Crossing the Next Meridian

by Wilkinson, Charles F.

• ISBN13: 9781559631495
• ISBN10: 155963149X
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1993-06-01
• Publisher: Island Pr

Summary

InCrossing the Next Meridian, Charles F. Wilkinson, an expert on federal public lands, Native American issues, and the West's arcane water laws explains some of the core problems facing the American West now and in the years to come. He examines the outmoded ideas that pervade land use and resource allocation and argues that significant reform of Western law is needed to combat desertification and environmental decline, and to heal splintered communities. Interweaving legal history with examples of present-day consequences of the laws, both intended and unintended, Wilkinson traces the origins and development of the laws and regulations that govern mining, ranching, forestry, and water use. He relates stories of Westerners who face these issues on a day-to-day basis, and discusses what can and should be done to bring government policies in line with the reality of twentieth-century American life.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
The Lords of yesterday	3	(25)
The Miner's Law	28	(47)
The Rancher's Code	75	(39)
Forests for the Home-Builder First of All	114	(61)
``The River Was Crouded with Salmon''	175	(44)
Harvesting the April Rivers	219	(74)
Crossing the Next Meridian	293	(14)
Notes	307	(56)
Acknowledgments	363	(4)
Index	367