Title: A conspiracy of optimism : management of the national forests since World War Two /
Authors: Hirt, Paul W., 1954-
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press,
Year: 1994
Subjects: United States. History; Forest reserves United States Management History; Forest policy United States History
Abstract: A Conspiracy of Optimism describes the unprecedented controversy now raging over the U.S. Forest Service's management of America's national forests. Focusing on the ideas of "sustained yield," "multiple use," and "intensive management," Paul W. Hirt describes how the first two of these ideas represent the admirable objectives of achieving balance and sustainability in the management of our publicly owned forest lands. However, since the Second World War, neither multiple use nor sustained yield have been effectively implemented. Criticism of the Forest Service has grown since 1945, when demands for commodities accelerated and the agency strove to meet them through its program of intensive management. Although these demands for resources often clashed with "sustainable" limits, the provision of products and services, such as timber and recreation, enhanced the agency's reputation and budget. Confronted with the dual mandate of production and preservation, the agency decided it could achieve both through more intensive management. For a few decades, this "conspiracy of optimism" masked the fact that high levels of resource extraction were destroying forest ecosystems. The repercussions of this management regime - massive clear-cuts, polluted streams, declining wildlife populations, and marred scenery - proved to be socially unacceptable. This book documents the reasons the U.S. Forest Service stands accused of collaborating in the exploitation of our national forests. Hirt illuminates recent changes in administration and policy which suggest a hopeful future for federal lands.
Contents: 1. Two Views of the Forest: Some Philosophical Considerations -- 2. Historical Antecedents: The Development of Forest Policy before World War Two -- 3. The End of the Forest Service's Custodial Era, 1945-1948 -- 4. Forestry, Freedom, and Fiscal Conservatism, 1949-1952 -- 5. Transition to the "Businessman's Administration," 1953 -- 6. Getting Out the Cut, 1953-1960 -- 7. The Fight to Protect Nontimber Values, 1953-1960 -- 8. Multiple Use and Sustained Yield: Debated and Defined, 1955-1960 -- 9. "Operation Multiple Use" and the Continued Disjunction of Planning and Funding -- 10. Patterns of the Fifties Repeated in the Sixties -- 11. From Gridlocked Conflict to Compromised Policy Reform, 1969-1976 -- 12. Retrenchment and Revolt, 1977-1992 -- 13. Conclusion -- Appendix: Footpaths through Forest History.