Drawing Lines in the Forest: Creating Wilderness Areas in the Pacific Northwest

Weyerhaeuser Environmental Books

by Kevin R. Marsh

Drawing boundaries around wilderness areas often serves a double protection of the land within the boundary and release of the land outside the boundary to resource extraction and other development. In Drawing Lines in the Forest, Kevin R. Marsh discusses the roles played by various groups�the Forest Service, the timber industry, recreationists, and environmentalists�in arriving at these boundaries. He shows that pragmatic, rather than ideological, goals were often paramount, with all sides benefiting.

After World War II, representatives of both logging and recreation use sought to draw boundaries that would serve to guarantee access to specific areas of public lands. The logging industry wanted to secure a guaranteed supply of timber, as an era of stewardship of the nation's public forests gave way to an emphasis on rapid extraction of timber resources. This spawned a grassroots preservationist movement that ultimately challenged the managerial power of the Forest Service. The Wilderness Act of 1964 provided an opportunity for groups on all sides to participate openly and effectively in the political process of defining wilderness boundaries.

The often contentious debates over the creation of wilderness areas in the Cascade Mountains in Oregon and Washington represent the most significant stages in the national history of wilderness conservation since World War Three Sisters, North Cascades and Glacier Peak, Mount Jefferson, Alpine Lakes, French Pete, and the state-wide wilderness acts of 1984.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Arthur Simonds · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another History book down. Interesting debates on what should be considered “wilderness” and how those lands would be used or not used. Both sides were debating on vastly different bases and it seems like through both sides winning battles, no one won the “war”. I also noticed how the author, through their attempt to be a vessel of historical fact, at times showed bias toward the side of conservationists, which is cool. It’s interesting how people try to shutdown lumber production in an area with trees that the nation needs for infrastructure, all for a few more acres of National Parks. But hey, I like going to those parks too.

[Roger Smitter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first words of the book are “There are places in the Cascade Mountains of Washington and Oregon where one can become immersed in a depth of isolation and solitude that is rare in the modern world.” (p. 3)

The story is to change some things to change the wilderness place of the two states. On chapter we have “Wilderness is a modern form of land use, one that, like other forms, has its own set of laws and regulations and also has an impaction the landscape. Creating and managing wilderness areas has an impact of the local environment, thought one that is very different from alternative options, which unusually road building and other devaluations.” (6)

There is a list of the history to the land and how land has been changed. And there’s lots of material to say how to keep land as it has been.

I guess we will have to wait and find out.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone born in 1982, two years prior to the passage of the Washington State Wilderness Act of 1984, it's easy for me and many of my generation to take for granted our regions abundance of protected wilderness and old growth forests. Drawing Lines in the Forest provides a fascinating and important history of the regional conservation movement and numerous fights it took to protect our wilderness. If you've hiked or camped in any the regions wilderness ares, or had the opportunity to stand in awe of a 500 y/o Doug Fir or 1000 y/o Hemlock than this is an important book to read. Pristine wilderness and fragile ecosystems can't protect themselves.