WILDERNESS ETHICS PA

by Waterman, Guy; Waterman, Laura

• ISBN13: 9780881502565
• ISBN10: 0881502561
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1992-06-01
• Publisher: Countryman Press

Summary

In this environmental call to action, Laura and Guy Waterman look beyond preserving the ecology of the backcountry to focus on what they call its spiritual dimension--its fragile, untamed wildness. "Without some management, wildness cannot survive the number of people who seek to enjoy it," they write. "But with too much management, or the wrong kind, we can destroy the spiritual component of wildness in our zeal to preserve its physical side." Trailside huts and lodges, large groups seeking "wilderness experiences," federal and state regulations, and technology such as radios, cell phones, global positioning devices, and emergency helicopters, all have an impact on our experience. With humor and insight, the Watermans explore these difficult wilderness management issues. They ask us to evaluate the impact that even "environmentally conscious" values have on the wilderness experience, and to ask the question: What are we trying to preserve?

Author Biography

Laura and Guy Waterman lived on a 27-acre homestead in Vermont, where they structured a self-sufficient lifestyle around hiking, climbing, and writing. Dedicated volunteers for the U.S. Forest Service and for hiking and conservation organizations, they raised passionate voices in defense of their beloved mountains. Laura continues to write fiction and lives near their original homestead. Guy died in the White Mountains early in 2000

Table of Contents

Guy Waterman: An Appreciation	p. ix
Foreword	p. xii
Acknowledgments	p. xv
Something More Than Trees and Rocks
Fay's Quandary	p. 18
What Are We Trying to Preserve?	p. 24
What Is the Wild?	p. 30
The Spiritual Side of Wild	p. 35
Values in Conflict in the Backcountry	p. 42
Why the Lorax Lost	p. 54
Respect for the Mystery
The Numbers Racket: Large Parties and Wildness	p. 62
Exploitation by Any Other Name	p. 73
Case Study: Slouching toward Lake Wietelmann	p. 81
Guidebooks and Wildness	p. 87
Case Study: The Future of Melville Cascades	p. 93
Trails and Wildness	p. 99
Machines Amok in the Garden
Case Study: Scott, Hillary, and Ma Bell	p. 106
Radio and Wildness	p. 112
Case Study: The Saga of the Snowmobile	p. 121
One-Person Transportation Devices and Wildness	p. 125
Aircraft and Wildness	p. 133
Case Study: A Night in Odell's Gully	p. 141
The High Cost of Search and Rescue	p. 149
What Kind of Backcountry Do We Want?
Of Time and Wildness	p. 162
Solitude amid the Multitude	p. 169
Case Study: Winter above Treeline	p. 177
Five Winter Trips: The End of Adventure?	p. 190
In Defense of Difficulty	p. 208
Epilogue: The Polar Bear Within	p. 219
Selected Bibliography	p. 229
Index	p. 233
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