To the White Clouds

Name: To the White Clouds
SKU: 978-0-87422-276-0
Price: 16.95 USD
Availability: InStock

Idaho’s Conservation Saga, 1900-1970

JM Neil

$16.95

This fascinating chronicle recounts seven decades of Idaho conservation history, including how the state came to be home to six wilderness areas encompassing approximately four million acres of rugged, unspoiled backcountry, and concluding with the explosive confrontation over the White Clouds in 1970, an issue that indelibly altered the future of Idaho politics.

“There is no similarly focused book for any other Pacific Northwest state. As the initial foray into the topic, this book is undeniably important. Moreover, by centering much of his narrative on Idahoans and state organizations, author J.M. Neil helps us understand the local contribution to national conservation trends. This focus on Idaho—its land and its people—is a great strength.”—Idaho Yesterdays

SKU: 978-0-87422-276-0 Categories: Pacific Northwest titles, Conservation, Northwest History, Idaho Tag: environment

Description

In the 1960s, a mining corporation quietly applied to build a road to the base of Castle Peak, located in Idaho’s magnificent and pristine White Clouds mountain range. That simple request, initially publicized by the Forest Service, brought a challenge to the Mining Act of 1872 and ignited a controversy that stirred a nation and quite possibly determined the results in Idaho’s race for governor in 1970.

The state’s long-held stance was that environmental protection and economic expansion were compatible. Yet the issue was not simply wilderness preservation versus industrial development. The enactment of the 1872 Mining Law meant that if prospectors and miners filed claims and if they requested approval to build a road to reach that claim—even on federal land deep within the Challis National Forest—no government official, from the governor of Idaho to federal representatives from the Forest Service, had the power to deny them. Environmental groups were infuriated. One of the first to sound the alarm was the Idaho Alpine Club based in Idaho Falls. The fight was on.

Painstakingly researched, author JM Neil describes how Idaho arrived at the confrontation over the White Clouds in 1970 and how it was finally resolved. He explains how a state particularly jealous of its rights and suspicious of any federal control came to have millions of acres of federally protected wilderness. Neil also covers a surprising range of other topics integral to Idaho conservation history, including the history of game preserves in Idaho, and local attitudes toward scenic preservation, various kinds of wild animals, and environmental pollution.

Maps / references / index / 256 pages (2004)

Recognition

“To the White Clouds is the first systematic study to explain the political history of Idaho conservation. Indeed, there is no similarly focused book for any other Pacific Northwest state. As the initial foray into the topic, this book is undeniably important. Moreover, by centering much of his narrative on Idahoans and state organizations, author J.M. Neil helps us understand the local contribution to national conservation trends. This focus on Idaho—its land and its people—is a great strength.”—Idaho Yesterdays

“Neil’s book is free of jargon, clearly argued, and well researched. It is a welcome addition to the literature on conservation politics and on Idaho’s history more generally.”—Western Historical Quarterly

“A valuable contribution to modern Idaho history, providing cohesive coverage to an essential topic that has been previously unavailable in a single volume.”—Journal of the West

“For a broad audience, Neil’s book adds great detail to the history of modern Idaho. I plan to use it in the classroom.”—Journal of the West