Edumicate Me: A Public Lands Reading List

• May 25, 2017

• #1

jquigley

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Now that I've been hunting a few years and don't feel like I have to spend all my time researching ways not to die, I'm ready to broaden my education.

I don't often chime in on public land issues here on HT. I simply assume I lack the context to contribute in a meaningful way. So, if you were looking to educate a newbie on public lands issues and history, what would your must consume books, articles or videos list look like?

Shoutout to JR for pointing me towards Timothy Egans The Big Burn, which feels like a great primer.

 

• May 25, 2017

• #2

Nameless Range

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Last Stand: George Bird Grinell, The Battle to Save The Buffalo, and The New West

and The Lochsa Story: Land Ethics in the Bitterroot Mountains

 

• May 25, 2017

• #3

dannyb278

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I 2nd Last Stand. its a great book. I've just started reading it again

Follow it up by:

The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the fire that saved America. It tells 2 stories, the history of the Big Burn of 1910 and the formation of the Forest Service through Roosevelt and Pinchot. Its a captivating read and easy to get through.

The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America. This is a HEAVY book, both in length and scope but pretty lays out the history of public lands and the people that fought for them.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't add "A Sand County Almanac" to any hunters list. While not specifically about public land, the "Land Ethic" layed out by Aldo Leopold is something this country needs if we are going to have wild places open to those "unborn generations" ahead of us

 

• May 25, 2017

• #4

jquigley

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Nameless Range said:

Last Stand: George Bird Grinell, The Battle to Save The Buffalo, and The New West

and The Lochsa Story: Land Ethics in the Bitterroot Mountains

Click to expand...

The first is one I've been meaning to grab forever! I'll definitely check out the second one.

 

• May 25, 2017

• #5

jquigley

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dannyb278 said:

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't add "A Sand County Almanac" to any hunters list. While not specifically about public land, the "Land Ethic" layed out by Aldo Leopold is something this country needs if we are going to have wild places open to those "unborn generations" ahead of us

Click to expand...

I've actually read this a couple times now. Totally agree, it needs to be part of any library on the topic of conservation in general. Thanks for the tips!

 

• May 25, 2017

• #6

elkduds

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For more historical perspectives: Stegner, Beyond the Hundredth Meridian; Reisner, Cadillac Desert; Muir, Wilderness Essays.

 

Last edited: May 25, 2017

• May 26, 2017

• #7

1

1_pointer

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I'd also recommend getting some acquaintance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Federal Land Policy Management Act (FLPMA). They don't tell you how or why federal public lands came to be, but having an understanding of them will give you better insight into how things are done for the management of those lands.

 

• May 28, 2017

• #8

M

MoeHunt

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Let us not forget the Organic Act and the Multiple Use and Sustained Yield Act.

 

• May 28, 2017

• #9

M

MoeHunt

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There is also a good video called "The Greatest Good" .