Before the federal constitution was written, the Confederate Congress established a policy providing land grants for local and state governments to support public schools. Since 1802, when Ohio joined the Union, every new state has benefited from that policy. Yet today, despite the fact that states still hold 132 million acres in trust, very little is known about the management and use of these lands.

Compiling information from the twenty-two states that still own such trust lands, the authors provide a rare look at public land management from a state rather than federal government...