Abstract There is little quantitative data on the cost effectiveness of environmental communication and education efforts. This study evaluates a public awareness campaign for the conservation of the Philippine crocodile in the northern Sierra Madre in terms of outputs, outreach, cognitive and affective outcomes, and impact through a counterfactual comparison.

The campaign succeeded in raising awareness on and transforming attitudes toward in situ Philippine crocodile conservation: most people living in close proximity to crocodiles now know that the species is legally protected and support in situ conservation. As a result, crocodiles are no longer purposively killed. Substantial gains can be made in environmental conservation by investing more in communication, education, and public awareness campaigns, particularly in developing countries. Awareness on legislation and pride in the conservation of a rare and iconic species are strong incentives for poor, rural communities to support in situ wildlife conservation. • • Introduction Communication, education, and public awareness (CEPA) campaigns play an increasingly important role in biodiversity conservation (; ). The negative social impacts of state and market mechanisms to conserve biodiversity has stimulated a search for community-based approaches that advocate the participation of local resource users in decision-making processes and the integration of conservation and development objectives (; ).

It is now widely recognized that disseminating information to and enhancing the knowledge of rural communities is essential for the sustainable management of natural resources (; ). Conservation projects use a variety of social marketing techniques such as posters, comic books, billboards, flipcharts, newsletters, and radio plugs to raise public awareness, change attitudes, and influence behavior ().

But only scant data exist on the cost effectiveness of these efforts (; ). It is estimated that 40–50% of all CEPA campaigns fail, but as most of these education and communication efforts are not assessed, the organizers never find out (). CEPA campaigns can be significantly improved if experiences would be more thoroughly documented, compared, and substantiated with scientific evidence (; ). This is particularly relevant in developing countries, such as the Philippines, where financial resources for conservation are scarce, governments typically lack the capacity to enforce environmental legislation, and poor, rural communities often regard restrictions on resource use as arbitrary and illegitimate ().

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This article assesses the effectiveness of a CEPA campaign for the conservation of the Philippine crocodile Crocodylus mindorensis in the wild in the northern Sierra Madre on Luzon, the Philippines. Commercial hunting has led to the disappearance of this endemic species throughout most of its historic range (). At present, the species only survives in the northern Sierra Madre on Luzon and the Liguasan Marsh on Mindanao.

With less than 100 mature crocodiles in the wild, the species is classified on the IUCN red list as critically endangered (). Since 2004, the Philippine crocodile is legally protected (by virtue of the Wildlife Act, Republic Act 9147). However, most people in the Philippines, including many government officials, are unaware of the protected status of the species or consider the enforcement of environmental legislation of low importance (). Philippine crocodiles continue to be killed for food or out of fear, most often without a response from the authorities.

People think crocodiles pose a threat to children and livestock. Moreover in Philippine society, crocodiles are associated with egoism and greed: corrupt government officials and selfish athletes are called buwaya, crocodile in Filipino. These negative public attitudes inhibit in situ crocodile conservation ().

In 1999, a conservation project was set up to save the species in the wild: the crocodile rehabilitation, observance, and conservation (CROC) project (). Conservation efforts focus on 15 remote barangays (villages) in the municipality of San Mariano. In cooperation with the department of development communication of Isabela State University (ISU), a CEPA campaign was designed to mobilize broad public support for the conservation of the species in the wild. This goal is reflected in the slogan of the campaign: “the Philippine crocodile; something to be proud of!” The underlying logic of the campaign is that by disseminating information on legislation protecting crocodiles, the killing of the species would stop.

Between 2002 and 2008, the CROC project spent U.S.$80,000 on environmental communication and education; approximately 25% of the total project budget. In this article, we aim to determine whether the CEPA campaign succeeded in raising awareness on the protected status of the Philippine crocodile, change attitudes toward the in situ conservation of the species, and influence behavior of people living in Philippine crocodile habitat. Changes in awareness, attitudes, and behavior are affected by a diverse set of context-related factors that can often not be attributed to a specific intervention (; ). Therefore, following, we assess the CEPA campaign for the Philippine crocodile in San Mariano in terms of the material products of the project (outputs), the number of people exposed to the outputs (outreach), the changes brought about by the outputs in people's awareness and attitude (cognitive and affective outcomes), and the longer term cumulative effect of the CEPA campaign on people's behavior (impact) (). • • Logical model to assess the effectiveness of CEPA campaigns (adapted from;; ). Methods Study area The municipality of San Mariano is located in the foothills of the northern Sierra Madre mountain range in the province of Isabela ().

Approximately 45,000 people live in this remote rural area. Over the past century, Ilocano, Ibanag, and Ifugao immigrants have settled in the area. The Kalinga and Agta, the indigenous people of the northern Sierra Madre, now form small minorities (.

