The NE-125 effort to survey rural landowners coincided with and consequently is complementary to a national survey recently conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The 1978 ESCS Landownership Survey provides information on the features of private landowners in the coterminous U.S. and Hawaii. This comprehensive data base allows one to place patterns of landowership in the Northeast in perspective with patterns of ownership found in other multi-state regions. I want to discuss that subject briefly, drawing on regional summaries of the survey results (Bills and Daugherty; Gustafson, 1980; Gustafson, 1981; D. Lewis; Moyer). My remarks are prefaced by a description of the USDA survey.