The promise of wilderness
Subtitle: American environmental politics since 1964
By: James Morton Turner
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: University of Washington
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Seattle, Wash
Language: eng
Number of pages: 520
ISBN-13: 9780295991757
Subjects: NATURE / Environmental Conservation & Protection; POLITICAL SCIENCE / Public Policy / Environmental Policy; Law and legislation; Wilderness areas; Environmental protection; Environmental policy; HISTORY / United States / 20th Century; History
Description: "From Denali's majestic slopes to the Great Swamp of central New Jersey, protected wilderness areas make up nearly 20 percent of the parks, forests, wildlife refuges, and other public lands that cover a full fourth of the nation's territory. But wilderness is not only a place. It is also one of the most powerful and troublesome ideas in American environmental thought, representing everything from sublime beauty and patriotic inspiration to a countercultural ideal and an overextension of government authority. The Promise of Wilderness examines how the idea of wilderness has shaped the management of public lands since the passage of the Wilderness Act in 1964. Wilderness preservation has engaged diverse groups of citizens, from hunters and ranchers to wildlife enthusiasts and hikers, as political advocates who have leveraged the resources of local and national groups toward a common goal. Turner demonstrates how these efforts have contributed to major shifts in modern American environmental politics, which have emerged not just in reaction to a new generation of environmental concerns, such as environmental justice and climate change, but also in response to changed debates over old conservation issues, such as public lands management. He also shows how battles over wilderness protection have influenced American politics more broadly, fueling disputes over the proper role of government, individual rights, and the interests of rural communities; giving rise to radical environmentalism; and playing an important role in the resurgence of the conservative movement, especially in the American West. "James Turner's insightful book demonstrates the continued vitality and centrality of wilderness within American environmentalism." -Mark Harvey, author of Wilderness Forever: Howard Zahniser and the Path to the Wilderness Act "A superb study of the implementation of the Wilderness Act, and a springboard for a new period in wilderness thought and advocacy." -Paul Sutter, author of Driven Wild: How the Fight Against Automobiles Launched the Modern Wilderness Movement "The most deeply researched, analytically rigorous, and elegantly written study of American wilderness politics since the 1960s yet produced." -from the Foreword by William Cronon James Morton Turner is assistant professor of environmental studies at Wellesley College"--

"Analysis of the Wilderness Act of 1964, since its passage to the late 1990s, including the rationale for the act, dissenters, activists, the role of the Wilderness Society and other advocacy organizations"--