CEPA campaign for Philippine crocodile conservation in San Mariano Output Circulation (number of copies) Audience 1 Production cost (U.S.$ copy) 2 Costeffectiveness Exposure time 3 (percentage of (U.S.$ per person per day) 4 Outreach population) 5 Community preference (ranking) 6 Cognitive outcome (odds ratio) 7 Affective outcome (odds ratio) 8 Core area Peripheral area Urban area • Notes: • 1The number of people exposed to a copy of an output (the audience) was estimated by staff of the Mabuwaya Foundation. Community consultations, for example, are on average attended by 40 people.

The audience of the radio plugs was estimated by the regional radio station DWPE, and is limited to the listeners in the municipality of San Mariano. • 2Production costs exclude distribution costs and salaries. The design of CEPA outputs was integrated in the development communication curriculum of ISU. • 3Exposure time was defined as the period the outputs can be seen by the audience, and calculated on a per day basis (60 seconds count as 1 day). • 4Cost effectiveness is calculated by dividing the production costs of an output by the audience (the total number of people who see the output) and dividing this by the exposure time (in days). For example, the cost effectiveness of the posters is computed as follows: 1.2 U.S.$ per copy / 5 people in a household / 300 days (posters are posted in a room of the house for around 10 months) = U.S.$ 0.00080.

• 5Outreach (how many people in a village actually see or hear the outputs) was determined by asking the respondents which CEPA outputs they had seen or heard. • 6To determine the community preference we asked the respondents to rank the photographs of all outputs (Which was the most valuable output for you?). • 7Odds ratios of having seen a specific output associated with awareness of legislation protecting crocodiles (Is the Philippine crocodile protected by law?). Model: Hosmer & Lemenshow R 2= 6.053, df = 8, P >0.1. Cells without odds ratio are not significant, otherwise *= P 0.1.

• • Cognitive and affective outcomes. Notes: 1 n= 549, χ 2= 93.9, df = 6, P 0.0125 Impact The CEPA campaign has contributed to the reduction of anthropogenic threats to crocodiles. Philippine crocodiles are no longer purposively killed in San Mariano (). But, the species is still accidentally caught in fishnets or snare traps. Instead of eating the eggs, people report crocodile nests to the village officials. The use of destructive fishing methods has been banned through barangay ordinances, and there have been several cases, in which violators have been warned or penalized by local authorities. In 2007, for example, three men were fined by the barangay captain of San Jose for fishing with pesticides in a creek near the crocodile sanctuary; an unprecedented case of environmental law enforcement in the northern Sierra Madre.

Barangay officials and fishers say that the use of destructive fishing methods has significantly decreased. The clearing of riparian forest for corn production and the conversion of freshwater wetlands to rice paddies, however, continues, even when farmers are aware of environmental legislation and have a supportive attitude toward conservation. • • Mortality of Philippine crocodiles caused by humans in the municipality of San Mariano (1998–2010). 1 Note: 1Based on information provided by barangay officials in San Mariano, and verified on site. Ultimately, the success of the CEPA campaign will be determined by the number of Philippine crocodiles surviving in the wild. The Philippine crocodile population in San Mariano has increased from 13 nonhatchling crocodiles in 2002 to 64 in 2009.

High hatchling mortality in the wild due to natural predation and the reclamation of suitable nursery pools prevent a rapid recovery of the population (). Environmental communication and education should, therefore, be part of an integrated strategy that includes habitat restoration, reenforcement of the population, and strengthening environmental law enforcement. Discussion An assessment of the CEPA campaign for the Philippine crocodile in San Mariano can improve the cost-effective design and implementation of environmental communication and education programs and further our understanding of people's awareness of and attitudes toward wildlife conservation. Cost-effective outputs Posters, murals, and billboards are cheap and effective outputs to disseminate information to rural communities (; ). In San Mariano, it proved challenging to assure that posters reached the target audience: fishers and farmers living in close proximity to crocodile habitat.

Too often, posters ended up in government offices and schools in urban areas. Adding a calendar made the posters a valuable daily use-item for rural households. Murals and billboards attract a lot of attention and reinforce communal ideals of environmental stewardship, provided that they are in the right spot. Radio plugs and newsletters should be used with reserve. Radio is a popular medium in the uplands of San Mariano, but the radio plugs had no measurable effect on people's awareness of or attitudes toward the conservation of the Philippine crocodile. A possible explanation could be that the radio plugs were aired on a government-owned station (DWPE), whereas people prefer to listen to soap operas on the commercial radio stations.

Our experiences in the northern Sierra Madre confirm findings that very few people actually read newsletters (). This is perhaps not surprisingly in areas where many people are illiterate. Nevertheless, newsletters are useful to disseminate information on crocodiles to specific actors, such as teachers, forest rangers, local government officials, and donors.

