Landscapes of the central part of the European Russia have been experiencing various anthropogenic impacts over the past several thousand years, so the history of their formation and functioning cannot be examined in isolation from the history of environmental management. In the modern world, these impacts are significant and the tasks of assessing the state of landscapes, their stability, permissible loads, optimal use and development are more relevant than ever. These tasks can be comprehensively solved only in case of a deep understanding of the processes of ecosystem facing various anthropogenic pressures. In this research, we consider the dynamics of the structure of lands in the vicinity of the Kuibyshev hydraulic dam, located in the Istra district of Moscow region. The study of changes in the structure and quality of lands was carried out on the basis of an analysis of large-scale historical plans and maps, starting with General land surveying plans of the second half of the 18th century and ending with images from satellites in 2019. During the research, maps of the dynamics of lands were compiled, which made it possible to bind to the terrain, and quantitative estimates were made of the areas of lands on which the methods of exploitation were changed. It was shown that a significant part of the territories repeatedly changed their purpose: the forest was replaced by arable land, arable land became a forest or meadow, etc. From the 2nd half of the nineteenth century by the present time the share of changed territories has been about 30%. The ratio of forest and open areas has changed significantly: the share of open spaces has decreased by 25% over the past 250 years. The maximum plowing of the territory is noted on the plans of the General Survey of 1771.