Cities in the Wilderness: A New Vision of Land Use in America

I recently met Bruce Babbitt at a conservation conference and was impressed with his knowledge of natural areas and even more so with his attempts to keep these areas 'natural'. His book reflects this knowledge.

Cities in the Wilderness By Bruce Babbitt Book Review By Dan Warren In today's republican political arena with the Bush administrations compelling interest in land expansion the outlook for Environmental causes let along protection would appear to have a dark and gloomy cloud atop any progress. However, Bruce Babbitt the author of Cities in the Wilderness has some new innovative ideas about land use in America. As the U.S. Secretary of the Interior from 1993 to 2001, governor of Arizona from 1978 to 1987 and as Arizona's Attorney General for three years he brings with him experience and a most impressive track record of success in an effort that is largely opposed and unsuccessful; Environmental land preservation efforts and even restoration. Within the pages of his book Babbitt gives illustrations of success and of failure. He provides detailed rational in each instance drawing on history, public opinion, media, legal requirements, county state and federal involvements, as well as a plethora of other mitigation factors that explain the success or failure. From these Babbitt pieces together an extraordinary working illustration of how we can be better stewards of our land in America. Furthermore, whether directly or indirectly Babbitt addresses the political climate and gives examples of how to over come the counter movements that oppose his unique vision of land use. Within the confines of his five short easy to read straight forward chapters Babbitt is clear, concise, and well structured in order to piece his ideology together followed by appropriate explanation. His thesis is essentially a parallel, contrary to much of his opposition's belief, as will be detailed later in this review, that our country has historically viewed land development not as a local, county, or even State matter, but as a Federal matter. As such Babbitt will contend that we need to continue to have a Federal interest in land use and development while making a joining effort with more localities but still governed by Federal legislation and direction. As a native Floridian the everglades are a state treasure. Anyone who has ever driven route one through this magnificent area will feel immersed in nature. For anyone who has not experienced this, all you have to do is watch CBS's hit show CSI: Miami and in most of the episodes as well as in the shows introduction can get a glimpse of what the everglades are from viewing it across their television sets. However, this schema that will be created by this in no way gives justice to the real thing. While either which way will introduce you to the Florida Everglades, it will not reveal its unique history. In Babbitt's first chapter he uses his experience with the preservation of the Everglades as an introduction to his idea. The devastation caused by hurricane Andrew in the early 1990's also included the destruction of Homestead Air force base in Florida. In the aftermath the government came to the

I have just finished reading Cities in the Wilderness: A New Vision of Land Use in America (Island Press), a collection of five essays book-ended by a prologue and epilogue by former Arizona governor and Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt. I was initially interested in the book because Babbitt will be the featured interview in the next issue of Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built & Natural Environments (www.terrain.org), due out March 5, 2006. Now, I am utterly fascinated, as it weaves together stories---in the manner of case studies but not nearly as dry---set in a historical context of federal, state, and local government "partnerships," seemingly by chance but more often carefully crafted, for environmental preservation. It's call is simple: There must be a federal presence, in the form of legislation, for large-scale preservation efforts: there must be a federal land use policy. Many of the laws already exist, such as the Endangered Species Act, but a more comprehensive, holistic effort is clearly needed. And such movement cannot wait until the current administration is gone, even if the Bush administration has done more to undo all environmental safeguards than any other presidency in our nation's history. So the topic is intriguing, the stories are powerful, but more so: Babbitt's writing is surprisingly good. Readers at all levels will appreciate and be won over by his subtle eloquence and no-nonsense grace. I'd go so far as to say that this book should be required reading not only for all lawmakers, but for all environmental advocates, property rights advocates, farmers, ranchers, miners, energy developers, and those interested in such: pretty much everyone with a stake or interest in land and water. That should probably be all of us. It's a fairly quick read---only 288 pages, which includes plenty of references and other resources. You will of course want to read the interview in Terrain.org's next issue, but don't wait until then to get this important book!

Finally, an environmental book that offers a clear alternative to misty-eyed, ain't-that-wondrous, nature books and apocalyptic, end-of-the-world environmental wake-up calls. As well laid-out as a textbook, it describes five regions of the country in various stages of environmental decay, the pragmatic steps taken to restore them, the political forces at play, and the actual results of the efforts. Non-ideological in tone, the book draws the reader into each situation by describing the environmental stakes, but the real payoff is the fascinating details about how major environmental advances are actually put together. One of the surprises for this reviewer is the ambivalent role played by environmental groups, who appear often as antagonists to the final deal; another was the minimal amount of criticism of the current administration, with even that amount given with more sorrow than venom. But perhaps I should have expected that; the author is too busy convincing us of his vision of ecosystem management using Federal land-use policy to be distracted by cheap score-settling. And lest phrases like "Federal land-use policy" make this book sound like a think-tank report, the sweeping descriptions of our American lands and how we use them were gorgeous, and reminiscent of the best writings of Aldo Leopold. There were a few topics I wish the author could have covered. His book illustrates again and again the importance of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in motivating land-use agreements; more discussion of the growing property rights movement and its attempts to change the ESA would have been topical. And given the ambivalent role played by environment groups, discussion of the best and worst of them, and how they could better achieve their goals, would have been useful. But overall, it was a great and refreshing read; it's about time for an environmental book to offer us, not just a tour of the troubles, but a clear and compelling path to get beyond them.

This is a fantastic book: a look backward at what large-scale land preservation projects have and haven't worked, and a look forward at what we need to do, as a country, to protect and preserve the land. And it isn't a dry tome. Babbitt can actually write: the book is full of compelling, dramatic stories. There aren't many figures on the environmental scene who command national attention, and Babbitt is one of them. He put his stamp on the Clinton era's efforts to make a difference in land preservation, and his book is a fascinating glimpse into how that all happened -- and how we can continue to craft, with the engaged participation of the feds, new projects that keep the wilderness wild. There probably isn't anyone better qualified than Babbitt to give the 30,000-foot perspective on how the messy arts of environmental protection and politics combine. He talks about projects in New Jersey, in Florida, in the Midwest, in the Southwest, in the Northwest -- the guy has clearly spent a lot of time thinking about what's in common among the Everglades, the Pine Barrens, the Colorado desert, etc. And what they have in common -- the successful projects, that is -- is a coming-together of many diverse interests that are willing to fight it out as they lurch towards their goal of protecting tens or hundreds of thousands of acres. A central question of the book is why we don't demand that the federal government be thinking about, and engaged in, land use. As he says, we already have a federal role in land use policy, it's just that we call it the National Parks system, or the Army Corps of Engineers, or federal dollars to rebuild, etc. What we need is a pro-active, forward-looking federal position, rather than a reactive, responsive one. This is an important book, and a fun one to read.