest Service

Landslide - Downward mass movement of earth or rock on unstable slopes. (UN) An acute form of erosion which occurs when a steep slope or river bank becomes unstable and a large section of the soil falls away, smothering anything its path. Landslides are common in areas that have been deforested and which consequently experience heavy periods of rain. With little vegetation covering the slopes, there are fewer roots to bind the soil to the sides of the hill or river. See deforestation. (UNESCO)

Land Suitability - The appropriateness of land for development taking into account land capability, compatibility of development with available services system capacities both local and regional, such as road, water and sewer systems.

Land Surveyor - 1. A person who: (1) has special knowledge of mathematics and surveying principles and methods that are acquired by education and practical experience; and (2) is a registered land surveyor. As added by P.L.23-1991, SEC.12. 2. A person who has knowledge of the principles of mathematics, physics, and applied sciences, the techniques of measurement necessary to the various surveying branches and the relevant requirements of law for adequate evidence, which are all requisite to surveying of real property. - Cadastral Data glossary

Land Surveys - Generally, surveys executed to establish property boundaries and corners. - Cadastral Data glossary

Land Tenure - Right to the exclusive occupancy and use of a specified area of land.

Land Title Office - The government office, which holds the centralized daily registry of changes in the title to individual pieces of property.

Land Treatment - Any activity or project to improve conservation of soil, water, or other resources and improve production.

Land Trust - Any trust arrangement under which the legal and equitable title to real estate is held by a trustee, the interest of the beneficiary of the trust is personal property and the beneficiary or any person designated in writing by the beneficiary has 1) the exclusive power to direct or control the trustee in dealing with the title to the trust property, 2) the exclusive control of the management, operation, renting and selling of the trust property and 3) the exclusive right to the earnings, avails and proceeds of the trust property.

Land Use - (see land-use classification and multiple land use).

Land use - In agricultural statistics refers to land classification according to the agricultural holders' concepts of use i.e., arable land, pastures, etc. -FAO UN Glossary 2. The primary or primary and secondary uses of land, such as cropland, woodland, pastureland, forest, water (lakes, wetlands, streams), etc. The description of a particular landuse should convey the dominant character of a geographic area and establish the dominant types of human activities that are prevalent in each region. - Shoreland Mgmt. Glossary 2. The terms "land cover" and "land use" are often confused. Land cover is "the observed physical and biological cover of the earth's land, as vegetation or man-made features." In contrast, land use is "the total of arrangements, activities, and inputs that people undertake in a certain land cover type" (FAO, 1997a; FAO/UNEP, 1999). National categories of land use differ, but many have been harmonized under the influence of FAO's periodical World Census of Agriculture (Table 2-1). Categories of land cover/use systems are used in Chapter 4 (Section 4.4) to illustrate the expected potential for carbon sequestration from a change in system management (e.g., intensification or extensification) or upon conversion from one category to another. - USDA

Land Use Allocation - The identification in a land use plan of the activities and foreseeable development that are allowed, restricted, or excluded for all or part of the planning area, based on desired future conditions. - BLM

Land Use Allocations - Allocations which define allowable uses/activities, restricted uses/activities, and prohibited uses/activities. They may be expressed in terms of area such as acres or miles etc. Each allocation is associated with a specific management objective. (BLM)

Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) - A board appointed to adjudicate land use disputes. - Bioenergy Glossary

Land Use Category - A designation established by the Land Use Plan which assists in the determination of appropriate types of uses for developing property.

Land Use Classification - Classification providing information on land cover, and the types of human activity involved in land use. It may also facilitate the assessment of environmental impacts on, and potential or alternative uses of, land. The classification, developed by the Economic Commission for Europe, consists of seven main categories: a) agricultural land, b) forest and other wooded land, c) built-up and related land, excluding scattered farm buildings, d) wet open land, e) dry open land with special vegetation cover, f) open land without, or with insignificant, vegetation cover and g) waters. (UN)

Land Use Plan - A set of decisions that establish management direction for land within an administrative area, as prescribed under the planning provisions of FLPMA; an assimilation of land-use-plan-level decisions developed through the planning process outlined in 43 CFR 1600, regardless of the scale at which the decisions were developed. - BLM

Land Use Plan - Any document developed to define the kinds of use, goals and objectives, management practices and activities that will be allowed to occur on an individual or group of parcels of land. A coordinated collection of data, programs, and activities related to existing and potential uses of land and resources within a defined area. Commonly associated with local units of government trying to anticipate and organize uses of space so as to meet defined goals. For producers, conservation plans are a type of land use plan.

Land Use Plan Decision - Establishes desired outcomes and actions needed to achieve them. Decisions are reached using the planning process in 43 CFR 1600. When they are presented to the public as proposed decisions, they can be protested to the BLM Director. They are not appealable to IBLA. - BLM

Land Use Planning Base - The entire body of land use plan decisions resulting from RMPs, MFPs, planning analyses, the adoption of other agency plans, or any other type of plan where land-use-plan-level decisions are reached. - BLM

Landfill gas - Gas that is generated by decomposition of organic material at landfill disposal sites. Landfill gas is approximately 50 percent methane. - Bioenergy Glossary

Landform Grading - A method of contour grading which creates manufactured slopes that have curves and varying slope ratios in the horizontal and vertical planes, and are thus designed to simulate the appearance of surrounding natural terrain.

Landing - A cleared working area on or near a timber harvest site at which processing steps are carried out. - Bioenergy Glossary

Landing - Any place where cut timber is assembled for further transport from the timber sale area.

Landline - The boundary lines for National Forest land.

Landmark - A monument or material mark or fixed object used to designate a land boundary on the ground. - Cadastral Data glossary

Landraces - A crop cultivar or animal breed that evolved with and has been genetically improved by traditional agriculturalists, but has not been influenced by modern breeding practices. - UNDP/WRI

Lands beneath navigable waters - (1) all lands within the boundaries of each of the respective states which are covered by nontidal waters that were navigable at the time the state became a member of the Union or acquired sovereignty over the lands and waters, up to the ordinary high water mark, (2) all lands permanently or periodically covered by tidal waters up to the line of mean high tide and seaward to a line three miles from the coast line of such state, and to the boundary line of a state the boundary of which at the time the state became a member of the Union, or as approved by Congress, extended seaward beyond three miles, and (3) all filled in, made, or reclaimed lands which formerly were lands beneath navigable waters. Natural resources: includes, without limiting the generality thereof, oil, gas, and other minerals and fish, shrimp, oysters, clams, crabs, lobsters, sponges, kelp, and other marine animal and plant life, but does not include water power or the use of water for producing power. §1301. - Submerged Lands Act

Lands Legacy Initiative - To preserve irreplaceable places. The legislation would create a perpetual fund, beyond the reach of Congress, to spend up to $2.3 billion per year to expand the federal land domain. The land contains or grows the raw material for every product we use. The more land owned and controlled by the federal government, the less raw material is available for use in the free market. To put it bluntly, when the government owns or controls the source of production, the market is no longer free. Capitalism and socialism are mutually exclusive; socialism, by definition is, government ownership of the sources of production. The Clinton Administration proposed a $1 billion Lands Legacy Initiative in the FY2000 budget. The Department of the Interior agencies would receive more than half the total under this request, $579 million, and all but $14 million of the total would come through the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Most of these funds, $413 million, would be spent on land acquisition. The U.S. Forest Service would receive $198 million, including $118 million for land acquisition. On February 8, 1999, Representative Ralph Regula, Chairman of the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee, expressed great concern about the President's Lands Legacy Initiative since he noted that it conflicted with the Subcommittee's number one priority of addressing the critical backlog maintenance problems and operational shortfalls in national parks, wildlife refuges, national forests, and other public lands totaling more than $12 billion.

