Communities and Forests: Where People Meet the Land
|
Edited by Robert G. Lee and Donald R. Field
Foreword by Hal Salwasser
2005. 320 pages. Index.
ISBN 0-87071-058-3. Paperback, $29.95
Table of Contents |
Communities and Forests offers a timely view of the changing face of forests
and forestry in North America today. In examining interactions between people and
forests, the book shows that forests are as much a social institution as they are a biological resource.
Editors Robert Lee and Donald Field document the shift from scientific forestry
to community forestry. They note that the traditional science-based, state-controlled
model for managing forests ignores the voices of those affected by the use of forest
resources. The editors suggest that science-based forestry is giving way to an alternative
approach, one in which nature, economy, society, and culture are considered integral
elements of the human-forest relationship. They see a future where forestry will
continue to be informed by science but shaped by community values.
Contributors to this volume consider the connection between forests and communities from a variety of perspectives,
including environmental history, natural resource sociology, and forest policy. The book
begins with an investigation of the historical and sociological foundations of
community-based forest management. Chapters in the second section highlight the diverse
issues surrounding community forestry, specifically the conflicts between the management
of public forestlands and the interests of various stakeholders in using forests as a
public good. The final section examines urban forestry, focusing on both the importance
of forestry in urban settings and the demographic shifts that have brought people with
urban values and lifestyles to rural, forested settings.
With its unique focus on the integration of communities into decision-making about forests,
this collection of insightful essays will prove useful to public and private land managers,
as well as to researchers and students in the fields of forestry, resource management, rural
sociology, regional planning, environmental studies, and parks and recreation.
About the Editors
Robert G. Lee is Professor of Sociology of Natural Resources in the College of Forest Resources
at the University of Washington.
Donald R. Field is a Professor in the Departments of Rural Sociology and Forest Ecology and
Management at the University of Wisconsin. He is co-editor of
National Parks and Rural Development
and
On Interpretation: Sociology for Interpreters of Natural and Cultural History.
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