The Final Forest: The Battle for the Last Great Trees of the Pacific Northwest - Softcover

Dietrich, William

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140177507 ISBN 13: 9780140177503

Publisher: Penguin Books, 1993

Synopsis

In a riveting exploration of our connection to all that we cherish and exploit on Earth, a Pulitzer Prize-winning correspondent for The Seattle Times examines the human side of the struggle that looms as the fate of our forest s is determined.

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews:

A sensitive, intelligent review of the ongoing controversy over the logging of the remaining stands of old-growth forest in western Oregon and Washington; by Dietrich, Pulitzer-winning science writer for The Seattle Times. Using the timber town of Forks, Washington, as a primary focal point in the polarized world of environmentalists and the logging industry, Dietrich returns time and again to the stories of individuals involved in and affected by a struggle that has gone on for more than 15 years. Starting with the 1970's research by Eric Forsman and other wildlife biologists into the habitat of the reclusive spotted owl, which led to the discovery that the birds nested almost exclusively in remnants of the towering ``ancient forest,'' the battle lines were drawn. With national environmental and preservation groups at first unwilling to enter the fray, Dietrich explains, it fell to more radical organizations such as Earth First! and the Oregon Natural Resources Defense Council to take action, resulting in on-site demonstrations as well as a number of lawsuits. National publicity led to a groundswell of support for those opposing the clear-cutting of old-growth forests, which, the author says, continued through the 1980's as government agencies dragged their feet in developing an acceptable, long-term management plan. Today, as a result, there's a virtual moratorium on further logging in target areas, with communities like Forks facing an uncertain future and juggling a political hot potato that shows few signs of cooling off in the 90's. Mixing history, anecdote, biography, and poetic description of the battleground: a moving assessment of an ecological dispute with global implications. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Library Journal:

The local battle scene of this book's subtitle is Washington's Olympic Peninsula, but the conflict raged, and still rages, over the entire Pacific Northwest, Washington, D.C., Alaska, and other locales that face the dilemma of preserving natural resources versus exploiting them. Dietrich, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, presents in an easy-to-read narrative style the point of view of various participants in this war, from the logger whose way of life is threatened to a biologist concerned with saving the Northern spotted owl. The chapters on the owl and the biologist provide the best account this reviewer has read of the biology and behavior patterns of this small, inoffensive, but controversial bird and why it should be the center of so much heated debate. No easy solutions to the struggle between the forest industry and environmentalists emerge from this book, but hopeful signs include the increasing awareness on the part of Forest Service personnel and the logging industry that careless, sometimes ruthless, exploitation of the remaining old growth forest is no longer feasible or even possible. Highly recommended for collections on environmental issues.
- Eleanor Maass, Maass Assocs., New Milford, Pa.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0140177507
• ISBN 13: 9780140177503
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304