School presentations and school field visits are effective outputs to raise awareness among schoolchildren (; ). During the school visits in San Mariano, children often see the Philippine crocodile for the first time and react surprised that it is much smaller than on television. Entertainment education, such as theater performances and puppet shows, directly links to the daily life of people (). The cultural show during the annual fiesta is highly valued by rural communities in San Mariano and positively affects people's attitudes toward crocodile conservation. These active outputs are expensive but can effectively enhance people's support for conservation.

Community consultations can build constituencies and contextualize concerns of directly affected people and are as such indispensable outputs for environmental communication and education (). During consultations, people ask questions, narrate their own experiences, and forward solutions.

These dialogues appear to be particularly effective to address irrational fears of crocodiles. Often people narrate personal experiences with crocodiles and claim the species does not pose a threat. Not surprisingly, these views are often more trusted than the opinion of outside conservationists. Village leaders chair the consultations, thereby, confirming and sanctioning the conservation message and integrating crocodile conservation in local governance. But sometimes, these community dialogues also cause confusion (); for example, on conflicting institutional mandates between LGU and DENR, informal land rights of farmers, or the role of government officials in illegal logging operations.

Specific problems can be confrontational and cause discomfort among the participants. Training community leaders in environmental legislation is an effective method to enhance capacities, strengthen law enforcement, create a sense of ownership, and build trust between conservationists and rural communities (). In San Mariano, barangay officials who participated in the training workshops subsequently played a leading role in prohibiting destructive fishing methods and monitoring compliance. But as new local officials are elected every 3 years, it is essential to continue this training program over a longer period. This highlights the need for a long-term CEPA campaign that links wildlife conservation to the worldview and concerns of rural communities (). Cultural values It is often argued that support for the conservation of potentially dangerous wildlife is strongest among urban, educated, and affluent people (). People in remote rural areas, in contrast, often regard predators as pests and a threat to livestock and children ().

Also in the Philippines, conservationists and policymakers assume that poor, rural communities are antagonistic toward crocodiles and argue that people living in crocodile habitat will only support conservation if they can derive cash benefits, for example, through community-based ecotourism or sustainable ranching programs (). Our findings contradict these utilitarian views. First, the emphasis on negative attitudes toward wildlife ignores the inherent positive views that people often also hold ().

Most respondents in our study, for example, acknowledged the intrinsic value (the right to live) of crocodiles, also in the control group. An effective CEPA campaign can enhance these inherent positive values and transform them into support for environmental conservation (). Second, negative attitudes toward wildlife and legislation are not immutable.

The CEPA campaign in San Mariano succeeded in changing people's knowledge of and feelings toward crocodiles and their conservation. Disseminating information on environmental legislation is an essential first step in transforming people's attitudes and behavior (; ). Third, economic benefits are not a precondition for people's support for environmental conservation. Cultural values, such as pride, interest, and fun, can, in fact, form an important incentive to support in situ conservation, also for poor rural communities in the developing world (; ).

In San Mariano, people have become interested in the ecology of the species and take pride in the conservation of a rare and iconic animal in their village. Environmental communication and education can foster these positive values and provide a sound foundation for community-based conservation. Conclusion Substantial gains can be made in environmental conservation by investing more in communication and education, particularly in the developing world. Most conservation projects have a CEPA component, but these activities are usually based on intuition, anecdotal information and personal preferences, and dependent on the intermittent availability of funding. This is reflected in the relative paucity of quantitative impact assessments of CEPA campaigns in the scientific literature. As a result, the impact of environment communication and education is often underestimated.

It is, therefore, essential that the experiences and lessons of CEPA campaigns across the world are more systematically evaluated and compared. Acknowledgments D. Rodriguez, S. Van der Aa, E. Alejandro, S. Subia, and A.

Macadangdang assisted in collecting data in San Mariano. The CROC project is implemented by the Mabuwaya Foundation (). The Conservation Leadership Program and the Netherlands Committee for IUCN provided financial support for the CEPA campaign for the Philippine crocodile in San Mariano. Research was conducted in the framework of the academic partnership between Leiden University in the Netherlands and Isabela State University in the Philippines. Fortuin, and three anonymous reviewers provided valuable comments on the manuscript.

Ancillary Article Information.

County Also known as: () () Category Location of the Number 3,144 (including 137 ) Populations Greatest:, —10,170,292 (2015) Least:, —89 (2015) Areas Largest:, —20,057 sq mi (51,950 km 2), ()—145,505 sq mi (376,860 km 2) Smallest:, —12 sq mi (31 km 2), ()—2 sq mi (5.2 km 2) Government, (AZ, CA, IA, MS, VA, WI) (WA), (TX), (NJ), (KY), (LA),,,, Subdivisions First level • () • • () • () / / / / Second level • / / • / / / / • • • • • Third level • • • • • • Fourth level • Other areas • (,, ) • • • • • • •. • • • In the, an or of a is a, which is a having specific and usually some level of governmental authority. The term 'county' is used in 48 U.S.

