From Denali's majestic slopes to the Great Swamp of central New Jersey,
protected wilderness areas make up nearly twenty 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.
Watch the book trailer: https: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jsq-6LAeYKk
