Blue Ridge 2020: An Owner's Manual

by Steve Nash

The mountain chain known as the Blue Ridge traces a 550-mile arc through Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Georgia. Along the way, it encompasses Shenandoah National Park, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Blue Ridge Parkway, seven national forests, numerous federal wilderness areas and state parks, and parts of the Appalachian Trail. It is the largest concentration of public lands east of the Mississippi and home to an astonishing diversity of plant and animal life. But as the most extensive natural area in the increasingly populous Southeast, the Blue Ridge ecosystem faces unique challenges in the next decades.
Drawing on scientific research in a variety of disciplines, journalist Steve Nash provides a clear and evenhanded introduction to some of the most hotly disputed environmental issues facing the Blue Ridge, including the invasion of exotic plants and insects, the explosive growth of suburban-style communities in natural areas, worsening air and water pollution, and the erratic management of national forests. Informative and highly readable, Blue Ridge 2020 takes a hard look at what is at risk in these mountains and what we--as the "owners" of the public lands--must do if we intend to preserve their future.

288 pages, Paperback

First published March 15, 1999

Reviews

[Blake Scicli · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting step back 20 years. Nash's science is good and one of the things that has stuck with me is the book provides a great look at historical weather patterns for the blue ridge and just how much they had changed up to 1999. I would be extremely interested to read a sequel to this book now that we've surpassed the 2020 mark.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I nabbed this at a used bookstore without looking at the pub date. Suffice it to say that it’s a well-written, very readable analysis of what’s at stake ecologically for the Blue Ridge Mountains, and the issues presented are relevant more than ever.

[Amineah · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is an easy read, it gives an overview that is not bogged down by technical mumbo-jumbo that any layman that knows nothing about the environemt can read and comprehend. It giecs a realistic view on how we should look at the environment, not in terms of "global warming" but in terms ofbetter management.