Nancy Langston

Forest Dreams, Forest Nightmares: The Paradox of Old Growth in the Inland West - Weyerhaeuser Environmental Books Nancy Langston

Jacket Description/Back: Across the inland West, forests that once seemed like paradise have turned into an ecological nightmare. Fires, insect epidemics, and disease now threaten millions of acres of once-bountiful forests. Yet no one can agree what went wrong. Was it too much management - or not enough - that forced the forests of the inland West to the verge of collapse? Is the solution more logging, or no logging at all? In this gripping work of scientific and historical detection, Nancy Langston unravels the disturbing history of what went wrong with the western forests, despite the best intentions of those involved. Focusing on the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington, she explores how the complex landscapes that so impressed settlers in the nineteenth century became an ecological disaster in the late twentieth. Federal foresters, intent on using their scientific training to stop exploitation and waste, suppressed light fires in the ponderosa pinelands. Hoping to save the forests, they could not foresee that their policies would instead destroy what they loved. When light fires were kept out, a series of ecological changes began. Firs grew thickly in forests once dominated by ponderosa pines, and when droughts hit, those firs succumbed to insects, diseases, and eventually catastrophic fires. Jacket Description/Back: 'Forest Dreams, Forest Nightmares manages to merge an intellectual history of forestry, the story of a particular place, social history, and vivid personal stories into a gripping whole. It combines careful scholarship, sharp analysis, and a real passion for a place and all that lives in and upon it.' -Richard WhiteMarc Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 307-357) and index. Publisher Marketing: Across the inland West, forests that once seemed like paradise have turned into an ecological nightmare. Fires, insect epidemics, and disease now threaten millions of acres of once-bountiful forests. Yet no one can agree what went wrong. Was it too much management - or not enough - that forced the forests of the inland West to the verge of collapse? Is the solution more logging, or no logging at all? In this gripping work of scientific and historical detection, Nancy Langston unravels the disturbing history of what went wrong with the western forests, despite the best intentions of those involved. Focusing on the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington, she explores how the complex landscapes that so impressed settlers in the nineteenth century became an ecological disaster in the late twentieth. Federal foresters, intent on using their scientific training to stop exploitation and waste, suppressed light fires in the ponderosa pinelands. Hoping to save the forests, they could not foresee that their policies would instead destroy what they loved. When light fires were kept out, a series of ecological changes began. Firs grew thickly in forests once dominated by ponderosa pines, and when droughts hit, those firs succumbed to insects, diseases, and eventually catastrophic fires. Publisher Marketing: Langston (environmental studies, U. of Wisconsin-Madison) documents the Forest Service's mismanagement of the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon and southeastern Washington and its use of practices, such as fire prevention and insect eradication, that led to ecological disaster in the area's forests. She argues that our expectations and ideas of Review Citations:

Kirkus Reviews 08/01/1995 pg. 1082 (EAN 9780295974569, Hardcover)

Library Journal 09/01/1995 pg. 204 (EAN 9780295974569, Hardcover)

New York Times 10/29/1995 pg. 45 (EAN 9780295974569, Hardcover)

Contributor Bio:  Langston, Nancy Nancy Langston is associate professor of environmental studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She is the author of Forest Dreams, Forest Nightmares: The Paradox of Old Growth in the Inland West. Contributor Bio:  Cronon, William William Cronon is Frederick Jackson Turner Professor of History, Geography, and Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.