This record group contains materials related to the Appalachian Land Ownership Study, initiated by members of the Appalachian Alliance in 1978. The study examined the land ownership patterns in eighty counties in six Appalachian states, tying extensive corporate and absentee ownership to scarce arable land, a weak tax base, lack of public services, stunted economic development, and other sources of persistent Appalachian poverty.

Study findings were published in November 1980 in a sever-volume document. This collection includes published study findings, including some unbound drafts or advanced drafts, as well as related news clippings and materials from the Appalachian Alliance. The group also contains news clippings related to land ownership in Appalachia and promotional materials for the published findings.