Landscape - All the natural geographical features, such as fields, hills, forests, and water that distinguish one part of the earth's surface from another part. These characteristics are a result not only of natural forces but of human use of the land as well. - Shoreland Mgmt. Glossary 2. A region consisting of interacting ecosystems determined by geology, soils, climate, biota, and human influences. A landscape is made up of watersheds and smaller ecosystems. - Bioenergy Glossary 3. An area composed of interacting and inter-connected patterns of habitats (ecosystems) that are repeated because of the geology, landform, soils, climate, biota, and human influences throughout the area. Landscape structure is formed by patches (tree stands or sites), connections (corridors and linkages), and the matrix. Landscape function is based on disturbance events, successional development of landscape structure, and flows of energy and nutrients through the structure of the landscape. A landscape is composed of watersheds and smaller ecosystems. It is the building block of biotic provinces and regions. - http://www.fireplan.gov  glossary  4. A watershed or series of similar and interacting watersheds. - Biodiversity Guidebook Glossary

Landscape - A heterogeneous land area composed of a cluster of interacting ecosystems that are repeated in similar form throughout. A large land area composed of interacting ecosystems that are repeated due to factors such as geology, soils, climate, and human impacts. Landscapes are often used for coarse grain analysis. NOT synonymous with environment, but is the environment perceived, especially visually perceived.

Landscape Block - A specific landscape unit used in analysis (example: a drainage). (BLM)

Landscape Character - The nature or identity of the landscape. It is the combination of the natural and cultural elements and their processes.

Landscape Character Theme (LCT) - A broad description of land use patterns, vegetation processes or patterns or dominant characteristics found in a landscape. - FS

Landscape Diversity - The size, shape and connectivity of different ecosystems across a large area. (BLM)

Landscape Ecology - Principles and theories for understanding the structure, functioning, and change of landscapes over time. Specifically it considers (1) the development and dynamics of spatial heterogeneity, (2) interactions and exchanges across heterogeneous landscapes, (3) the influences of spatial heterogeneity on biotic and abiotic processes, and (4) the management of spatial heterogeneity. The consideration of spatial patterns distinguishes landscape ecology from traditional ecological studies, which frequently assume that systems are spatially homogeneous. (BLM)

Landscape Features - The land and water form, vegetation, and structures which compose the characteristic landscape. (BLM)

Landscape Grain - The finest level of spatial resolution possible with a given data set or the smallest habitat unit significant for the study or analysis of a specific ecological processes. (Example: a spotted owl nest grove or an individual canopy gap.) Habitat grains are often referred to as "fine scale" or "broad scale". (BLM)

Landscape mosaic - The "big picture" that is created when all the components (biological, environmental and cultural) of the landscape are viewed as a single, interrelated entity in which the parts interact to create the whole.

Landscape Patterns - Arrangement of parts, elements, or details of the landscape that suggests a design of natural or human origin. 2. The number, frequency, size, and juxtaposition of landscape elements (patches) which are important to the determination or interpretation of ecological processes. (BLM)

Landscape Scale - The spatial dimension of an object or process, characterized by both grain and extent (example: the scale used in this analysis consisted of landscape blocks of 20,000 acres in extent with the finest level of spatial resolution being canopy gaps of 1/4 acre in size). (BLM)

Landscape Setting - The context and environment in which a landscape is set; a landscape backdrop. - FS

Landscape Structure - The distribution of energy, materials, and species in relation to the sizes, shapes, numbers, kinds, and configuration of landscape elements or ecosystems.

Land Type - A unit of land with similar designated soil, vegetation, geology, topography, climate, and drainage. The basis for mapping units in the land systems inventory.

Landscape unit - A planning area, generally up to about 100,000 hectares in size, delineated according to topographic or geographic features such as a watershed or series of watersheds. It is established by the district manager. - Biodiversity Guidebook Glossary

Land Use Planning - The process of organizing the use of lands and their resources to best meet people's needs over time, according to the land's capabilities.

LANL - Los Alamos National Laboratory

LAP - Land Acquisition and Preservation

LAP - Land Acquisition Program

Large Contiguous Area (when applied to habitat) - The area of undisturbed land required to maintain a desired community of plants and animals. It assumes a configuration which minimizes the length of the perimeter of the area. When applied to farmland, Large Contiguous Area means the amount of contiguous farmland usually considered necessary to permit normal farm operations to take place on a sustained basis.

Large Family - A household of five or more persons related by birth and/or marriage.

Large streams - Perennial streams at least 1/8 mile (660 feet) wide. - National Resources Inventory

Large urban and built-up areas - A Land cover/use category composed of developed tracts of at least 10 acres-meeting the definition of Urban and built-up areas. - National Resources Inventory

Large water bodies - Water bodies of at least 40 acres. - National Resources Inventory

LARL - Local Access Railroad Line

Larva - Immature form of many invertebrate animals. (UN)

Larvicide - Pesticide that kills larvae. (UN)

LASNM - Loggers Association of Sierra Nevada Municipalities

Late Forest Succession - The stage of forest succession in which most of the trees are mature or overmature.

Late Seral Stage - The period in the life of a forest stand from first merchantability to culmination of mean annual increment. Usually ages 40 to 100 years of age. Forest stands are dominated by conifers or hardwoods; canopy closure often approaches 100 percent. During this period, stand diversity is minimal, except that conifer mortality rates and snag formation will be fairly rapid. Big game hiding and thermal cover is present. Forage is minimal except in understocked stands. - 2. A plant community with a species composition that is 51-75% of the potential natural community one would expect to find on that ecological site. - BLM 2. Shade tolerant species, primarily vine maple shrubs and western red cedar and western hemlock trees. These species follow the mid-seral species in natural succession. - Bioenergy Glossary

Late seral treatment - A treatment in which late seral species will be established after thinning. - Bioenergy Glossary

Late-Successional Reserve (LSR) - A forest in its mature and/or old-growth stages that has been reserved. - BLM

LAU - Lynx analysis units (DOI/USFWS)

LAW - Land Air Water

LAWERG - Land Air Water Environmental Research Group

LAWLC - Land Air Water Law Center

Law of Nations - The Law of Nations is the science of the rights which exist between Nations or States, and of the obligations corresponding to these rights.

The Law of Nations - Jus Gentium - Although the Romans used these words in the sense we attach to law of nations, yet among them the sense was much more extended. Some have made a distinction between the laws of nations which have for their object the conflict between the laws of different nations, which they call jus gentium privatum, or private international law; and those laws of nations which regulate those matters which nations, as such, have with each other, which is de nominated jus gentium publicum, or public international law. The original concepts of natural law, however, were to undergo a marked transformation, when the Reformation leaders, following Roman and mediaeval authorities, gave great significance in political and religious matters to the rights and liberties of the individual. Instead of natural law or rules of superior validity jus naturale was translated into a theory of natural rights - qualities inherent in man whom it was the duty of the state to protect. Grotius was one of the foremost mediaeval thinkers to find a source of natural rights in certain inherent qualities belonging to the individual. These rights, which were sanctioned by natural law, might be discovered by human reason. Montesquieu and the Physiocrats in France and English philosophers also formulated theories of natural rights as inherent in the individual, with certain formulas derived therefrom designed to limit all public authorities. Moreover, the distinction suggested several centuries earlier that rulers were bound not only by the primary laws of nature but also by certain fundamental secondary natural laws which were expressed in positive laws, was formally enunciated. One of the popular writers of the eighteenth century, who based his political philosophy on rights inherent in the individual, was Vattel, whose volume on The Law of Nations appeared in many editions, French, English, and German. As a representative authority Vattel's views, as well as those of Grotius, Pufendorf, and Burlamaqui, were extensively studied and followed during the formative period of American law. Vattel, who was a follower of Frederic von Wolff, began to translate Wolff's work, Jus Naturae Methodo Scientifica Pertractatum, and to render it available to the public and the result was that he put the doctrines of Wolff into such form that a relatively new and popular treatise was prepared. To Vattel, it was regarded as settled on the basis of natural law "that liberty and independence belong to man by his very nature, and that they cannot be taken from him without his consent." Moreover, "the whole Nation, whose common will is but the outcome of the united wills of the citizens, remains subject to the laws of nature, and is bound to respect them in all its undertakings.... We must therefore," he continued, "apply to nations the rules of the natural law to discover what are their obligations and their rights; hence, the law of Nations is in its origin merely the law of Nature applied to Nations." Vattel regarded this law immutable as being founded "on the nature of things," and particularly "on the nature of man" and hence he thought, "nations can not alter it by agreement, nor individually or mutually release themselves from it." Vattel aided in the movement to establish written constitutions, as the foundation of public authority. He maintained that the fundamental laws enacted by the nation itself are not subject to change by the legislature. The distinction between fundamental and ordinary law was clearly drawn, and American legal authorities soon began to make practical applications of the distinction. With the writings of Grotius, Pufendorf, Wolff, and Vattel attention was directed to a state of nature - a golden age that existed at the beginning of society in which the laws of nature, as affecting the relations of individuals and of communities, predominated. These laws of nature were of the immutable type, and it was not long before jurists and politicians began to think of man as emerging from this state of nature with a panoply of rights belonging to him as an individual. Political and economic conditions in Europe and in America were taking the shape that gave vital and legal force to the emerging concept of the natural inherent and inalienable rights of man.

