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xv T his book would not have been possible without the many people who have worked to manage and protect the public lands. There are now more than 757 wilderness areas nationwide, none of which would have been protected without the involvement of citizens, interest groups, industry , and government agencies. For every Alpine Lakes or Dolly Sods—two of the places I focus on in this book—there are dozens of other wilderness areas equally compelling and worthy of attention. For every professional wilderness advocate, such as Ernie Dickerman or Melyssa Watson, there are many others who have also been instrumental in national wilderness politics. And for every local activist, such as Helen McGinnis or Bob Hanson, there are thousands of others who have worked to make individuals and local organizations a powerful force in wilderness advocacy. My hope is that the individuals who have worked for and against wilderness and public lands reform will find echoes of their individual experiences in these pages as I unfold the story of wilderness, the public lands, and American environmental politics. Many of the individuals I write about in this book have been kind enough to speak with me about their work, including Jim Eaton, Bert Fingerhut, George Frampton, Michael Francis, Scott Groene, Kirk Johnson, Tim Mahoney, Mike Matz, John McComb, Clif Merritt, Reed Noss, Brian O’Donnell, Mike Scott, Julie Wormser, and Ed Zahniser. I especially appreciate the support of the individuals who went out of their way over the years—speaking with me, suggesting new avenues for research, or providing photographs and documents from their personal collections—including Ben Beach, Stewart Brandborg, Chuck Clusen, Brock Evans, Dave Foreman, Eric Forsman, Bill Meadows, Debbie Sease, Ken Rait, and Melyssa Watson. From the start of this project, Rupert Cutler and Doug Scott have been especially generous and helpful. Rupert’s stories of working for wilderness in the 1960s raised questions I’ve been trying to answer ever since. Doug helped me appreciate the importance of legislative Acknowledgments xvi acknowledgments language, the evolution of citizen organizing, and the complexities of wilderness history. Not only is he an effective advocate, he is a skilled historian too. While those individuals often helped me fill in the details of this project, much of the information upon which this book is based came from archival research. That research would not have been possible without the help of archivists and librarians at Wellesley College, Princeton University, Gettysburg College, Cornell University, the Bancroft Library, the University of MontanaMissoula , the University of Washington, the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming, and the National Archives and Records Administration . An Alfred D. Bell, Jr., travel grant from the Forest History Society made my research at the Forest History Society possible. Of all the archives, I spent the most time in the Western History Collection at the Denver Public Library, which is home to the Conservation Collection and, most importantly for my purposes, the Wilderness Society’s records. The Western History Collection at the Denver Public Library is a true gem. I am grateful to the entire Western History and Genealogy staff, all of whom made this research possible, but especially Claudia Jensen. Many other individuals and organizations have contributed to this project in important ways too, including Chris Beeson, Kira Bingemann, Amy Casamassa, Bob Dickerman, Ecoflight, Steve Greenberg, Chris Mammen, Shireen Parsons, Wilson Porterfield, Herbert Ragan, Debbie and Bob Sawin, Zandy Smith, Ralph Swain, Lindsay and Matt Weissberg, the Wilderness Society, and George Wuerthner. I’ve been at work on this book for ten years, which has given me the chance to work on it at several different institutions. This book began as my dissertation at Princeton University, where it benefited greatly from the support of students and faculty in the Department of History, the History of Science Program, and the Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy Program. Drew Isenberg was a model advisor: generous with his time, challenging in his criticism, and unfailing in his support. It was his teaching and scholarship that inspired my interest in environmental history. Dan Rodgers helped me to situate this project, and my own thinking, in broader currents of American history. Dan’s attention to the powerful place of language and ideas in history has been both a challenge and an inspiration. Other scholars provided crucial advice at important moments, including David Wilcove, Kevin Kruse, and Karen Merrill. I finished this book at Wellesley College as a faculty member in the Environmental Studies Program. The...

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