Synopses & Reviews
Amid the policy gridlock that characterizes most environmental debates, a new conservation movement has emerged. Known as andquot;collaborative conservation,andquot; it emphasizes local participation, sustainability, and inclusion of the disempowered, and focuses on voluntary compliance and consent rather than legal and regulatory enforcement. Encompassing a wide range of local partnerships and initiatives, it is changing the face of resource management throughout the western United States.
Across the Great Divide presents a thoughtful exploration of this new movement, bringing together writing, reporting, and analysis of collaborative conservation from those directly involved in developing and implementing the approach. Contributors examine:
- the failure of traditional policy approaches
- recent economic and demographic changes that serve as a backdrop for the emergence of the movement
- the merits of, and drawbacks to, collaborative decision-making
- the challenges involved with integrating diverse voices and bringing all sectors of society into the movement
.
In addition, the book offers in-depth stories of eight noteworthy collaborative initiatives-including the Quincy Library Group, Montana's Clark Fork River, the Applegate Partnership, and the Malpai Borderlands-that explore how different groups have organized and acted to implement their goals.
Among the contributors are Ed Marston, George Cameron Coggins, David Getches, Andy Stahl, Maria Varela, Luther Propst, Shirley Solomon, William Riebsame, Cassandra Moseley, Lynn Jungwirth, and others. Across the Great Divide is an important work for anyone involved with collaborative conservation or the larger environmental movement, and for all those who care about the future of resource management in the West.
Review
"These days, to the dismay of radicals and reactionaries alike, the most powerful changes in the way westerners handle environmental challenges emanate not from the shout-'em-down fringes but from the collaborative center.
Across the Great Divide explores the phenomenon, with all its difficulties and contradictions, and it does so better than any book has yet done or is likely to do for a long time. If you are involved in the real work of making the West a better place, read this book. And if not, read it anyway and lend a hand."
About the Author
Philip Brick teaches international and environmental politics at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington and is co-editor of A Wolf in the Garden (Rowman and Littlefield, 1996).
Donald Snow is executive director of the Northern Lights Research and Education Institute in Missoula, Montana, and co-editor of The Next West (Island Press, 1997).
Sarah (Bates) Van de Wetering edits the Chronicle of Community and has published four previous books with Island Press, most recently A New Century for Natural Resources Management, which she co-edited with Richard Knight.
Table of Contents
Contents
Foreword
Coming Home: An Introduction to Collaborative Conservation
From Troubled Waters: The Emergence of
Collaborative Conservation
Will Rain Follow the Plow? Unearthing a New Environmental
Movement
ONRC, Go Home: A Rancher Speaks Out to Environmentalists
about Community and the Land
What Do We Mean by Consensus? Some Defining Principles
Defining the Territory: The Changing Face of
the American West
Geographies of the New West
Your Next Job Will Be in Services. Should You Be Worried?
Who Will Be the Gardeners of Eden? Some Questions about the
Fabulous New West
The Death of John Wayne and the Rebirth of a Code of
the West
What is Community?
On the Ground: Collaborative Conservation
in Practice
The Quincy Library Group: A Divisive Attempt at Peace
Montana's Clark Fork: A New Story for a Hardworking River
The Applegate Partnership: Innovation in Crisis
Malpai Borderlands: The Searchers for Common Ground
Colorado's Yampa Valley: Planning for Open Space
Wild Olympic Salmon: Art and Activism in the Heart of
the Dragon
Oregon's Plan for Salmon and Watersheds: The Basics of Building
a Recovery Plan
Bitterroot Grizzly Bear Reintroduction: Management by
Citizen Committee?
Evaluating Collaborative Conservation:
a Chautauqua
Of Californicators, Quislings, and Crazies: Some Perils of
Devolved Collaboration
Of Imposters, Optimists, and Kings: Finding a Political Niche for
Collaborative Conservation
Some Irreverent Questions about Watershed-Based Efforts
Are Community Watershed Groups Effective? Confronting
the Thorny Issue of Measuring Success
Ownership, Accountability, and Collaboration
Exploring Paradox in Environmental Collaborations
Broadening Environmental Horizons
Imagining the Best Instead of Preventing the Worst: Toward a
New Solidarity in Conservation Strategy
Crossing the Great Divide: Facing a Shared History in a
Multicultural West
Collaborative Conservation: Peace of Pacification? The View from
Los Ojos
Finding Science's Voice in the Forest
"Salmon Is Coming for My Heart": Hearing All the Voices
Appendix: Selected Resources in Collaborative Conservation
Acknowledgments
About the Contributors
Index