Environmental Conflict in Alaska

by ROSS KEN

• ISBN13: 9780870815898
• ISBN10: 087081589X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2001-04-01
• Publisher: Univ Pr of Colorado

Summary

Ken Ross presents a detailed yet readable account of the salient environmental controversies of Alaska's statehood period. As 'the last frontier', Alaska lured unusually fervent devotees of the exploitation ethic who sought to make quick profits or recreate the pioneer experience in a land of minimal regulations. The state also attracted passionate environmentalists -- enthralled by natural beauty -- who found increasing support from a public anxious about pollution and resource depletion. Ross maintains that over the years, the conflicts strengthened principles of government and corporate accountability, public participation in management decision, and sustainable use of natural resources. At the millennium, this leaves Alaska a chance to retain much of the pristine quality regarded by so many as its primary value. Sure to be the standard account for years to come, this book documents one state's fateful trials surrounding its own irreplaceable portion of our a nation's great natural heritage.

Author Biography

Ken Ross is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Adrian College, Michigan.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	vii
List of Tables	xi
Acknowledgments	xiii
Prologue	xv
Chronology	xix
Part I: Wildlife Disputes
Polar Bear's Passage	5	(11)
Bowhead Whales and Eskimos	16	(10)
Yukon-Kuskokwim Geese	26	(15)
Chilkat Eagles	41	(8)
Wolf Control	49	(29)
Subsistence	78	(18)
Part II: Use of the Land
Ancient Village, Modern Bomb: Project Chariot	96	(14)
Return to Amchitka	110	(11)
Rampart: Developer's Dream, Nature Lover's Nightmare	121	(14)
Susitna: An Exercise in Power Politics	135	(10)
An Oil Pipeline Changes Everything	145	(18)
Oil on the Oceans	163	(29)
Land Deal of the Century	192	(14)
Managing Federal Lands	206	(23)
Trouble in the Tongass	229	(40)
Arctic Wilderness: A Question of Values	269	(22)
Alaskan Environmental Organizations	291	(26)
Trends and Prospects	317	(11)
Abbreviations	328	(2)
Bibliography	330	(24)
Index	354