States, while and have functionally equivalent subdivisions called and respectively. Most counties have subdivisions which may include and. Others have no further divisions, or may serve as a. Some municipalities are; is uniquely partitioned into multiple counties, referred to at the city government level as boroughs. The uses the term 'county equivalent' to describe non-county administrative or statistical areas that are comparable to counties.

Louisiana parishes; the organized boroughs of Alaska; the; and the of the states of,,, and are equivalent to counties for administrative purposes. Alaska's is divided into that are statistically equivalent to counties. As of 2017, there are currently 3142 counties and in the United States. The number of counties per state ranges from the of to the of.

Counties have significant governmental functions in all states except and, where county governments have been abolished but the entities remain for administrative or statistical purposes. The has removed most government functions from. The county with the largest population, (10,170,292), and the county with the largest land area () border each other in (however four Boroughs in Alaska are larger in area than San Bernardino). Contents • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • History [ ] Counties were among the earliest units of established in the that would become the United States. Created the first counties in order to ease the administrative workload in.

The divided the colony first into four 'incorporations' in 1617 and finally into (or counties) in 1634:,,,,,,, and. America's oldest intact county court records can be found at, in, dating to 1632. Established its first county,, in 1637, and followed in 1643. And delegated significant power and responsibility from state government to county governments and thereby established a pattern for most of the United States, although counties remained relatively weak in. When came, 'the did not provide for local governments.

Rather, they left the matter to the states. Subsequently, early state constitutions generally conceptualized county government as an arm of the state.' In the twentieth century, the role of local governments strengthened and counties began providing more services, acquiring and to pass pertaining to their. In some states, these powers are partly or mostly devolved to the counties' usually called, though in New York, New England and Wisconsin they are called 'towns.' The county may or may not be able to override its townships on certain matters, depending on the. The newest county in the United States is the city and county of, established in 2001 as a. The newest county-equivalents are the Alaskan boroughs of established in 2007, established in 2008, and established in 2013.

County variations [ ] Consolidated city-counties [ ]. Main article: A consolidated city-county is simultaneously a city, which is a (municipal corporation), and a county, which is an of a state, having the powers and responsibilities of both types of entities. There are 40 consolidated city-counties in the U.S., including;;;;;;;; and. Similarly, some of boroughs have merged with their principal cities creating unified city-boroughs. Some such consolidations and mergers have created cities that rank among the geographically largest cities in the world, though often with population densities far below those of most urban areas. County equivalents [ ] See also: (below), regarding Louisiana.

The term county equivalents is used to describe divisions whose organization differs from that of most counties: •: Most of the land area of Alaska is not contained within any of Alaska's 19 organized boroughs. This vast area, larger than and combined, is officially referred to by the Alaska state government as the, and, outside of other incorporated borough limits, has no independent 'county' government, although several incorporated city governments exist within its boundaries; the majority of it is governed and run by the State of Alaska as an extension of state government. The, in cooperation with the Alaska state government for census and electoral districting purposes, has divided the Unorganized Borough into 11 census areas for statistical purposes only.

•: These are cities that legally belong to no county. They differ from consolidated city-counties in that in the case of a consolidated city-county, the county at least nominally exists, whereas in the case of an independent city, no county even nominally exists. As of July 2013, there are 41 such cities in the United States, including;;; and all 38 cities in, where any area incorporated as a city is outside of the county jurisdiction. •, outside the jurisdiction of any state, has a special status. The city of Washington comprises the entirety of the, which, in accordance with Article 1, Section 8 of the, is under the jurisdiction of the. When founded in 1801, the District consisted of two counties and three cities.

In 1846, (which now forms and a portion of the independent city of ) – including the then–City of Alexandria – was given back to Virginia. In 1871, the three remaining entities – the City of Washington,, and (which was coterminous with the District) – were merged into a consolidated government by an act of Congress. Georgetown was abolished as a city by another act in 1895. Are not designated county-equivalents for administrative purposes; since both the city and the county at least nominally exist, they are properly classified as counties in their own right. The same is true of the, each of which is coextensive with a county of New York State. Territories [ ] There are no counties per se in U.S.

Most are directly divided into municipalities or similar units, which are sometimes treated as equivalent of counties for statistical purposes: • • • • Organization [ ] The site of a county's administration, and often the county, is called the ('parish seat' in Louisiana, or 'borough seat' in Alaska). Several counties use the term ' for the county seat. Many counties are divided into smaller political or governmental units.

In Northeastern and Midwestern states, counties are divided into (or 'towns' in New England, New York, and Wisconsin), which may provide governmental or public services. County names [ ]. See also: Common sources of county names are names of people, geographic features, places in other states or countries, Native American tribes, and animals. Quite a few counties bear names of French or Spanish origin. Counties are most often named for people, often political figures or early settlers, with over 2,100 of the 3,143 total so named. The most common county name, with 31, is, for America's first president,.

