From prominent outdoorsman and nature writer Mark Kenyon comes an engrossing reflection on the past and future battles over our most revered landscapes—America’s public lands.Every American is a public-land owner, inheritor to the largest public-land trust in the world. These vast expanses provide a home to wildlife populations, a vital source of clean air and water, and a haven for recreation.… for recreation.
Since its inception, however, America’s public land system has been embroiled in controversy—caught in the push and pull between the desire to develop the valuable resources the land holds or conserve them. Alarmed by rising tensions over the use of these lands, hunter, angler, and outdoor enthusiast Mark Kenyon set out to explore the spaces involved in this heated debate, and learn firsthand how they came to be and what their future might hold.
Part travelogue and part historical examination, That Wild Country invites readers on an intimate tour of the wondrous wild and public places that are a uniquely profound and endangered part of the American landscape.
more
October 2, 2020
Good read.
I found this book interesting historically, and Frustrating to see how easily greed is winning. I loved reading the descriptions of these wonderful lands.
I received a free electronic copy of this excellent history of America’s Public Lands on December 5, 2019, from Netgalley, Mark Kenyon, and Little A Publishing. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. Kenyon brings to us all the many reasons our public lands are worth fighting for, and details the battles we and our forefathers have fought to keep this important heritage for our children and grandchildren and theirs. I am pleased to recommend this work to friends and family. Mark Kenyon is an author I will follow.
This is a must-read for all ages. For hunters, fishermen, adventure filmmakers and writers, mountain bikers, skiers, backpackers, and RVers, for people looking for a picnic spot to those with a summer to spend in the wilds. This is a go-to for finding your favorite place, the spot that you know in your soul you need to find peace or to share with a loved one. Kenyon covers all the greats and many of the not-so-great parks for those of us seeking solitude and the blessings of wilderness. He also defines all the past proponents of our national parks, forests, Wilderness parks, BLM, and monuments – from Teddy Roosevelt, Edward Abby, Wallace Stegner, to modern nature lovers like this author, Randy Newberg, Peter Metcalf, Rose Marcario of Patagonia and corporations like Patagonia, REI and Cabela. This is a battle we will lose if we don’t stand together. And it is a dirty fight. Always check your sources before you believe what you read, and especially before you donate. Those seeking to move federal lands to state control or private sale can throw unlimited funds into the fight. We can’t match them a dollar per dollar. We need to make every penny of our hard-won money count. This is not a political party issue but a concerted effort to keep irreplaceable wild America as it is.
I will end with a quote Kenyon shared from Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia. “They say that hunters and tree huggers can’t get together. That’s BS. The only way we’re going to get anything done is to work together.” And remember that if ‘they’ can’t buy the lands, they can cut the funding until there is nothing left to save. Just look at what happened to our parks – especially Joshua Tree National Park, over the last Federal budget shutdown.
When friends complain to me about the ideological divisions ripping America in two, I cheer them up with stories about our public lands. Right now, groups and individuals as diverse as the nation itself are coalescing around the rallying cry of ‘Keep It Public’ as we fight to defend the environmental integrity and accessibility of our public lands. Let Mark Kenyon’s That Wild Country be our guiding text. Not only does Kenyon tell you why and how we have public lands, but he also tells you why and how we’ll keep them. Read this book and join the movement.