Living With the Adirondack Forest: Local Perspectives on Land Use Conflicts

In the land use controversy that has led people to pour sand in the gas tanks of logging trucks and set barns on fire, some voices have still not been heard. Catherine Henshaw Knott listened to people with divergent views of the forest: Native Americans for whom it is tribal land and visitors for whom it is scenery, residents who hunt for food and sportsmen who shoot deer for the trophy antlers, members of local citizens' groups and organizers from Earth First. Knott interviewed residents of the Adirondacks on the complex issues of conservation, in their living rooms and in meeting-halls, at local festivals and at craft fairs. This book is the result.
Attitudes about land use, Knott suggests, may reflect profound differences in class, religion, and life experience, pitting urban Americans who see nature at risk against rural Americans whose lives are dominated by nature's forces. She documents the thoughts and feelings of people whose lives are intimately connected to the forest, including loggers, trappers, craftspeople, and guides, as well as tree farmers and maple syrup producers. After describing the key players in the conflict and chronicling battles and bridge-building between stake-holders, Knott concludes that the participation of local people in decision making is the only process that can shift an increasingly hostile cycle toward resolution.

Catherine Henshaw Knott is Director of Women in International Development and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Oregon State University.