Up until 1871, there was a within the, but it was dissolved by the. Jefferson County, for, is next with 27.

The most recent president to have named for him was, reflecting the slowing rate of county creation since and became states in 1912. The most common names for counties not named after a president are (25), (18), and (18). After people, the next most common source of county names are geographic features and locations, with some counties even being named after counties in other states, or for places in countries such as the United Kingdom. The most common geographic county name is. Native American tribes and animals lend their names to some counties. Quite a few counties bear names of French or Spanish origin, including being named after French missionary.

The county's equivalent in the state of Louisiana, the (Fr. Paroisse civile and Sp. Parroquia) took its name during the state's French and Spanish colonial periods. Before the and granting of statehood, government was often administered in towns where major church were located. Of the original 19 civil parishes of Louisiana that date from statehood in 1807, nine were named after the Roman Catholic parishes from which they were governed.

County government [ ] The powers of counties arise from state law and vary widely. In and, counties are geographic entities, but not governmental jurisdictions.

At the other extreme, and the county-equivalent handle almost all services, including, although the state retains an active oversight authority with many of these services. In most Midwestern and Northeastern states, counties are further subdivided into or, which sometimes exercise local powers or administration.

Throughout the United States, counties may contain other independent, self-governing. Counties are usually governed by an elected body, variously called the,,,,,,. In some counties, there is a. In cases in which a or exists, a usually governs city/county or city affairs. In many states, the board in charge of a county holds powers that transcend all three traditional branches of government. It has the legislative power to enact ordinances for the county; it has the executive power to oversee the executive operations of county government; and it has quasi-judicial power with regard to certain limited matters (such as hearing appeals from the planning commission if one exists). The day-to-day operations of the county government are sometimes overseen by an elected or by a chief administrative officer or who reports to the board, the mayor, or both.

In many states, several important officials are elected separately from the board of commissioners or supervisors and cannot be fired by the board. These positions may include, county, county surrogate,, and others. Or state attorneys are usually state-level as opposed to county-level officials, but in many states, counties and state judicial districts have coterminous boundaries. Scope of power [ ] The power of county governments varies widely from state to state, as does the relationship between counties and incorporated cities. The government of the county usually resides in a municipality called the county seat. However, some counties may have multiple seats or no seat. In some counties with no incorporated municipalities, a large settlement may serve as the county seat.

Minimal scope [ ] In New England, counties function at most as judicial court districts and (presently, in only as judicial court districts—and in, they have lost both those functions and all others), and most of the governmental authority below the state level is in the hands of. In several of Maine's sparsely populated counties, small towns rely on the county for law enforcement, and in several social programs are administered at the state level. In Connecticut, Rhode Island, and parts of Massachusetts, counties are now only geographic designations, and they do not have any governmental powers. All government is either done at the state level or at the municipal level. In Connecticut and parts of Massachusetts, regional councils have been established to partially fill the void left behind by the abolished county governments. The regional councils' authority is limited compared with a county government—they have authority only over infrastructure and land use planning, distribution of state and federal funds for infrastructure projects, emergency preparedness, and limited law enforcement duties. Moderate scope [ ] In the and, counties typically provide, at a minimum, courts,, libraries, hospitals, services, parks, roads, law enforcement, and jails.

There is usually a county registrar, recorder, or clerk (the exact title varies) who collects, holds elections (sometimes in coordination with a separate elections office or commission), and prepares or processes certificates of births, deaths, marriages, and dissolutions (divorce decrees). The county recorder normally maintains the official record of all real estate transactions. Other key county officials include the /,,,,, and. In most states, the is the chief law enforcement officer in the county.

However, except in major emergencies where clear chains of command are essential, the county sheriff normally does not directly control the police departments of city governments, but merely cooperates with them (e.g., under pacts). Thus, the most common interaction between county and city law enforcement personnel is when city police officers deliver suspects to sheriff's deputies for detention or incarceration in the county jail. In virtually all U.S. States, the and local law enforcement are organized and implemented along county boundaries, but nearly all of the substantive and procedural law adjudicated in state trial courts originates from the state legislature and state appellate courts. In other words, most criminal defendants are prosecuted for violations of state law, not local ordinances, and if they, the district attorney, or police seek reforms to the criminal justice system, they will usually have to direct their efforts towards the state legislature rather than the county (which merely implements state law). A typical criminal defendant will be arraigned and subsequently indicted or held over for trial before a trial court in and for a particular county where the crime occurred, kept in the county jail (if he is not granted bail or cannot make bail), prosecuted by the county's district attorney, and tried before a jury selected from that county. But long-term incarceration is rarely a county responsibility, execution of is never a county responsibility, and the state's responses to prisoners' appeals is the responsibility of the, who has to defend before the state appellate courts the prosecutions conducted by locally elected district attorneys in the name of the state.