Layout (noun) - A preliminary cadastral map or work map used for plotting secondary surveys and parcel boundaries, computing acreages, tax lotting maps, and/or plotting lines from aerial photos. The manuscript map. - Cadastral Data glossary

LB - Learner-Based

LB - Leveraged Buyout

LB - Lutheran Brotherhood

LBEA - Land-Based Economic Activity

LBG - Louisville Butchertown Greenway

LBL - Land Between the Lakes Land Between the Lakes, 100 Van Morgan Dr., Golden Pond, Ky. 1-800-LBL-7077; 207-924-2080 http://www.lbl.org  Located on the Tennessee/Kentucky border between Kentucky Lake on the Tennessee River and Lake Barkley on the Cumberland River. This United Nations-designated International Biosphere Reserve features The Nature Station environmental education center; an elk and bison prairie; The Golden Pond Planetarium & Observatory; camping areas with hookups and showers; 200 miles of hiking trails; bike trails (mountain bike trails include Energy Lake and the Jenny Ridge); hunting; fishing; canoeing; horseback riding (including campground with stalls and tack shop); a retreat center; and an off-highway all-terrain vehicle area. The Homeplace-1850, a living-history museum and working 19th-century farm, hosts events and festivals. Beware of hunters in hunting season.

LBL - Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory

LBLABR - The LBL Area Biosphere Reserve (United Nations)

LBP - Last Best Places (The Nature Conservancy)

LC - Land Clearing

LC - Landscape Change

LC - Landscape Characteristics

LC - Landscape Context

LC - Lethal Concentration

LC - Livable Communities

LC - Logical Conclusion

LC - Love Canal

LCA - Land Capability Analysis

LCA - Local Conservation Alternative

LCAA - Life Cycle Activity Analysis

LCAA - Local Conservation Action Alternative

LCAOF - Liz Claiborne & Art Ortenberg Foundation

LCAS - Lynx Conservation Assessment and Strategy (DOI/USFWS)

LCBP - Lake Champlain Basin Program http://www.lcbp.org/ 

LCC - Log Cabin Club

LCDC - Land Conservation and Development Commission (DOI/BLM)

LCF - Late-Succession Forests

LCHIP - Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (New Hampshire)

LCM - Land Cover Map

LCM - Life Cycle Management

LCMMP - The Land Cover Monitoring and Mapping Program (USDA/Forest Service) http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/spf/about/fhp-change-applications.shtml 

LCR - Log Cabin Republicans

LCSA - Louisiana Crushed Stone Association

LCT - Land Conservation Tools

LCV - League of Conservation Voters

LD - Lacustrine Deposit

LD - Land Devaluation

LD - Legislating Disaster

LD - Legislative Delegation

LD - Lowhead Dam

LDB - Longitudinal Database

LDC - Less Developed Countries

LDCC - Library/Data Communications Committee

LDD - Limited Distribution Document (UN)

LDEO - Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

LDF - Legal Defense Foundation (Madeline Fortin - FL)

LDF - Legal Defense Fund

LDF - Linear Disturbance Features (roads, trails and utility corridors)

LDR - Land Disposal Restrictions

LDR - Low Density Residential

LDS - Landscape Diversity Strategy

LDTF - Land Development Task Force

LE - Land Exchange

LE - Law Enforcement

LE - Low-End

LEA(s) - Law Enforcement Agreement(s)

LEAA - The Law Enforcement Alliance of America

Leach Pad - See Heap Leach Pat. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

Leachate - Liquid that results from water trickling through wastes, agricultural pesticides, or fertilizers. Leaching may occur in farm areas, feedlots and landfills, and may result in hazardous substances' entering surface water, groundwater or soil. 2. A substance that has percolated or seeped through the soil. In the context of environmental issues this term is usually used to describe a toxic or hazardous substance, possibly soluble, that has been improperly disposed of in, or spilt over, soil. (UNESCO)

Leaching - The natural process by which salts and other soluble materials are removed, chemicals are dissolved and transported through the soil by percolating water. Pesticides and nutrients from fertilizers or manures may leach from fields, areas of spills, or feedlots and thereby enter surface water, groundwater, or soil. Leaching from concentrated sources such as waste sites and loading areas vulnerable to spills can be prevented by paving or containment with a liner of relatively impermeable material designed to keep leachate inside a treatment pond, landfill, or a tailings disposal area. Liner materials include plastic and dense clay. The process of removal of alkali and soluble salts from soil by profuse irrigation and drainage.

Leaching Fraction - The extra fraction of the amount of water needed to wet the soil that must be added to keep soil salinity below a predetermined tolerance concentration.

LEAD - Learning Enhanced Adult Degree

Lead - Heavy metal whose compounds are highly poisonous to health. Its use in gasoline, paints and plumbing compounds has been generally reduced. (UN)

Lead - A heavy metal used for thousands of years for pipes, roofs, gutters etc. - UNEP Children's Glossary

LEAD - Leadership Education Action Development

Leaking mode - A surface seismic wave that is imperfectly trapped so that its energy leaks or escapes across a layer boundary causing some attenuation, or loss of energy. - USGS Earthquake glossary

LeaP Coaching - Awareness-based coaching by Lea Pillsbury, a change agent. She says, "Everything that comes into existence has a source. For a human being, the source of his or her thinking and acting is awareness. By reorienting yourself or your organization around awareness of your vision, mission, and values, you can eliminate the barriers to success that you have been experiencing because you will have more energy, never again will you feel overwhelmed or exhausted; be in integrity with what fuels you; have a congruent life, lifestyle, or organizational culture (all the parts come together in agreement); attract (magnetize) what you want and need because your focus is clear."

Learning Organization (LO) - A "Learning Organization" is one in which people at all levels, individually and collectively, are continually increasing their capacity to produce results they really care about. The level of performance and improvement needed requires learning, lots of learning. In most industries, in health care, and in most areas of government, there is no clear path to success, no clear path to follow. Learning to do is enormously rewarding and personally satisfying. The possibility of a win-win is part of the attraction. That is, the possibility of achieving extraordinary performance together with satisfaction and fulfillment for the individuals involved. There are many examples of Learning Organizations, but the Learning Organization is an ideal, a vision. Various organizations or parts of organizations achieve this in varying degree.

Lease - An authorization or contract by which one party (lessor) conveys the use of property, such as real estate, to another (lessee) in return for rental payments. In the case of oil, gas, and coal leases in the Monument, the U.S. Department of Interior or the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration are lessors and have conveyed the right to explore and develop these resources to corporations or individuals on various land tracts. In addition to rental payments, lessees also pay royalties (a percentage of value) to the lessor from resource production. - BLM (DOI) Grand Escalante Staircase National Monument DEIS Glossary

Lease Land Farm Program (LLFP) - Established by the 1964 Kuchel Act. Farmlands are essential to local economy and provide tremendous wildlife benefits, especially food and habitat for migrating waterfowl.

