Forests Under Fire

by Huggard, Christopher J.; Gomez, Arthur R.

• ISBN13: 9780816517756
• ISBN10: 0816517754
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-02-01
• Publisher: Univ of Arizona Pr

Summary

The devastating firethat swept through Los Alamos, New Mexico, in the spring of 2000 may have been caused by one controlled burn gone wild, but it was far from an isolated event. All through the twentieth century, our national forests have been under assault from all sides: first ranchers and loggers laid their claims to our national forests, then recreationists and environmentalists spoke up for their interests. Who are our national forests really for? In this book, leading environmental historians show us what has been happening to these fragile woodlands. Taking us from lumber towns to Indian reservations to grazing lands, Forests under Firereveals the interaction of Anglos, Hispanics, and Native Americans with the forests of the American Southwest. It examines recent controversies ranging from red squirrel conservation on Mt. Graham to increased tourism in our national forests. These case studies offer insights into human-forest relationships in places such as the Coconino National Forest, the Vallecitos Sustained Yield Unit, and the Gila Wilderness Area while also drawing on issues and concerns about similar biospheres in other parts of the West. Over the century, forest management has evolved from a field dominated by the "conservationist" perspective--with humans exploiting natural resources-to one that emphasizes biocentrism, in which forests are seen as dynamic ecosystems. Yet despite this progressive shift, the assault on our forests continues through overgrazing of rangelands, lumbering, eroding mountainsides, fire suppression, and threats to the habitats of endangered species. Forests under Firetakes a closer look at the people calling the shots in our national forests, from advocates of timber harvesting to champions of ecosystem management, and calls for a reassessment of our priorities-- before our forests are gone. Contents Introduction: Toward a Twenty-First-Century Forest Ecosystem Management Strategy / Christopher J. Huggard Industry and Indian Self-Determination: Northern Arizona's Apache Lumbering Empire, 1870-1970 / Arthur R. Gomez A Social History of McPhee: Colorado's Largest Lumber Town / Duane A. Smith The Vallecitos Federal Sustained-Yield Unit: The (All Too) Human Dimension of Forest Management in Northern New Mexico, 1945-1998 / Suzanne S. Forrest Grazing the Southwest Borderlands: The Peloncillo-Animas District of the Coronado National Forest in Arizona and New Mexico, 1906-1996 / Diana Hadley America's First Wilderness Area: Aldo Leopold, the Forest Service, and the Gila of New Mexico, 1924-1980 / Christopher J. Huggard "Where There's Smoke": Wildfire Policy and Suppression in the American Southwest / John Herron Struggle in an Endangered Empire: The Search for Total Ecosystem Management in the Forests of Southern Utah, 1976-1999 / Thomas G. Alexander Biopolitics: A Case Study of Political Influence on Forest Management Decisions, Coronado National Forest, Arizona, 1980s-1990s / Paul W. Hirt Epilogue: Seeing the Forest Not for the Trees: The Future of Southwestern Forests in Retrospect / Hal K. Rothman

Author Biography

Thomas G. Alexander is Lemuel Hardison Redd Jr. Professor of History at Brigham Young University. Suzanne S. Forrest is an independent historian with a Ph.D. in history from the University of Wyoming Arthur R. Gomez has been the History Program manager for the National Park Service, Intermountain Support Office-Santa Fe (formerly Southwestern Region) since 1992 Diana Hadley is an environmental historian in Tucson John Herron is the coeditor of Human/Nature: Biology, Culture, and Environmental History and several articles on environmental history. Paul W. Hirt is an associate professor of history at Washington State University Christopher J. Huggard is an associate professor of history at NorthWest Arkansas Community College Hal K. Rothman is a professor of history at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Duane A. Smith is a professor of history at Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Acknowledgments	xi
List of Abbreviations	xiii
Introduction	xv
Toward a Twenty-First-Century Forest Ecosystem Management Strategy
Christopher J. Huggard
Industry and Indian Self-Determination	3	(38)
Northern Arizona's Apache Lumbering Empire, 1870-1970
Arthur R. Gomez
A Social History of McPhee	41	(26)
Colorado's Largest Lumber Town
Duane A. Smith
The Vallecitos Federal Sustained-Yield Unit	67	(26)
The (All Too) Human Dimension of Forest Management in Northern New Mexico, 1945-1998
Suzanne S. Forrest
Grazing the Southwest Borderlands	93	(40)
The Peloncillo-Animas District of the Coronado National Forest in Arizona and New Mexico, 1906-1996
Diana Hadley
America's First Wilderness Area	133	(48)
Aldo Leopold, the Forest Service, and the Gila of New Mexico, 1924-1980
Christopher J. Huggard
``Where there's smoke''	181	(30)
Wildfire Policy and Suppression in the American Southwest
John Herron
Struggle in an Endangered Empire	211	(30)
The Search for Total Ecosystem Management in the Forests of Southern Utah, 1976-1999
Thomas G. Alexander
Biopolitics	241	(46)
A Case Study of Political Influence on Forest Management Decisions, Coronado National Forest, Arizona, 1980s-1990s
Paul W. Hirt
Epilogue	287	(12)
Seeing the Forest Not for the Trees: The Future of Southwestern Forests
Hal K. Rothman
List of Contributors	299	(4)
Index	303