The phrase "federal lands" refers to land that is owned and managed by the federal government of a country, rather than by individuals or private companies. Full definition
According to a recent report, oil production fell 4 percent and natural gas production fell 33 percent on federal lands from 2007 to 2012. (americanenergyalliance.org)
Combined, oil and gas companies hold leases to nearly 68 million acres of federal land and waters that they are not producing oil and gas (Figure 4). (dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com)
It might be possible, for example, to impose an extraction fee («severance payment») for coal and oil taken from federal lands. (sciencemag.org)