Leasable Minerals - Minerals which may be leased to private interests by the federal government. Includes oil, gas, geothermal resources, and coal. (BLM)

Leasable Minerals - Minerals such as coal, oil shale, oil and gas, phosphate, potash, sodium, geothermal resources, and all other minerals that may be acquired under the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended. - BLM

Least cost planning (integrated resource planning) - A method of power planning that recognizes load uncertainty, embodies an emphasis on risk management, and reviews all available and reliable resources to meet future loads. It takes into consideration all costs of a resource, including capital, labor, fuel, maintenance, decommissioning, known environmental impacts, and the difficulty in quantifying the consequences of selecting one resource over another. Least cost planning seeks to minimize total energy costs. - Bioenergy Glossary

Least Desirable Species - These are the poorer species in a type or community. They may consist of ruderals (Webster: A plant growing in poor land), invaders, and species that are usually taprooted and persist in dominant proportions after a long period of continuous heavy grazing use. They may be unpalatable or have very low palatability to grazing animals. The plants in this group as a rule have poor soil binding qualities and as a consequence, heavy soil erosion may be occurring on the site. - USDA DEIS Upper & Lower East Fork Cattle and Horse Allotment Management Plans glossary (Sawtooth National Recreation Area, Sawtooth National Forest, Custer County, Idaho

Least developed countries. - Low-income countries where, according to the United Nations, economic growth faces long-term impediments- such as structural weaknesses and low human resources development. A category used to guide donors and countries in allocating foreign assistance. - WB

LEBF - Lake Erie Binational Forum

LEE - Labor-Intensive Employment

LEED - Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design - Green Building Rating System - United States Green Building Council

LEF - Living Earth Foundation

LEF - Location-Efficient Mortgage (Home buyers who give up a car because their new home is near transit may now use the money they will save to help them qualify for a bigger mortgage. With underwriting from Fannie Mae, the Location-Efficient Mortgage is available in the Bay Area of California for a limited time. Home-buyers make a 3% down payment and receive a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage on a one-unit, owner-occupied house or condominium, and a subsidy good for 25% off the cost of a one-year transit pass.

Legal Entities - Are entities created for purposes of production, mainly corporations and non-profit institutions (NPIs), or government units, including social security funds. They are capable of owning goods and assets, incurring liabilities and engaging in economic activities and transactions with other units in their own right. (UN)

Legal Land Description - The method of locating or describing the land in relation to the public land survey. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

Legal Notice - A notice of an appealable decision published in the Federal Register or in the legal notices section of newspaper or general circulation as required by 36 CFR 217.2. Be careful to ascertain the official "petition of record" for this date.

Legal Rights - Rights that are laid down in law and can be defended and brought before courts of law. - United Nations Charter / Human Rights Glossary

Legibility - The appearance that one could explore the landscape without getting lost. It is a landscape factor that has a special effect on preference.

Legislative Environmental Impact Statement (a.k.a. LEIS) - Prepared if a recommendation for designation of at least one segment is made to Congress. - FS

LEGNET - Legislative Network

Legumes - A family of plants, including many valuable food, forage and cover species, such as peas, beans, soybeans, peanuts, clovers, alfalfas, sweet clovers, lespedezas, vetches, and kudzu. Sometimes referred to as nitrogen-fixing plants, they can convert nitrogen from the air to build up nitrogen in the soil. Legumes are an important rotation crop because of their nitrogen-fixing property.

LEIS - See Legislative Environmental Impact Statement

Lek - An assembly area where birds, especially sage grouse, carry on display and courtship behavior. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

LEM - Land-Enclosing Movement

LEN - Lycos Environmental News

Lenticular - Having the shape of a convex lens. In geological descriptions, lenticular is used to describe the shapes of certain bodies of rocks or minerals enclosed by contrasting rock. - BLM (DOI) Grand Escalante Staircase National Monument DEIS Glossary

LEP - Limited English Proficieny

LESCO - Logistical, Engineering and Environmental Support Services, Inc.

Less Developed Countries (LDC) - Note: regions are inventions of geographers and different geographers, using different criteria, may come up with different regions. Generally, most people would classify the following realms as LDC's: Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, China, North Africa, Southwest Asia, Middle America, South America, and the Pacific Realm.

Letter Contracts with State and Local Governments and Independent Contractors - One mechanism by which EPA procures the services of States, localities and independent contractors to perform specific activities at EPA-lead removal projects. They are noncompetitive and have stringent restrictions on their use. - EPA

Letter of Eligibility - The written notification from the Department of Transportation to the applicant stating the Department's decision to grant eligibility as a State or National Scenic Highway and initiate the Designation Phase. NPS - DOI

Letter of Intent (LOI) - The written notification form submitted by the applicant to the Department stating the applicant's intent to pursue designation for a roadway as a State or National Scenic Highway/Byway. NPS - DOI

Letter of permission (LOP) - Letters of permission are a type of permit issued through an abbreviated processing procedure which includes coordination with Federal and state fish and wildlife agencies, as required by the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, and a public interest evaluation, but without the publishing of an individual public notice. 33 CFR § 325.2(e)(1).

Levee - A human-created embankment that controls or confines water. - Everglades Plan glossary

Level - Level denotes the position within the hierarchy of a category or a group of categories. Refer also to Class, Division (UN)

Level 1 Team - The Level 1 Team may be comprised of: biologists and botanists from the Forest Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Department of Fish & Game, among others. It is the role of this Team to assist the Forest Service so that programs and activities are designed to minimize adverse impacts to listed species and to facilitate efficient Endangered Species Act, Section 7 consultation. - USDA DEIS Upper & Lower East Fork Cattle and Horse Allotment Management Plans glossary (Sawtooth National Recreation Area, Sawtooth National Forest, Custer County, Idaho

Level 2 water - A term used to refer to refuge water supply deliveries. The 1989 and 1992 Refuge Water Supply Reports define Level 2 refuge water supplies as the average amount of water the refuges received between 1974 and 1983. - Bureau Of Reclamation -- BOR -- Water Acquisition Glossary

Level 4 water - A term used to refer to refuge water supply deliveries. The 1989 and 1992 Refuge Water Supply Reports define Level 4 refuge water supplies as the amount of water for full development of the refuges based upon management goals developed in the 1980s. - Bureau Of Reclamation -- BOR -- Water Acquisition Glossary

Level of Service - A measure describing conditions within an Infrastructure System, that is usually related to the system's sufficiency and capacity. (see Capital Facilities)

Leveling - The process of shifting the use of resources to even out the workload of team members and resources. - Everglades Plan glossary

Leveling - The surveying process of determining the difference in elevation between two or more points by measuring the vertical distance between two points; the determination of elevation of points above a datum. - Cadastral Data glossary

Leveling Rods - Rods marked in feet and decimals of a foot, or in meters and decimeters, used with leveling instruments to determine distances in elevation. - Cadastral Data glossary

Levelized life-cycle cost - The present value of the cost of a resource, including capital, financing and operating costs, expressed as a stream of equal annual payments. This stream of payments can be converted to a unit cost of energy by dividing the annual payment amount by the annual kilowatt-hours produced or saved. By levelizing costs, resources with different lifetimes and generating capabilities can be compared. - Bioenergy Glossary

Levy - The USDA defines levy as an import charge assessed by a country or group of countries not in accordance with a definite tariff schedule. The 'variable import levy' of the European Community is an example. The EC's levy on grains varied from day to day, depending on the offering price of third-country suppliers. In USDA's view the variable import levy is a non-tariff trade barrier because, unlike a moderate customs duty or even a quota, it can completely bar imports. The Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture resulted in the replacement of variable levies by fixed tariffs.

LF - Labor Force

LF - Laminar Flow

LF - Luce Foundation

LFA - Lead Federal Agency

LFB - Local Finance Board

LFNH - Linking Florida's Natural Heritage. Linking Florida's Natural Heritage: Science and Citizenry is a project funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services to create a virtual library of Florida ecological information from heterogeneous museum, library, and citation databases throughout the state of Florida. This is a model program of cooperation between the Florida Museum of Natural History; the libraries of the University of Florida, Florida International University, and Florida Atlantic University; and the Florida Center for Library Automation. The Linking Florida's Natural Heritage (LFNH) website allows students, researchers, and the public to query museum specimen databases, library catalogs, and other citation databases for taxonomic and topical information. In addition, scientific experts selected 200 texts for digitization. This core collection on Florida species and ecosystems is available through the LFNH site. The LFNH database is an integrated statewide environmental database on Florida animals, plants, habitats and ecosystems that accesses bibliographic information from the state university libraries, bibliographic information from a customized bibliography created from comprehensive reference sources, full text database comprising 200 publications, and specimen information from the Florida Museum of Natural History records. It is searchable by keyword, specimen common name, specimen scientific name, and (eventually) by geographic location using name or coordinates. http://palmm.fcla.edu/lfnh/related/fbic/FBICdatabases.html  and http://palmm.fcla.edu/lfnh/ 

