Forests for the People

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ENVIRONMENT | HISTORY

Advance praise for Forests for the People “The Weeks Act of 1911 is one of the twentieth century’s most significant environmental laws. Few recall its powerful impact on once-cutover eastern forests, though their flourishing condition today is compelling evidence of its significance. Forests for the People probes this remarkable recovery and offers an engaging account of the Weeks Act’s complex legacy; it rightly warns that we are not yet out of the woods.” — Char Miller, W. M. Keck Professor of Environmental Analysis, Pomona College “Forests for the People both deepened and broadened my understanding of and appreciation for the eastern national forests and the struggle to create and manage them. By providing the first comprehensive history of the Weeks Act and then, through case studies, carefully examining the challenges of implementing the law over the last century, the authors have helped frame the discussion for managing all our national forests in its second century.” —James G. Lewis, Forest History Society Christopher Johnson writes about conservation issues and is the author of This Grand and Magnificent Place: The Wilderness Heritage of the White Mountains. David Govatski is retired from the US Forest Service after a career as a forester, silviculturist, and fire management officer on several national forests. Cover design by Maureen Gately Cover photos courtesy of iStockphoto.com

Washington | Covelo | London www.islandpress.org All Island Press books are printed on recycled, acid-free paper.

Forests for the People

At the turn of the twentieth century, widespread clearcutting resulted in ecological ruin and devastating fires in America’s eastern forests and led to the passage of the Weeks Act in 1911, protecting millions of acres of these forests. Forests for the People tells the extraordinary story of how a diverse coalition of citizens, organizations, and business and political leaders worked to create a system of national forests in the eastern United States, drawing lessons from and examining the vital issues facing American forests today to illuminate new paths to better forest management.

Johnson and Govatski

Forests for the

People The Story of America’s Eastern National Forests Christopher Johnson and David Govatski


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