Furthermore, county-level trial court judges are officers of the judicial branch of the state government rather than county governments. In many states, the county controls all within its boundaries. In states with a township tier, unincorporated land is controlled by the townships.

Residents of unincorporated land who are dissatisfied with county-level or township-level resource allocation decisions can attempt to vote to incorporate as a,,. A few counties directly provide themselves, usually in the form of a simple bus system. However, in most counties, public transportation is provided by one of the following: a that is coterminous with the county (but exists separately from the county government), a multi-county regional transit authority, or a state agency. Broad scope [ ] In and states, more populated counties provide many facilities, such as airports,, museums,, beaches, harbors, zoos, clinics,, and.

They provide services such as child and family services, elder services, mental health services, welfare services, veterans assistance services,, supervision, historic preservation, food safety regulation, and environmental health services. They have many additional officials like, arts commissioners, human rights commissioners, and planning commissioners. Finally, there may also be a county fire department and even a county police department (as distinguished from fire and police departments operated by individual cities, special districts, or the state government). For example,, and its county seat, the city of, each have their own police departments. (A separate county sheriff's department is responsible for security of the county courts and administration of the county jail.) In several southern states, systems are organized and administered at the county level. Statistics [ ] As of 2016, there were 3,007 counties,,,,, and the for a total of 3,142 counties and in the United States. The average number of counties per state is 62, with a range from the of to the of.

And states generally tend to have more counties than or states, as many Northeastern states are not large enough in area to warrant a large number of counties, and many Western states were sparsely populated when counties were created. The of, the of, and of no longer have functional county governments, but continue to exist as legal and census entities. Number of counties and county-equivalents in the United States of America or Total Subdivisions Average 2016 population Land area Counties Equivalents Total Population Land area 4,863,300 24! 50,645 sq mi 131,171 km 2 67 0 67 72,587 27! 756 sq mi 1,958 km 2 741,894 51! 570,641 sq mi 1,477,953 km 2 29 29 25,582 51! 19,677 sq mi 50,964 km 2 6,931,071 46!

113,594 sq mi 294,207 km 2 15 0 15 462,071 50! 7,573 sq mi 19,614 km 2 2,988,248 25! 52,035 sq mi 134,771 km 2 75 0 75 39,843 25!

694 sq mi 1,797 km 2 39,250,017 49! 155,779 sq mi 403,466 km 2 57 1 58 676,724 45! 2,686 sq mi 6,956 km 2 5,540,545 44!

103,642 sq mi 268,431 km 2 62 2 64 86,571 39! 1,619 sq mi 4,194 km 2 3,576,452 04! 4,842 sq mi 12,542 km 2 8 0 8 447,057 18!

605 sq mi 1,568 km 2 952,065 03! 1,949 sq mi 5,047 km 2 3 0 3 317,355 19!

650 sq mi 1,682 km 2 681,170 01! 61 sq mi 158 km 2 1 1 681,170 01! 61 sq mi 158 km 2 20,612,439 26! 53,625 sq mi 138,887 km 2 66 1 67 307,648 30! 800 sq mi 2,073 km 2 10,310,371 31! 57,513 sq mi 148,959 km 2 158 1 159 64,845 06! 362 sq mi 937 km 2 1,428,557 05!

6,423 sq mi 16,635 km 2 5 0 5 285,711 37! 1,285 sq mi 3,327 km 2 1,683,140 41! 82,643 sq mi 214,045 km 2 44 0 44 38,253 41! 1,878 sq mi 4,865 km 2 12,801,539 28! 55,519 sq mi 143,793 km 2 102 0 102 125,505 13!

544 sq mi 1,410 km 2 6,633,053 14! Cashmere Cat Mirror Maru Download 320 X here. 35,826 sq mi 92,789 km 2 92 0 92 72,098 07! 389 sq mi 1,009 km 2 3,134,693 29! 55,857 sq mi 144,669 km 2 99 0 99 31,664 15! 564 sq mi 1,461 km 2 2,907,289 39!

81,759 sq mi 211,754 km 2 105 0 105 27,688 29! 779 sq mi 2,017 km 2 4,436,974 15!

39,486 sq mi 102,269 km 2 120 0 120 36,975 04! 329 sq mi 852 km 2 4,681,666 19! 43,204 sq mi 111,898 km 2 64 64 73,151 23! 675 sq mi 1,748 km 2 1,331,479 13! 30,843 sq mi 79,883 km 2 16 0 16 83,217 42!

