Saving Open Space: The Politics of Local Preservation in California / Edition 1

by Daniel M. Press

Overview

This book is the first to tell the story of conservation by local government and private land trusts in California. It describes the remarkable extent to which communities have protected their landscapes and draws lessons for disseminating successful preservation strategies across the country. Using archival research, in-depth interviews with open space advocates in local government and private land trusts, and a telephone survey of over four thousand California residents, Daniel Press describes land preservation efforts pursued by California communities and explains why some have succeeded better than others. Saving Open Space concludes with policy recommendations based on lessons learned from the preservation success stories.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520233881
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	12/17/2002
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	212
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Daniel Press is Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and author of Democratic Dilemmas in the Age of Ecology: Trees and Toxics in the American West (1994).

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
List of Tables
Acknowledgments

1. Introduction
2. A Statewide History of Local Preservation Efforts: From the Early 1900s to the Present
3. Physical, Fiscal, and Administrative Landscapes
4. Civic and Environmental Voluntarism in California
5. Policy Entrepreneurship
6. Policy Capacity across the Landscape
Appendixes
1. Land Held in Fee Simple by Local Government and Land Trusts
2. The Community and Conservation in California Survey Questionnaire
3. Parks Capacity Index
4. Statewide Environmental Ballot Measures, 1924–2000
5. Government Effectiveness Measures
6. Environmental Awareness Index

Notes
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

Press presents an empirically grounded examination of the ability and need for local actors and their communities to successfully acquire and protect land in California. The book is based on new research, and makes an excellent argument for why people around the country should care about what is happening in California. It is an important book on land protection and conservation for Californians interested in protecting land in their state; those studying land protection, state and local environmental policy making and capacity; and land protection professionals across the nation.

Chris McGrory Klyza

Saving Open Space is an excellent resource for open space planners. In one short volume, Daniel Press has assembled an impressive amount of information about how open space is being preserved in California. This book will help place every open space battle and every land acquisition in a better statewide context.

William Fulton