LFOLA - Lake Forest Open Lands Association http://www.lfola.org/ 

LG - Livestock Grazing

LG - Lobbying Group

LGAC - Local Government Advisory Committee

LGAC - Local Government Agency Committee

LGBH - Last Great Buffalo Hunt (referring to the timber industry)

LGC - Local Government Code

LGC - Local Government Commission

LGEAN - Local Government Environmental Assistance Network http://www.lgean.org/ 

LGIP - Local Government Investment Pool

LGL - Lower Great Lakes

LGL/SLB - Lower Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Basin (Joint Venture Plan)

LGMP - Local Government and Municipal Partnerships

LGP - Last Great Places (The Nature Conservancy and the United Nations)

LGP - Legal Guide for Prospectors

LGP - Local Governance Program (UN & World Bank: USAID program)

LGPP - Local Government Partnership Program (UN & World Bank: USAID program)

Lg Wave - A surface wave, which travels through the continental crust. - USGS Earthquake glossary

LH - Legacy Highway (Utah)

LH2O - The heat (Btu) needed to vaporize and superheat one pound of water. - Bioenergy Glossary

LHA - Local Housing Authority/Authorities

LHC - Legitimate Health Concerns

LHE - Low Humidity Environment

LHR - LeaseHold Rights

LHTS - Long-term Hydrologic Time Series (USGS - Maine)

LHUD - Livestock Historic Use Documentation

LHVA - Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority (Pennsylvania)

LIA - Lead Industries Association

LIA - U.S. Army Logistics Integration Agency

LIBNET - Higher education high-speed data communication network

Lichen - Any of various small plants composed of a particular fungus and a particular algae growing in an intimate symbiotic association and forming a dual plant, commonly adhering in colored patches of sponge-like branches to rock, wood, soil, etc. - BLM (DOI) Grand Escalante Staircase National Monument DEIS Glossary

LID - League for Industrial Democracy

LID - Low-Impact Development

LIDAR - Light Detection and Ranging (USGS/NASA)

LIFDC - low-income food-deficit country

LIFE - Legal Immigrant Family Equity

LIFE - Living Independently for Everyone (CIL)

Life Cycle - Refers to the creation, changes and death of a given classification. A classification can be revised due to a number of factors e.g. changes in industries, changes in international standard classifications, etc. Such changes may include the aggregation of disaggregation of items, changes in terminology, additions and/or deletions etc. These changes will result in either a revised version of the existing classification (where changes are essentially in the detail), or a replacement version (where the changes are substantial, involving structural changes, etc). The life span of a classification is dependent upon a number of factors, most importantly the rate of change of the observations it describes and time series (stability) requirements. (UN)

Life-Cycle Infrastructure Planning - Planning for infrastructure throughout its lifetime. The six elements of life cycle planning for infrastructure are: 1) Needs Assessment, to determine how much of an infrastructure improvement is needed, and its approximate cost; 2) Planning, to determine what improvements to provide, in what locations, and by what means they will serve the public need throughout the life of the system; 3) Financing, to develop a financing system based on the full cost of the improvement throughout its life cycle that provides adequate resources for all costs, including maintenance, rehabilitation, replacement and externalities; 4) Development and Operation, to build, operate and maintain the system in a way that is responsive to changing demands throughout the life of the system; 5) Rehabilitation and Replacement, to provide regularly scheduled capital improvements to maintain the system in optimum operating condition; 6) Monitoring and Evaluation, to periodically review the condition and level of service delivery to identify and implement appropriate adjustments.

Life Estate - The owners of improved property [that has been] acquired in fee by the park are entitled to retain the use and occupancy of the improvement, along with a designated portion of land necessary to enjoy the improvement, for life. Upon the death of all owners, the improved property will be turned over [to] the park. - DOI/NPS http://www.nps.gov/cuva/management/rmprojects/ruraleis/ 

Life estate - An interest in Indian land which is limited in duration to the life of the permittor holding the interest, or the life of some other person. - DOI-BIA Glossary

Life Form - Characteristic structure of a plant or animal. - UNDP/WRI

Life-support System - Part of an ecosystem that determines the existence, abundance and evolution of a particular population. the term frequently refers to the function of natural systems essential to human survival, including the provision of oxygen, food, water and so forth. (UN)

Life Zone - Areas or "belts" of land that have distinct plant and animal characteristics determined by elevation, latitude, and climate. When ascending a high mountain, you will pass through these life zones. Examples of life zones include the Upper Sonoran, where Cedar City (Utah) is located and gramma grasses, sagebrush, and scattered pinyon juniper predominate, and the Transition zone, where Ponderosa pine if predominant.

LIFIRB - Low Interest Federal Industrial Revenue Bonds

Light water - Ordinary water (H2O) as distinguished from heavy water (D2O). - Nuclear Regulatory Commission

LIGP - Landowner Incentive Grant Program (DOI/USFWS)

Lignin - The major noncellulose constituent of wood. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs. 2. An amorphous polymer related to cellulose that together with cellulose forms the cell walls of woody plants and acts as the bonding agent between cells. - Bioenergy Glossary

LII - Legal Information Institute

LIL - Low-Interest Loan

LIM - Line Intercept Method (for range vegetation)

Limestone - A sedimentary rock consisting chiefly (more than 50 percent) of calcium carbonate, primarily in the form of calcite. - BLM

Limit - Refer to Boundary and Scope (universe). (UN)

Limited - Designated areas and trails where off-highway vehicles are subject to restrictions limiting the number or types of vehicles, date, and time of use; limited to existing or designated roads and trails. - BLM

Limiting Factor - The environmental influence that exceeds the tolerance limit of an animal to restrict it in its activities, functions, or geographic range.

LINC - Living Independence Network Corporation (CIL)

Limnetic - Inhabiting marshes, lakes or ponds. (UN)

Limnetic - Of or having to do with deep open waters of lakes or ponds. - NPS Ecology and Restoration Glossary

Limnology - The study of the physical, chemical, meteorological and biological aspects of freshwaters (UN); the study of bodies of inland waters, as lakes and ponds, especially with reference to their physical and biological features.

Linear park - A trail. (http://www.co.san-bernardino.ca.us/eatwell/content/GraphicsPhysicalFitness/Trails_combo.pdf)

Liner - 1) Relatively impermeable barrier designed to prevent leakage from a landfill. Liner materials include plastics and dense clay; 2) Insert or sleeve for sewage pipes to prevent leakage or infiltration. (UN)

Line Transect Sampling - Method for estimating the size of animal populations that involves an observer's moving along a straight line through a study area and noting the distance from the line of all animals seen. It could also be used in principle with plants, although in practice alternative sampling schemes have been found to be more convenient.

Lingua Franca - Common second language: In Europe throughout the Roman Empire: Development of a lingua franca (Latin) that unified the continent. Has not been unified as it was under the Romans.

Link - (1) A one-hundredth of a surveyor's chain, a linear measure of 66 hundredths of a foot or 7.92 inches; (2) a topological connection between two nodes. A link may be directed by ordering its nodes. - Cadastral Data glossary

Linkage - A belt or band of cover or habitat which allows animals to move from one location to another.

Linkages - Refers to mapping or linking one classification to another. That is each individual group in one classification should be linked with the most appropriate corresponding group(s) in the other. This allows for better management of classifications in a coordinated way, and for the transfer from using one classification to using the other. The first step when establishing linkages should always be to give to the most detailed groups of one classification the code of the most detailed appropriate group in the other. This then allows, when needed, the groups of one classification to be subsequently aggregated to most of the relevant aggregated groups of the other. (UN)

Linters - The short fibers that remain on cottonseed after ginning. They are used mainly for batting, mattress stuffing, and as a source of cellulose.

LIP - Landowner Incentive Program (DOI/USFWS) http://federalaid.fws.gov/index.html 

LIP - Local Incentive Package (includes tax abatement, etc.)

Liquefaction - Conversion of the insoluble organic matter in wastes to a soluble state, thereby effecting a reduction in their solid contents. (UN)

Liquid Limit - In engineering, the water percentage between a soil's defined liquid and plastic states (consistence).