1,928 sq mi 4,993 km 2 6,016,447 10! 9,707 sq mi 25,142 km 2 23 1 24 250,685 08! 404 sq mi 1,048 km 2 6,811,779 07! 7,800 sq mi 20,202 km 2 14 0 14 486,556 14! 557 sq mi 1,443 km 2 9,928,300 30! 56,539 sq mi 146,435 km 2 83 0 83 119,618 24! 681 sq mi 1,764 km 2 5,519,952 38!

79,627 sq mi 206,232 km 2 87 0 87 63,448 34! 915 sq mi 2,370 km 2 2,988,726 21! 46,923 sq mi 121,531 km 2 82 0 82 36,448 16! 572 sq mi 1,482 km 2 6,093,000 34! 68,742 sq mi 178,040 km 2 114 1 115 52,983 17!

598 sq mi 1,548 km 2 1,042,520 48! 145,546 sq mi 376,962 km 2 54 2 56 18,616 43! 2,599 sq mi 6,731 km 2 1,907,116 37! 76,824 sq mi 198,974 km 2 93 0 93 20,507 31! 826 sq mi 2,140 km 2 2,940,058 45! 109,781 sq mi 284,332 km 2 16 1 17 172,945 49! 6,458 sq mi 16,725 km 2 1,334,795 08!

8,953 sq mi 23,187 km 2 10 0 10 133,480 33! 895 sq mi 2,319 km 2 8,944,469 06! 7,354 sq mi 19,047 km 2 21 0 21 425,927 05! 350 sq mi 907 km 2 2,081,015 47! 121,298 sq mi 314,161 km 2 33 0 33 63,061 47!

3,676 sq mi 9,520 km 2 19,745,289 22! 47,126 sq mi 122,057 km 2 62 0 62 318,472 28! 760 sq mi 1,969 km 2 10,146,788 23!

48,618 sq mi 125,920 km 2 100 0 100 101,468 12! 486 sq mi 1,259 km 2 757,952 35! 69,001 sq mi 178,711 km 2 53 0 53 14,301 38! 1,302 sq mi 3,372 km 2 11,614,373 17! 40,861 sq mi 105,829 km 2 88 0 88 131,982 11! 464 sq mi 1,203 km 2 3,923,561 33! 68,595 sq mi 177,660 km 2 77 0 77 50,955 32!

891 sq mi 2,307 km 2 4,093,465 42! 95,988 sq mi 248,608 km 2 36 0 36 113,707 44! 2,666 sq mi 6,906 km 2 12,784,227 20! 44,743 sq mi 115,883 km 2 67 0 67 190,809 22! 668 sq mi 1,730 km 2 1,056,426 02! 1,034 sq mi 2,678 km 2 5 0 5 211,285 02! 207 sq mi 536 km 2 4,961,119 12!

30,061 sq mi 77,857 km 2 46 0 46 107,850 20! 653 sq mi 1,693 km 2 865,454 36! 75,811 sq mi 196,350 km 2 66 0 66 13,113 36! 1,149 sq mi 2,975 km 2 6,651,194 18! 41,235 sq mi 106,798 km 2 95 0 95 70,013 09!

434 sq mi 1,124 km 2 27,862,596 50! 261,232 sq mi 676,587 km 2 254 0 254 109,695 35! 1,028 sq mi 2,664 km 2 3,051,217 40! 82,170 sq mi 212,818 km 2 29 0 29 105,214 46!

2,833 sq mi 7,339 km 2 624,594 09! 9,217 sq mi 23,871 km 2 14 0 14 44,614 21! 658 sq mi 1,705 km 2 8,411,808 16! 39,490 sq mi 102,279 km 2 95 38 133 63,247 03!

295 sq mi 763 km 2 7,288,000 32! 66,456 sq mi 172,119 km 2 39 0 39 186,872 40! 1,704 sq mi 4,413 km 2 1,831,102 11! 24,038 sq mi 62,259 km 2 55 0 55 33,293 10! 437 sq mi 1,132 km 2 5,778,708 27! 54,158 sq mi 140,268 km 2 72 0 72 80,260 26!

752 sq mi 1,948 km 2 585,501 43! 97,093 sq mi 251,470 km 2 23 0 23 25,457 48! 4,221 sq mi 10,933 km 2 323,127,513 99! 3,531,905 sq mi 9,147,592 km 2 3,007 135 3,142 102,841 99! 1,124 sq mi 2,910 km 2 Population [ ].

Main article: The average U.S. County population was nearly 100,000 in 2015. The most populous county is, with 10,170,292 residents in 2015. This number is greater than the populations of 41 U.S.

States, and even about 900,000 larger than the population of the 10 lowest states combined. It also makes Los Angeles County 17.4 times as large as the least populous state, Wyoming. The second most populous county is with a population of 5,238,216.

