Traditionally, natural resources in the United States have been managed for productive uses, meaning resource extraction. To acquire and maintain leases of publicly owned resources such as oil and gas, timber, and rangelands, the resources must be put to certain “productive uses.” Purchasing rights to natural resources to conserve them, rather than for extraction, is typically not an option.
Click here for original story, Allow ‘nonuse rights’ to conserve natural resources
Source: Phys.org