Liquid limit - The moisture content at which the soil passes from a plastic to a liquid state. - USDA

Liquid Manure - Farmyard manure slurry obtained by mixing urine and feces with litter. (UN)

LIR - Low-Impact Recreation

LIS - Landscape Improvement Study

LIS - Library and Information System

LISC - Local Initiative Support Corporation

List - See List of World Heritage in Danger, World Heritage List - Glossary of World Heritage Terms

List frame - In agricultural statistics consists of a list of villages or enumeration blocks and a list of names of agricultural holders with information required for locating them for the purpose of enumeration. -FAO UN Glossary

List of Classified Structures (LCS) - A computerized, evaluated inventory of all historic and prehistoric structures having historical, architectural or engineering significance, in which the NPS has - or plans to acquire - any legal interest. Structures may include buildings, monuments, dams, canals, bridges, fences, roads, mounds, structural ruins, or outdoor sculpture. Typical LCS structures are over 50 years in age and are listed - or potentially eligible for listing - in the National Register of Historic Places. - DOI/NPS http://www.nps.gov/cuva/management/rmprojects/ruraleis/ 

List of World Heritage in Danger - The List of World Heritage in Danger is clearly defined in Article 11 (4) of the Convention: 1. ... a list of the property appearing in the World Heritage List for the conservation of which major operations are necessary and for which assistance has been requested under the Convention. This list shall contain an estimate of the cost of such operations. The list may include only such property forming part of the cultural and natural heritage as is threatened by serious and specific dangers, such as the threat of disappearance caused by accelerated deterioration, large-scale public or private projects or rapid urban or tourist development projects: destruction caused by changes in the use or ownership of the land; major alterations due to unknown causes; abandonment for any reason whatsoever; the outbreak or the threat of an armed conflict; calamities and cataclysms; serious fires, earthquakes, landslides; volcanic eruptions; changes in water level, floods, and tidal waves. The Committee may at any time, in case of urgent need, make a new entry in the List of World Heritage in Danger and publicize such entry immediately (UNESCO 1972). Paragraph 6(vi) of the Operational Guidelines states that, (i) When a property has deteriorated to the extent that it has lost those characteristics, which determined its inclusion in the World Heritage List. It should be placed on the World Heritage in Danger List. Subsequently the procedure concerning the possible deletion from the List will be applied (UNESCO February 1996: 3). There are currently 18 properties included in the List of World Heritage in Danger. See Deletion, Delisting - Glossary of World Heritage Terms

Listeria - Listeria monocytogenes, a pathogenic bacterium found widely in nature, can be carried in a variety of foods such as dairy products, red meat, poultry, seafood, and vegetables.

Literacy - The ability to read and write a simple statement about one's everyday life and do simple mathematical calculations. (WB-UN)

Literacy Rate - The percentage of people who can read and write. According to UNESCO, some 25% of the world's adult population is illiterate. Average rates of literacy vary from 50-70% in the Third World to nearly 99% in industrialized countries. Over the past four decades, literacy rates for people of 15 years and over have improved everywhere, most notably among women. But women still account for two-thirds of the world's illiterate adult, concentrated mainly in developing countries. (UNESCO)

Lithic - A stone or rock exhibiting modification by humans. It generally applies to projectile points, scrapers and chips, rather than ground stone. - BLM

Lithic Scatter - A prehistoric cultural site type where flakes, cores, and stone tools are located as a result of the manufacture or use of the tools. - BLM

Lithosphere - Upper layer of the earth, including the earth's crust and upper mantle. (UN)

Litigation - A dispute brought in a court of law to enforce a statute, right, or legally created cause of action that will be decided based upon legal principles or evidence presented. - DOI - alternative dispute resolution glossary

Litter - Rubbish that is scattered about either by people carelessly discarding it or by the wind which scatters it from rubbish heaps. A large percentage of litter is comprised of the packaging from food and other consumable items. Litter is aesthetically displeasing as well as creating health problems. Many types of litter are non-, or only marginally, biodegradable and hence persist in the environment for a long time. Some litter can cause other ecological problems. For example: litter can be mistaken as food by some animal species causing choking and other problems; or it can snare and entangle animals thus restricting their movement, often preventing them from feeding, making them more vulnerable to attack from predators, or by causing physical injuries which themselves can be fatal or may lead to death after infection. (UNESCO)

Littorial - Of or having to do with shores of lakes or seas. - NPS Ecology and Restoration Glossary

Littoral Zone - The shore of land surrounding a water body that is characterized by periodic inundation or partial saturation by water level, and is typically defined by the species of vegetation found there. - Everglades Plan glossary

Liverwort - Any of the plants of two classes of bryophytes, often forming dense, green, moss-like mats on logs, rocks, or soil in moist places. - BLM (DOI) Grand Escalante Staircase National Monument DEIS Glossary

Livestock - Domestic animals, including cattle, sheep, goats, and horses kept or produced on farms or ranches.

Livestock, Class - The age class (i.e., yearling or cows) of a species of livestock. - BLM (DOI) Grand Escalante Staircase National Monument DEIS Glossary

Livestock, Kind - The species of domestic livestock-cattle and sheep. - BLM (DOI) Grand Escalante Staircase National Monument DEIS Glossary

Live Trees - All living trees. All size classes, all tree classes, and both commercial and noncommercial species are included. - USDA/FS

Live Weight - The weight of live animals purchased or sold by a producer.

Livestock Waste Management Plan - Also referred to as a plan or plan approval, the livestock waste management plan includes information on waste collection, storage, treatment, and disposal systems; volume of waste produced; manure and soil analysis; and more. The plan usually is submitted for approval along with an installation permit application. The plan is approved by the EPA director.

Living standard - See standard of living. - WB

LJFA - Liberty and Justice For All

LL - Land Legacy

LL - Land Leveling

LL - Lifelong Learning

LL - Liability Limits

LL - Limited Liability

LLA - Lease-Leaseback Agreement

Llanos - The Llanos (plains) extend from Bolívia, Peru and Colombia, through 1000km of Venezuela to the Orinoco delta, an area of about 320,000 square kilometers.

LLC - Limited Liability Company

LLDDAS - Low level detection data acquisition system (NOAA)

LLFP - Lease Land Farm Program

LLI - Lands Legacy Initiative

LLNL - Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

LLP - Limited Liability Partnership

LLPA - Life-long Learning and Public Awareness

LLS - Laser Landing System

LLU - Local Land Use

LM - Land Manager

LM - Liberty Matters

LMA - Livestock Marketing Association

LMB - Land Management Bureau

LMC - Lone Mountain Compact (PERC)

LME - Large Marine Ecosystem

LMM - Livestock Manure Management

LMNRA - Lake Mead National Recreation Area

LMP - Lake Monitoring Program

LMP - Landscape Maintenance Plan (DOI/NPS)

LMP - Low Mineral Potential (means Unknown)

LMRBD - Lower Mississippi River Bottomlands Division

LMV - Lower Mississippi Valley (Joint Venture Plan)

LN - League of Nations

LN - Legal Notice

LNC - League of Nations Covenant

LNG - Local Neighborhood Groups

LNLR - Lucius N. Littauer Foundation

LNT - Leave NO Trace

LO - Learning Organization

Load - 1. The amount of electrical power required at a given point on a system. 2. The average demand on electrical equipment or on an electric system. - Bioenergy Glossary

Loading - The quantity of polluting material discharged into a body of water. (UN) Loading, as with concentration, is a term used to indicate the amount of a pollutant entering or contained in a water resource. The main difference between these two terms is in how the amount of pollutant in the water is expressed, and the time frame over which the pollutant is generated or released into the water resource. Loading is the total amount of a pollutant generated from a specific area of land, or received by a water resource, during a fixed period of time. It is expressed as the amount of pollutant per unit of land area per unit of time. Typically, loading is stated as tons (or pounds) per acre per year, or metric tons (or kilograms) per hectare per year if using metric units. Loading differs from concentration in that it provides information about the land area producing the pollutant, the time over which the pollutant enters the water resource and the total amount of pollutant delivered.

Loam - Soil material that is 7% to 27% clay, 28%-50% silt, and less than 52% sand.

