Land in the American West: Private Claims and the Common Good

Preface

Preface “Land” and “the West” figure prominently among the ideas that fire Americans’ imaginations and fuel American controversies. Throughout the nation’s history the two concepts have merged essentially into a single , pervasive passion: opportunity. French writer and politician Alexis de Tocqueville spoke of Americans’ restlessness, of our “bootless chase of that complete felicity” that forever escapes us.1 From the seventeenth century on, restless westward migration in search of free land and a new beginning has defined that American chase. From the outset this chase has also spawned disputes. Violent clashes between indigenous peoples and European immigrants regularly (and tragically) occurred until near the end of the nineteenth century. More recently, clashes between indigenous groups and European Americans continue to be played out in federal courts. Struggles between fence-building ranchers and open-range grazers occasionally resulted in bloodshed. Long-standing encounters between environmentalists (once conservationists) and miners, loggers, and developers continue into the modern day. The Sagebrush Rebellion and the Wise-Use movement are merely the latest chapters in ongoing conflicts over western lands. A salient dimension of all of these disputes is the tension between private claims and the common good. The Preamble of the U.S. Constitution reflects this fundamental tension. In 1787 the framers declared their vii intentions to “secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity ” and to “promote the general Welfare.” Much of American history can be explained in terms of various efforts to reconcile these uneasy social goals. This is particularly true of history in the American West. In a region where millions of acres are federally owned, individual property rights and public interest often are at odds. When it comes to public lands, many would define the public interest as merely the sum of private property rights. But others counter that private use is antithetical to sustaining Americans’ shared inheritance. What does it mean to “own” land? To “own” a forest? To “own” a river? Where does a “right to property” inhere? What obligations do landowners have to future generations? Do the current struggles over land use call for a new concept of property? Such conflicts can appear to be intractable. As U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens framed the clash in a recent decision involving a controversy generated by a western land dispute : We assume respondents have no desire to harm either the red-cockaded woodpecker or the spotted owl; they merely wish to continue logging activities that would be entirely proper if not prohibited by the [Endangered Species Act]. On the other hand, we must assume . . . that those activities will have the effect, even though unintended, of detrimentally changing the natural habitat of both listed species and that, as a consequence, members of those species will be killed or injured.2 Disputes such as these were the subject of a three-day symposium in January 1997 at Oregon State University titled “Land in the American West: Private Claims and the Common Good.” At that conference several hundred people gathered to listen, to reflect on, and to discuss topics related to land use in the western United States. A stimulating mix of plenary sessions, break-out sessions, and luncheon speakers provided appealing venues. An engaging group of presenters, drawn from numerous disciplines and reflecting various perspectives, inspired lively conversations . Three prominent writers—William Kittredge, Craig Lesley, and Kathleen Dean Moore—offered an evening of literary readings, titled “Writers and Western Landscapes.” The purpose of the symposium was to Preface viii contribute to ongoing discussion about the history and present condition of land use in the western United States. The conference organizers envisioned the gathering as a way for some of the country’s leading minds to intervene in continuing dialogue about land and property-related issues. These conference proceedings hold the promise of generating further creative discourse over land in the American West. This collection of essays consists of papers or remarks presented at the conference that have been revised for publication. james c. foster notes 1. Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, ed. Phillips Bradley, 2 vols. (New York: Vintage, 1954), 2: 145. 2. Babbitt v Sweet Home Chapter of Communities for a Great Oregon, 515 U.S. 687, 697 (1995). Preface ix ...