Cook County's population is larger than that of 28 individual and the combined populations of the six smallest states. The least populous county is, with 89 residents in 2015. The most densely populated county or county-equivalent is (coextensive with the ), with 72,033 persons per square mile (27,812/km 2) in 2015. The is both the most extensive and the least densely populated county or county-equivalent with 0.0380 persons per square mile (0.0147/km 2) in 2015. 981 counties have a population over 50,000; 592 counties have a population over 100,000; 137 counties have a population over 500,000; 45 counties have a population over 1,000,000; and 14 counties have a population over 2,000,000. 35 counties have a population under 1,000; 307 counties have a population under 5,000; 709 counties have a population under 10,000; and 1,492 counties have a population between 10,000 and 50,000.

A highway sign designating the border between and counties in along a secondary road At the, the land area of U.S. Counties was 622 sq mi (1,610 km 2), which is two-thirds of the median land area of a, and a little more than a quarter of the median land area of a French. Counties in the western United States typically have a much larger land area than those in the eastern United States.

For example, the median land area of counties in is 343 sq mi (890 km 2), whereas in it is 2,427 sq mi (6,290 km 2). The most extensive county or county-equivalent is the, with a land area of 145,505 square miles (376,856 km 2). All nine of the most extensive county-equivalents are in Alaska. The most extensive county is, with a land area of 20,057 square miles (51,947 km 2). The least extensive county is, with a land area of 11.991 square miles (31.058 km 2).

The least extensive county-equivalent is the, with a land area of 1.999 square miles (5.177 km 2). Geographic relationships between cities and counties [ ] In some states, a municipality may reside in only one county and may not annex territory in adjacent counties, but in the majority of states, the state constitution or state law allows municipalities to extend across county boundaries. At least 32 states include. And, for example, both contain portions of five counties. Is an unusual case because it encompasses multiple counties in one city.

The city comprises five counties in their entirety, each coextensive with one of the five of the city: (New York County), (Bronx County), (Queens County), (Kings County), and (Richmond County). See also [ ] • • • • • • • Notes [ ]. A: The formed by the Borough Act of 1961 is a legal entity, run by the Alaska state government as an extension of State government, it and the independently incorporated Unified, Home Rule, First Class and Second Class boroughs roughly correspond to parishes in Louisiana and to counties in the other 48 states. B: These 11 statistical areas are used solely by the to tabulate population and other census statistics within the Unorganized Borough; they have no legal basis in Alaska state or federal law other than for electoral representation and federal financial assistance purposes. References [ ]. Retrieved April 25, 2013.

2012 Population Estimates., Population Division. Retrieved April 30, 2013. Retrieved April 7, 2015.

• Harch, Charles E., The First Seventeen years, Virginia, 1607-1624, Jamestown 350th Anniversary Historical, 1957, p.20, pp.75-76,. • [ ] • Osborne M. Reynolds, Jr., Local Government Law, 3rd ed.

Paul: West, 2009), 19. National Association of Counties.

Retrieved 20 November 2015. • Rubino, Joe (December 24, 2011).. Broomfield (Colo.) Enterprise. Retrieved 13 July 2012.

City and County of Broomfield. Retrieved 13 July 2012. • Joe Viechnicki (January 3, 2013)..

Alaska Public Media. • Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development website.

19 April 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2013.

April 19, 2005. Retrieved 2007-12-08. • Geography, US Census Bureau.. Retrieved 2 November 2017. • ^ Kane, Joseph Nathan; Charles Curry Aiken (2004). The American Counties: Origins of County Names, Dates of Creation, and Population Data, 1950-2000. The Scarecrow Press, Inc.

Reynolds, Jr., Handbook of Local Government Law, 2nd ed. Paul, MN: West Group, 2001), 26.

Retrieved 2010-01-23. There are no county seats in Connecticut. County government was abolished effective October 1, 1960; counties function only as geographical subdivisions. Retrieved 2010-01-23.

Rhode Island has no county government. Paragon Extfs For Windows Cracked. It is divided into 39 municipalities each having its own form of local government. Retrieved 2011-01-22. • Unlike in Massachusetts, Connecticut's regional councils do not conform to the old county lines, but rather, they are composed of towns that share the same geographic region and have similar demographics. • Prior to July 1, 2016, there were 42 independent cities.

At that time, gave up its city status and became a town within. Faulconer, Justin (July 1, 2013).. The News & Advance.

Lynchburg, VA. Archived from on October 20, 2013. Retrieved July 22, 2013. Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2012.. Retrieved April 30, 2013. • The has 19 and one divided into. • The and the consider the entire to be a.

• The has instead of counties. • The has 23 counties and the. • The has 114 counties and the. • The has 16 counties and the. • The has 95 counties and.

United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2016-12-27.

Local Government On-Line, Division of Community and Regional Affairs,. August 18, 1998. Retrieved 2008-07-17. Local Boundary Commission,.

February 2001. Retrieved 2008-07-17. External links [ ] Wikimedia Commons has media related to. • by the • • •.