Listed above is the staff as constituted in August 1969, when the
initial manuscripts were being readied for publication by the
Clearinghouse for Federal Scientific and Technical Information,
plus additional employees who joined the staff subsequent to that
date but before publication of this report.

Harry L. Moffett served as Assistant Director (Administration) from
October 1966 to July 1969, and Leland O. Graham, Arthur D. Smith
and Max M. Tharp made significant contributions as members of the
staff nrior to August 1960

"The Chairman of the Commission shall request the head of each Federal department or independent agency which has an interest in or responsibility with respect to the retention, management, or disposition of the public lands to appoint, and the head of such department or agency shall appoint, a liaison officer who shall work closely with the Commission and its staff in matters pertaining to this Act."

These 25 members of the Advisory Council are appointed
under the provisions of the Commission's organic act, which
states that:

"There is hereby established an Advisory Council, which
shall consist of the liaison officers appointed under
Section 5 of this Act, together with 25 additional
members appointed by the Commission who shall be repre-
sentative of the various major citizen's groups interested
in problems relating to the retention, management, and
disposition of the public lands,..

The public lands of America date back to the time of the Union's formation. Then, and soon thereafter, seven of the original States ceded to the Central Government some 233.4 million acres of land lying westward to the Mississippi River. Thereafter, through purchase and treaty, the United States acquired an additional billion acres of public domain, the last acquisition being the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867. Altogether, nearly 2 billion acres of land in 32 States have been part of the public domain at one time or another.

At first, these lands were sold for their revenue. Eventually, however, as the pioneers swept westward, the revenue-raising policy was replaced by one stressing settlement and development of the land. The Homestead Act of 1862 was the first of a series of settlement and development laws enacted over a period of some 60 years the desert land law, mining laws, and the various homestead laws all designed to meet a particular need of the period. Meanwhile, many millions of acres were transferred to private ownership through military, railroad, and other land grants, including various grants to the States.

Through these means, nearly 1.2 billion acres have passed from Federal ownership, leaving approximately 715 million acres of the original public domain lands in Federal ownership. Of these 715 million acres 364 million are in the State of Alaska. Add to this the 52 million acres acquired for various purposes, and federally owned lands today amount to approximately 770 million acres about one-third of the Nation's total land area. Some of these lands are in national forests and some are reserved for national parks, wildlife refuges, and other specific uses; but more than half constitute the "vacant and unappropriated" public domain lands which have never left Federal ownership and have not been dedicated to a specific use pursuant to legislative authorization.

The Commission's Organic Act states that "The Chairman of the Commission shall invite the Governor of each State to designate a representative to work closely with the Commission and its staff and with the Advisory Council in matters pertaining to this Act". The following are serving as representatives of the Governors of the respective States at this time: