An inholding is privately owned land inside the boundary of a national park, national forest, state park, or similar publicly owned, protected area.
In the United States, the main causes of inholdings is that all of the Federal land-management agencies were formed over a century after the government sold and issued land grants to private citizens to fund the administration of the United States.
Over the last several decades, conservation groups have lobbied the United States Congress to acquire private residences especially within designated wilderness areas, either by direct purchase or via land exchange which trades the inholding for other federal lands located outside of national parks or wilderness areas.
Under the Wilderness Act (1964), the designated area cannot include the privately owned property within the border.
As such, many public agencies have allowed limited use roads to be built in wilderness areas.