| Contents Notes |
From bicycles to board feet: a history of public land roads -- The ecological effects of roads -- The cutting edge: money, politics, and access -- Industrial revolutions: the motorized recreation boom -- Public values, public lands -- Changing landscapes: society, technology, and road removal -- The road ahead. "One of the last acts of Mike Dombeck as chief of the USDA Forest Service for the Clinton administration was to declare a moratorium on road building in national forest roadless areas. That declaration brought widespread attention to one of the most serious but under-publicized threats to the ecological health of our nation's public lands. Many roads provide a great service with relatively little harm, but others offer few or no benefits while creating significant problems - from habitat fragmentation to noise pollution to increased animal mortality." "In No Place Distant, author David Havlick presents for the first time a comprehensive and in-depth examination of the more than 550,000 miles of roads that crisscross our national parks, national forests, Bureau of Land Management lands, and wildlife refuges, considering how they came to be; their ecological, financial, and societal costs; and what can be done to ensure that those roads are as environmentally benign and cost effective as possible, while remaining functional and accessible." "Throughout, the author argues that roads on our public lands and the surging industry of motorized recreation they support threaten to undermine many of the features that Americans value in their public lands. Ultimately, our views on roads on public lands are inextricably linked to our values as a nation and our values as citizens, and our ideas about how public lands ought to be managed will dictate how we decide to treat roads and motorized access on them." "Bringing together an impressive range and depth of information along with a thoughtful analysis of the issues, No Place Distant offers a definitive look at the debate on roads on public lands. With its well-crafted prose and extensive documentation, it is an unparalleled resource for anyone concerned with the health or management of public lands in the United States."--Cover. |