Loam - Class of soil texture composed of sand, silt, and clay, which produces a physical property intermediate between the extremes of the three components. (NPS Rare Plant glossary) 2. Soil material that is 7 to 27 percent clay particles, 28 to 50 percent silt particles, and less than 52 percent sand particles. - USDA

Loan deficiency payments - A provision initiated in the Food Security Act of 1985 giving the Secretary the discretion to provide direct payments to wheat, feed grain, upland cotton, rice, or oilseed producers who agree not to obtain a commodity loan on their production for a particular crop year. Loan deficiency payments (LDP) continue to be available under the 1996 Act for all loan commodities except ELS cotton. The LDP provision is applicable only if a marketing loan provision has been implemented; in which case a commodity loan may be repaid at a price less than the original loan rate (the repayment rate). The intent of these two provisions is to minimize the accumulation of stocks by the government, minimize the costs of government storage, and to allow U.S. commodities to be marketed freely and competitively. The LDP payment amount is determined by multiplying the local marketing loan payment rate by the amount of the commodity eligible for a loan. The marketing loan payment rate at a point in time is the announced local commodity loan rate minus the then current local repayment rate for marketing loans. - USDA-Economic Research Service Farm and Commodity Policy Glossary of Policy Terms

Loan Rate - The price per unit (bushel, bale, pound, or hundredweight, depending on the commodity) at which the government will provide non-recourse or recourse loans to farmers (or others), enabling them to hold their commodities for later sale.

Loans (also Credits) - Transfers for which repayment is required. Only LOANS with maturities of over one year are included in DAC statistics. Data on net LOANS include deductions for repayments of principal (but not payment of interest) on earlier LOANS. This means that when a loan has been fully repaid, its effect on total net ODA over the life of the loan is zero. - Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) Glossary

LOC - Library Of Congress

Local adaptation - Traits conferring higher fitness in a local environment. - DOI/USFWS http://rcwrecovery.fws.gov/finalrecoveryplan.pdf 

Local Agency Formation Commissions (LAFCO) - Local Agency Formation Commissions are independent commissions that are not a part of City and County government. All Commissioners must exercise their independent judgment on behalf of the interests of residents, property oweners and the public as a whole in furthering the purposes of the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Government Reorganization Act of 2000 (hereinafter "Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Act" or "Act") (?56325.1). Each Commissioner is independent when weighing and reviewing information and when making determinations (Attorney General Opinion 98.802). The mission of the San Francisco Local Agency Formation Commission is to act by implementing the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Act and through the adoption of written policies and guidelines (?56381,?56001). http://www.sfgov.org/site/lafco_index.asp?id=5224 

Local Extirpation - A complete loss or extinction of a resident species within the park boundaries. - DOI/NPS http://www.nps.gov/cuva/management/rmprojects/ruraleis/ 

Local Government - The level of government that is responsible for the day to day running of a ward, district, province or city. Local government responsibilities often include the provision of public transport and public recreational facilities as well as the monitoring and enforcing of many environmental regulations. (UNESCO)

Local Sponsor - The entity that is partnering with the Federal Government to complete a specific project or program; in the case of the Comprehensive Plan, the local sponsor for the majority of the program is the South Florida Water Management District. - Everglades Plan glossary

Local Unit - Is defined as an enterprise, or part of an enterprise, which engages in productive activity at or from one location. The definition has only one dimension in that it does not refer to the kind of activity that is carried out. Location may be interpreted according to the purpose- narrowly, such as specific address, or more broadly, such as within province, state, country, etc. Local units are also used as Statistical Units. (UN)

Locate - Discovery by survey methods. - Cadastral Data glossary

Locatable Minerals - Minerals subject to exploration, development and disposal by staking mining claims as authorized by the Mining Law of l872 (as amended). This includes valuable deposits of gold, silver, and other uncommon minerals not subject to lease or sale. (BLM)

Location - The act of taking or appropriating a parcel of mineral land, including the posting of notices, the recording thereof when required, and marking the boundaries so they can be readily traced. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

Location Monument - Location monuments are established in districts where corners of the public survey, and other monuments within two miles, do not exist. Sites of the monuments are usually at some prominent point, giving good visibility from every direction. The monuments are of stone, and marked "USLM" followed by the number of the survey. The exact reference point is marked by a cross chiseled on the top of the monument. - Cadastral Data glossary

Location Quotient - An index for comparing an area's share of a particular activity with the area's share of some basic or aggregate phenomenon. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

Lode - A mineral deposit in solid rock. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

Lode Claim - A public lands mining claim that contains valuable minerals occurring in a vein or lode. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

Lode Mining - Mining of a mineral deposit in solid rock. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

LOE - Level Of Effort

Loess - Material transported and deposited by wind; predominantly silt sized.

Loess - Fine grained material, dominantly of silt-sized particles, deposited by wind. - USDA

Log choker - A length of cable or chain that is wrapped around a log or harvested tree to secure the log to the winch cable of a skidder or to an overhead cable yarding line. - Bioenergy Glossary

Log Decomposition Class - Any of five stages of deterioration of logs in the forest; stages range from essentially sound (class 1) to almost total decomposition (class 5). (BLM)

Logging - Process of harvesting trees, sawing them into appropriate lengths and transporting them to a sawmill. (UN)

Logging Residue (slash) - The residue left on the ground after timber cutting. It includes unutilized logs, uprooted stumps, broken branches, bark, and leaves. Certain amounts of slash provide important ecosystem roles, such as soil protection, nutrient cycling, and wildlife habitat.

Logical Model - data model depicting the true relationships of attributes as they are grouped into entities, relating attributes to attributes and entities to entities. - Cadastral Data glossary

LOGOTRI - Network of Local Government Training and Research Institutes in Asia and the Pacific (UN)

LOL - Letter Of the Law

LOL - Loss Of Life

LOLT - Lowcountry Open Land Trust (South Carolina)

LON - League Of Nations

Long-period variations - Secular when a cycle or a change in trend is completed within a century; climatic when the period of change runs through centuries or a few millennia; geologic when the period runs into geological time. (Willett, 1948, p. 806.) (See Trend.) - USGS

Long-range Transport of Air Pollutants (LRTAP) - Atmospheric transport of air pollutants with a moving air mass for a distance greater than 100 kilometers. (UN)

Long-Term - A scope of activity or action including the present through a minimum of 20 years.

Long Term - Used of LOANS with an original or extended maturity of more than one year. - Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) Glossary 2. Lasting one year or longer. - EPA Office of Pesticide Programs Glossary

Long-term Agreements - These agreements are public-private partnerships -- that make buildings and land available for non-governmental uses that are consistent with park goals and are for greater than five-year terms -- and are not renewable. - DOI/NPS http://www.nps.gov/cuva/management/rmprojects/ruraleis/ 

Long-term leasing - Leasing agreements that exist for 25 years or longer. In the past, long-term leasing authorities included the Historic Properties Leasing Program (HPLP) and non-historic leases. Recently, these leasing authorities have been combined and revised under New Leasing Regulations (2001). - DOI/NPS http://www.nps.gov/cuva/management/rmprojects/ruraleis/ 

Long-Term Planning - Twenty years and beyond. - BLM

Long-Term Soil Productivity - The capability of soil to sustain inherent, natural growth potential of plants and plant communities over time. (BLM)

Long ton (shipping ton) 2,240 pounds - Commonly used in Great Britain. - Bioenergy Glossary

Long-term Sustained Yield (LTSY) - The estimated timber harvest that can be maintained indefinitely over time, once all stands have been converted to a managed state under a specific management intensity consistent with multiple-use objectives.

LONM - League of Nebraska Municipalities

LOOB - Legislated Out Of Business

LOOP - The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port

Lop and Scatter - Fuel treatment where, following tree felling, limbs and branches are cut off and scattered in the unit.

LOS - Leaf-Off Season

LOS - Level Of Service

Losing (Influent) Stream - A stream or reach of a stream that contributes water to the zone of saturation and develops bank storage; its channel lies above the water table. See Gaining Stream. - BLM Surface Mgmt. Regs.

Losing Stream - A stream whose water seeps into an aquifer. The flow decreases as one moves downstream.

