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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.
A study of the US National Park Service’s efforts to allow for as many visitors as possible in the parks that are kept in as natural a state as possible. “Yosemite Valley in July of 1967 would have had to be seen to be believed. There was never an empty campsite in the valley; you had to create a space for yourself in a sea of cars, tents, and humanity. . . . The camp next to ours had fifty people in it, with rugs hung between the trees, incense burning, and a stereo set going full volume.” Scenes such as this will probably never be repeated in Yosemite or any other national park, yet the urgent problem remains of balancing the public's desire to visit the parks with the parks’ need to be protected from too many people and cars and too much development. In this book, longtime park visitor and professional geographer Bob O’Brien explores the National Park Service’s attempt to achieve “sustainability,” a balance that allows as many people as possible to visit a park that is kept in as natural a state as possible. O’Brien details methods the NPS has used to walk the line between those who would preserve vast tracts of land for “no use” and those who would tap the Yellowstone geysers to generate electricity. His case studies of six western “crown jewel” parks show how rangers and other NPS employees are coping with issues that impact these cherished public landscapes, including visitation, development, and recreational use./
This book provides a comprehensive and up to date comparative study of the management and resolution of conflicts between conservation and recreation in protected areas in the US and China. Competing claims on the use of nature, increasing regulation of land use and recreational activities, and the conflicting goals between conservation and development have led to a rise in conflicts in the designation and management of protected areas. How to effectively manage and resolve these conflicts has become a challenge for both legislators and managers. By adopting an institutional dimension in legal interpretation, this book critically examines how such conflicts are dealt with in the legal regimes of the US and China while exploring interactions between legislatures, agencies and courts. The book searches for a plausible solution to improve the legal framework of protected areas in China by emulating pertinent mechanisms developed in the US, whilst also presenting legal and policy recommendations to the US. This informative book will be useful for legal scholars in Chinese law, nature conservation law, administrative law and comparative law.