The Paradox of Preservation: Wilderness and Working Landscapes at Point Reyes National Seashore / Edition 1

by Laura Alice Watt, David Lowenthal

Overview

Point Reyes National Seashore has a long history as a working landscape, with dairy and beef ranching, fishing, and oyster farming; yet, since 1962 it has also been managed as a National Seashore. The Paradox of Preservation chronicles how national ideals about what a park “ought to be” have developed over time and what happens when these ideals are implemented by the National Park Service (NPS) in its efforts to preserve places that are also lived-in landscapes. Using the conflict surrounding the closure of the Drakes Bay Oyster Company, Laura Alice Watt examines how NPS management policies and processes for land use and protection do not always reflect the needs and values of local residents. Instead, the resulting landscapes produced by the NPS represent a series of compromises between use and protection—and between the area’s historic pastoral character and a newer vision of wilderness. A fascinating and deeply researched book, The Paradox of Preservation will appeal to those studying environmental history, conservation, public lands, and cultural landscape management, and to those looking to learn more about the history of this dynamic California coastal region.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520277083
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	11/22/2016
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Laura Alice Watt is Professor of Environmental History and Policy at Sonoma State University.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations ix

Foreword David Lovventhal xi

Acknowledgments xv

Introduction: A Management Controversy at Point Reyes 1

1 Landscapes, Preservation, and the National Park Ideal 13

2 Public Parks from Private Lands 41

3 Acquisition and Its Alternatives 67

4 Parks as (Potential) Wilderness 99

5 Remaking the Landscape 123

6 Reassertion of the Park Ideal 157

7 The Politics of Preservation 187

Conclusion: Point Reyes as a Leopoldian Park 215

Epilogue 229

Notes 235

Selected Bibliography 301

Index 319