In the late twentieth century, residents of the Blue Ridge mountains in western North Carolina fiercely resisted certain environmental efforts, even while launching aggressive initiatives of their own. Kathryn Newfont examines the environmental history of this region over the course of three hundred years, identifying what she calls commons environmentalism - a cultural strain of conservation in American history that has gone largely unexplored.

KATHRYN NEWFONT is an associate professor of history and faculty chair for the Ramsey Center for Regional Studies at Mars Hill College.