LOSRC - Land-of-Sky Regional Council http://www.landofsky.org/default.htm 

Lost Corner - A point of a survey whose position cannot be determined, beyond reasonable doubt, either from traces of the original marks or from acceptable evidence or testimony that bears upon the original position, and whose location can be restored only by reference to one or more independent corners. - Cadastral Data glossary

LOTF - Landscapes Of The Future

Lot Line - Lot line is the line shown upon the map creating the lot. Lot line is permanent and does not change with street openings. - Cadastral Data glossary

LOTS - League Of The South

Love wave - A major type of surface wave having a horizontal motion that is shear or transverse to the direction of propagation (travel). It is named after A.E.H. Love, the English mathematician who discovered it. - USGS Earthquake glossary

Low (SIO) - A Scenic Integrity Objective meaning activities must remain visually subordinate to the attributes of the existing landscape character. Activities may repeat form, line, color, or texture common to these landscape characters, but changes in quality of size, number, intensity, direction, pattern, and so on, must remain visually subordinate to these landscape characters. - FS

Low Density Residential - Areas for detached single-family residential development at a net density of one or fewer dwelling units per acre.

Lower heating value (LHV) - The potential energy in a fuel if the water vapor from combustion of hydrogen is not condensed. - Bioenergy Glossary

Lowest achievable emissions rate (LAER) - Used to describe air emissions control technology. A rate of emissions defined by the permitting agency. LEAR sets emission limits for non-attainment areas. - Bioenergy Glossary

Low-flow frequency curve - A graph showing the magnitude and frequency of minimum flows for a period of given length. Frequency is usually expressed as the average interval, in years, between recurrences of an annual minimum flow equal to or less than that shown by the magnitude scale. - USGS

Low-Flow Irrigation Systems - These systems (drip, trickle, and micro sprinklers) provide water in small volumes and generally provide water to plants with less waste than furrow irrigation. Drip and trickle systems apply water through small holes in small diameter tubes placed on or below the surface of the field. Another type of system, micro sprinklers, supplies water from low-volume sprinkler heads located above the surface. Low flow systems are expensive and their use is generally limited to high-value crops such as vegetables, fruits, and vineyards.

Low-Income Country - A country having an annual gross national product (GNP) per capita equivalent to $760 or less in 1998. The standard of living is lower in these countries; there are few goods and services; and many people cannot meet their basic needs. There are currently about 58 low-income countries with populations of 1 million or more. Their combined population is almost 3.5 billion. (WB-UN)

Low Income Household - A household with less than 50% of the median income of the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).

Low-Income Population - Any readily identifiable group of low-income persons who live in geographic proximity to -- and, if circumstances warrant, migrant farm workers and other geographically dispersed/transient persons who will be similarly affected by U. S. Department of Agriculture programs or activities (Environmental Justice, USDA Department Regulation 5600- 2, December 15, 1997). http://www2.srs.fs.fed.us/strategicplan/view_and_submit_comment.asp?ID=52 

Low-level Radioactive Waste - A subcategory of radioactive wastes comprising those that, because of their low radionuclide content, do not require shielding during normal handling and transportation. (UN)

Low population zone (LPZ) - An area of low population density often required around a nuclear installation before being built. The number and density of residents is of concern in emergency planning so that certain protective measures (such as notification and instructions to residents) can be accomplished in a timely manner. - Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Low strength - The soil is not strong enough to support loads. - USDA

Low-velocity zone - Any layer in the Earth in which seismic wave velocities are lower than in the layers above and below. - USGS Earthquake glossary

LP - Labor Pool

LP - Lake Plain

LP - Land Patent

LP - Landmark Preservation

LP - Light Pollution

LP - Limited Partner

LP - Limited Partnership

LP - Livestock Production

LP - Louisiana-Pacific

LPA - Legally Permissible Activity (DOI)

LPA - Linkage Priority Areas

LPAG - Local Public Agency Guide (FHWA)

LPB - Lake Pontchartrain Basin

LPBF - Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation

LPC - Landmarks Preservation Commission

LPD - Limestone-Producing District

LPE - Land Protection Efforts

LPI - Limited Partner Interests

LPI - Luce Policy Institute

LPL - Lake Plain Landscape

LPP - Low Productivity Peatland

LPPP - Land Protection Planning Process

LPPV - League of Private Property Voters

LPPV - The League of Private Property Voters

LPS - Land Protection Specialist (land trusts)

LPT - Land Planning Tools

LPT - Land Preservation Trust

LPTA - Local Property Tax Abatement

LR - Land Regulation

LR - Land Restoration

LR - Landscaping Restrictions

LR - Linear Restoration

LR - Living Rocks

LRA - Land Research Associates

LRAML - Land Reconstruction, Abandoned Mined Land

LRCML - Land Reconstruction, Currently Mined Land

LRF - Land Rights Foundation

LRFC - Land Reclamation, Fire Control

LRHIP - The Local Rural Highway Investment Program

LRHWT - Land Reclamation, Highwall Treatment

LRI - Land Revitalization Initiative - EPA http://www.epa.gov/oswer/landrevitalization/index.htm 

LRL - Land Rights Letter

LRLT - Land Reclamation

LRMP - Land and Resource Management Plan

LRP - Long Range Plan

LRSA - Limited Road Service Area

LRT - Land Retirement Team (DOI)

LRST - Land Reclamation, Subsidence Treatment

LRTDC - Land Reclamation, Toxic Discharge Control

LRUP - Local Resource Use Plan

LS - Land Smoothing

LS - Land Stewardship

LS - Land Surveying

LS - League of the South

LS - Life Skills

LSA - Land Surveyors Act

LSC - Life Skills Classes

LSF - Living Snow Fences (DOI/USFWS)

LSFA - Great Lakes Forest Alliance, also known as 'The Alliance.' The Alliance, chartered by the Governors in 1987, is governed by a 28-member board of trustees who represent a broad range of forest resource interests, including Chief/State Foresters, the academic community, private woodland owners, conservation groups, local government and timber and tourism businesses. Each Governor/Premier appoints a representative. It is a non-profit corporation supported by federal, state, corporate, foundation, and individual contributions and grants. Executive Director is Wendy Hinrichs Sanders, 715-634-2006, [email protected], Educational Resource Associates, Inc.; Hayward, Wisconsin. http://www.lsfa.org/ (yes, this acronym is correct)

LSHR - Lumber State Heritage Region (Pennsylvania)

LSLWO - Land Smoothing, Lined Waterway or Outlet

LSM - Landscape Simulation Models

LSP - Land Stewardship Project

LSP - Leadership Seminar Program

LSR - Late-Successional Reserve (DOI/BLM)

LSS - Landscape-Scale Species

LSS - Late Successional Species

LT - Laboratory Test

LT - Landslide Treatment

LT - Land Trust

LTA - Land Trust Alliance

LTC - Less Than Credible

LTC - Long Term Concentration

LTD - Latent Trip Demand, Limited

LTDA - Long Term Development Activities

LTES - Long Term Economic Stability

LTL - Learning Through Landscapes

LTN - Land Trust Network

LTO - Local Trade Organization

LTSC - Land Trust Service Center

LU - Landscape Unit

LU - Loompanics Unlimited

LUA - Land Use Allocation

LUA - Land Use Amendment

LUBA - Land Use Board of Appeals

LUC - Land Use Category

LUC - Land Use Chapter

LUCC - Land Use/Cover Change (UN)

LUCC - Large Urban County Caucus

LULAC - League of United Latin American Citizens

Lumber - Logs that have been sawed into boards, planks, or structural members such as beams. - EPA Office of Pesticide Programs Glossary

Lump-sum Sales - A common term for tree measurement sales.

LUN - Land Use Network

LUP - Land Use Patterns

LUP - Land Use Plan

LUP - Land Use Planning

LUPP - Land Use Planning Process (DOI)

LUR - Land Use Reform

LURI - Land Use Reform Initiative

LURL - Land Use Reform Legislation

LV - Land Value

LV - Landscape Values

LVN - Licensed Vocational Nurse

LV V WD - Las Vegas Valley Water District

LVV - Las Vegas Valley

LW - Legislation Watch

LW - Living Will

LW - Loving Will

LWCF - Land and Water Conservation Fund

LWD - Large woody debris

LWFR - Land and Water Fund of the Rockies

LWFR - The Land and Water Fund of the Rockies

LWOP - Lease With Option to Purchase

LWP - Living With Predators Clearinghouse http://www.predatorconservation.org/predator_info/LWP_Clearinghouse/LWP%20clearinghouse.html 

LWR - Livestock Watering Rights

LWV - League of Women Voters

LWVBA - The League of Women Voters of the Bay Area - California

Lysimeter - Container of soil to measure the water movement, gains, or losses through that block of soil, usually undisturbed or in situ.

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