In Defense of Public Lands : The Case Against Privatization and Transfer

Debates Continue To Rage Over The Merits Or Flaws Of Public Land And Whether Or Not It Should Be Privatized--or At Least, Radically Reconfigured In Some Way. In Defense Of Public Lands Offers A Comprehensive Refutation Of The Market-oriented Arguments. Steven Davis Passionately Advocates That Public Land Ought To Remain Firmly In The Public's Hands. He Reviews Empirical Data And Theoretical Arguments From Biological, Economic, And Political Perspectives In Order To Build A Case For Why Our Public Lands Are An Invaluable And Irreplaceable Asset For The American People. In Defense Of Public Lands Briefly Lays Out The History And Characteristics Of Public Lands At The Local, State, And Federal Levels While Examining The Numerous Policy Prescriptions For Their Privatization Or, In The Case Of Federal Lands, Transfer. He Considers The Dimensions Of Environmental Health; Markets And Valuation Of Public Land, The Tensions Between Collective Values And Individual Preferences, The Nature And Performance Of Bureaucratic Management, And The Legitimacy Of Interest Groups And Community Decision-making. Offering A Fair, Good Faith Overview Of The Privatizers' Best Arguments Before Refuting Them, This Timely Book Contemplates Both The Immediate And Long-term Future Of Our Public Lands-- Preface -- Public Land And Its Discontents -- Every Man For Himself : The Case For Privatization -- Getting Serious About Ecology : The Biological Case For Public Lands -- The Valuation Of The Invaluable : The Economic Case For Public Lands -- The Fundamental Democracy Of The Commons : The Political Case For Public Lands, Part 1 -- A Closer Look At Government : The Political Case For Public Lands, Part 2 -- The Future Of Public Land : Looking Forward In A Time Of Peril. Steven Davis. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 211-261) And Index. "Debates continue to rage over the merits or flaws of public land and whether or not it should be privatized--or at least, radically reconfigured in some way. In Defense of Public Lands offers a comprehensive refutation of the market-oriented arguments. Steven Davis passionately advocates that public land ought to remain firmly in the public's hands. He reviews empirical data and theoretical arguments from biological, economic, and political perspectives in order to build a case for why our public lands are an invaluable and irreplaceable asset for the American people. In Defense of Public Lands briefly lays out the history and characteristics of public lands at the local, state, and federal levels while examining the numerous policy prescriptions for their privatization or, in the case of federal lands, transfer. He considers the dimensions of environmental health; markets and valuation of public land, the tensions between collective values and individual preferences, the nature and performance of bureaucratic management, and the legitimacy of interest groups and community decision-making. Offering a fair, good faith overview of the privatizers' best arguments before refuting them, this timely book contemplates both the immediate and long-term future of our public lands"-- Provided by publisher Contents 8 Preface 10 Acknowledgments 16 1. Public Land and Its Discontents 22 2. Every Man for Himself: The Case for Privatization 51 3. Getting Serious about Ecology: The Biological Case for Public Lands 73 4. The Valuation of the Invaluable: The Economic Case for Public Lands 119 5. The Fundamental Democracy of the Commons: The Political Case for Public Lands, Part 1 157 6. A Closer Look at Government: The Political Case for Public Lands, Part 2 181 7. The Future of Public Land: Looking Forward in a Time of Peril 205 Notes 232 Selected Bibliography 276 Index 284 "In Defense of Public Lands is a wide-ranging and macro-focused attempt to refute the ideas behind the intellectual and political movements to privatize public land resources in the United States"-- Provided by publisher