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John Muir called it the "Range of Light, the most divinely beautiful of all the mountain chains I’ve ever seen." The Sierra Nevada—a single unbroken mountain range stretching north to south over four hundred miles, best understood as a single ecosystem but embracing a number of environmental communities—has been the site of human activity for millennia. From the efforts of ancient Native Americans to encourage game animals by burning brush to create meadows to the burgeoning resort and residential development of the present, the Sierra has endured, and often suffered from, the efforts of humans to exploit its bountiful resources for their own benefit. Historian David Beesley examines the history of the Sierra Nevada from earliest times, beginning with a comprehensive discussion of the geologic development of the range and its various ecological communities. Using a wide range of sources, including the records of explorers and early settlers, scientific and government documents, and newspaper reports, Beesley offers a lively and informed account of the history, environmental challenges, and political controversies that lie behind the breathtaking scenery of the Sierra. Among the highlights are discussions of the impact of the Gold Rush and later mining efforts, as well as the supporting industries that mining spawned, including logging, grazing, water-resource development, market hunting, urbanization, and transportation; the politics and emotions surrounding the establishment of Yosemite and other state and national parks; the transformation of the Hetch Hetchy into a reservoir and the desertification of the once-lush Owens Valley; the roles of the Forest Service, Park Service, and other regulatory agencies; the consequences of the fateful commitment to wildfire suppression in Sierran forests; and the ever-growing impact of tourism and recreational use. Through Beesley’s wide-ranging discussion, John Muir’s "divinely beautiful" range is revealed in all its natural and economic complexity, a place that at the beginning of the twenty-first century is in grave danger of being loved to death. Available in hardcover and paperback.
At 5,980 feet, Truckee enchants visitors with a quaintness that belies the mountain town's rugged past. The very environment in which Truckee exists--high elevation, cold, deep snows--forced its founding fathers, residents, immigrants, and transient workers to make tough decisions while attempting to keep peace in a wildly remote area. In just over 150 years, Truckee has morphed from a collection of lawless rough-and-tumble settlements to a close-knit community with a sense of adventure at its core. The Truckee area was also at the cornerstone of many 19th-century technological innovations. From logging that kept trains stoked and fed Nevada mines to an ice-harvesting industry that transformed refrigerated transportation and the largest paper mill west of the Mississippi, Truckee proved its engineering mettle.
The Great Basin is a hydrographic region that includes most of Nevada and parts of five other Western states. The histories of four of the Western rivers of the Great Basin--the Walker, the Truckee, the Carson and the Humboldt--are explored in this book, along with three of the western lakes of the Great Basin: Lake Tahoe, Pyramid Lake, and Walker Lake. Drawing on a range of sources, the coauthors address both the natural and the human aspects of the history and likely futures of Great Basin waterways.
This sweeping and groundbreaking work presents the shocking and violent history of ethnic cleansing against Chinese Americans from the Gold Rush era to the turn of the century.
The only major U.S. railroad to be operated by westerners and the only railroad built from west to east, the Southern Pacific acquired a unique history and character. It also acquired a reputation, especially in California, as a railroad that people loved to hate. This magisterial history tells the full story of the Southern Pacific for the first time, shattering myths about the company that have prevailed to this day. A landmark account, Sunset Limited explores the railroad's development and influence—especially as it affected land settlement, agriculture, water policy, and the environment—and offers a new perspective on the tremendous, often surprising, role the company played in shaping the American West. Based on his unprecedented and extensive research into the company's historical archives, Richard Orsi finds that, contrary to conventional understanding, the Southern Pacific Company identified its corporate well-being with population growth and social and economic development in the railroad's hinterland. As he traces the complex and shifting intersections between corporate and public interest, Orsi documents the railroad's little-known promotion of land distribution, small-scale farming, scientific agriculture, and less wasteful environmental practices and policies—including water conservation and wilderness and recreational parklands preservation. Meticulously researched, lucidly written, and judiciously balanced, Sunset Limited opens a new window onto the American West in a crucial phase of its development and will forever change our perceptions of one of the largest and most important western corporations in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Cutthroat tells the full story of the genuine native trout of the American West. This new edition, thoroughly revised and updated after 20 years, synthesizes what is currently known about one of our most interesting and colorful fishes, includes much new information on its biology and ecology, asks how it has fared in the last century, and looks toward its future. In a passionate and accessibly written narrative, Patrick Trotter, fly fisher, environmental advocate, and science consultant, details the evolution, natural history, and conservation of each of the cutthroat's races and incorporates more personal reflections on the ecology and environmental history of the West's river ecosystems. The bibliography now includes what may be the most comprehensive and complete set of references available anywhere on the cutthroat trout. Written for anglers, nature lovers, environmentalists, and students, and featuring vibrant original illustrations by Joseph Tomelleri, this is an essential reference for anyone who wants to learn more about this remarkable, beautiful, and fragile western native.