Defending Wild Washington, a Citizen's Action Guide

* A clear picture of the many different environmental issues in Washington state: what needs to be done and what can be done by people like you

* Success stories of citizens who have made a difference

* Analysis of grass roots campaigns that work



Beyond giving money or answering "action alert" campaigns to write your local congressperson, you, as a citizen, can be at the table when decisions are made for specific wild places you care about. Defending Wild Washington documents how great accomplishments have been achieved by persons of modest means and, often, with no special past experience. One citizen activist reached out to community leaders and mill owners who rely on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Another led forest advocates to bid on a Washington timber sale to stop the cut. The success stories of today are added to interviews with pioneers in the movement.



Defending Wild Washington is the complete sourcebook for aspiring activists. It tells how the citizen's movement for wild Washington came to be, what it has accomplished, what remains to be done, and how, working together, individuals can change the laws and rules governing wildlands in this state. It reveals the methods and strategies that have worked and explains why others have not.



Findings presented in Defending Wild Washington have direct application for professional environmental organizations wanting to grow, diversify, and mobilize volunteers to lead grassroots campaigns where they live and work.

Edward A. Whitesell is a member of the Faculty inConservation and Environmental Studies at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. He led a team of seventeen undergraduate students who dedicated the 2002-03 academic year to full-time research, analysis, and writing to produce this book intended to educate and inspire citizen activists of the future.