Greetings!,
We are delighted to announce the availability of our new book, " Carving Up the Commons: Congress and Our Public Lands," by Western Lands Project Director Janine Blaeloch.
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Our third book covers the creative, often devious, ways that the U.S. Congress has traded, sold off, or simply given away chunks of our public land- from the homestead acts to the present day. We cover projects stretching from Washington to Florida and ranging from a fraction of an acre to hundreds of thousands.
Chapter 1, the Past, lays the groundwork for understanding the origins of our public lands, and old attitudes, policies, and controversies still at play in 2009.
Chapter 2, the Process and its Pitfalls, provides the gory details of the mechanics of congressional land deals and their often unforeseen consequences.
Chapter 3, People, shows how well-placed members can spin complex, far-reaching deals that set the tone and establish the chemistry for what will happen to public lands for years on end.
Chapter 4, Projects, looks at five land deals that demonstrate the elaborate machinations and distortions of law that can characterize these projects, and the impact to the environment and to taxpayers.
Chapter 5, Pure Politics, examines the emergence of the "quid pro quo" land bills of 2000 to 2008, a trend wherein conservation groups joined with members of Congress to create bills that traded, sold or gave away public lands in one place while designating wilderness elsewhere.
Copiously referenced and illustrated, Carving Up the Commons is available in hardcopy at cost for printing and shipping ($10.00) or as a FREE downloadable PDF file. To obtain your own copy, email info@westernlands.org.
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