The land resources management in America features diversified land ownership and the land management policy of the Federal Government has generally undergone the three stages of extensive management，coordinated transition and strict scientific management.The Bureau of Land Management under the Department of the Interior is the principal land management institution.Land resources management mainly involves the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture and is in both the centralized and decentralized management modes on the federal level.The Bureau of Land Management under the Department of the Interior is the principal land management institution.Every state manages land resources centrally and more than 20 states have established resources and environment departments.

The major characteristics of American land use planning are in four aspects：the American land use planning system is generally divided into the three categories of general planning，special planning and management planning of land use growth and into the five levels of the regional level，state level，sub-regional level，county level and municipal level.A sound legal guarantee is available for land use planning and the federal government controls，leads and influences local land use and planning management mainly by making relevant laws，regulations and policies.It uses the geographic information system，remote sensing，global positioning system and other modern technical means a lot for scientific planning and management systems；protection of farmland and ecology is fully reflected in land use planning；and public participation is an important link in preparation and revision of land use planning.

The reference meaning of American land use planning for our country is reflected in five aspects：accelerating legal system building for land planning and making a law on land planning and its corresponding law，regulations and rules；establishing a general land use planning system adjusted to the new situation，making a law on planning and coordinating the relationship between land use planning and urban and town planning and environment protection planning；expanding the extent and depth of public participation；making full use of the 3S technique to prepare and manage land use planning scientifically；and strictly revising the procedure and standard of planning.