Foreword

Abbreviations

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part One

Wilderness and the Origins of

Modern Environmentalism, 1964?1976

1 Why a Wilderness Act?

2 Speaking for Wilderness

3 The Popular Politics of Wilderness

4 New Environmental Tools for an Old Conservation Issue 101

Part Two

The Polarization of American Environmental Politics, 1977?1994

5 Alaska: ?The Last Chance to Do It Right the First Time?

6 National Forests: The Polarization of Environmental Politics

7 The Public Domain: Environmental Politics and the Rise of the New Right

Part Three

wilderness and a New Agenda for the Public Lands, 1987?2009

8 From Wilderness to Public Lands Reform

9 The New Prophets of Wilderness

10 The Paths to Public Lands Reform

Epilogue: Rebuilding the Wilderness

Movement

Notes

Bibliography

Index

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

James Morton Turner is assistant professor of environmental studies at Wellesley College.