Defending Wild Washington
A Citizen’s Action Guide

   While the facts behind Washington’s environmental history are fascinating to most, they still seem esoteric. But when told through the stories of real people, the Evergreen state’s environmental history can both educate and inspire its citizens to protect the invaluable commons that is our spectacular wild heritage.

   In Defending Wild Washington, A Citizen’s Action Guide, readers can learn not only how a 2,000-foot wall of raging water shaped the Columbia River Basin, but also how citizen action is the fundamental force in protecting it.

   It is no irony that this guide resembles a textbook. Edward Whitesell, editor and Environmental Studies professor at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., facilitated the group of students who researched and wrote this book over the course of an academic year.

   The book is organized into three sections, with the first section providing important contextual information about Washington’s physiographic zones and geologic history. 

   The second section focuses on how citizens can get involved in protecting wilderness. This is not a “dummies guide” to wilderness protection, but rather a healthy mix of personal commentary, historical overview, academic analysis of social equity and participation and environmental activists’  personal accounts. 

   You’ll learn a variety of grassroots techniques used in preservation work, ranging from tree spiking to environmental education. 

   The final section of this book is a vision for the future. The struggle for environmental preservation continues as land is divided between development and preservation. 

   Though change may be inevitable, we have the responsibility as humans to evaluate our own impacts on the world around us. This book not only gives us tools for putting environmental impacts into perspective, but it enables us to act appropriately in the face of compromised ecological integrity.

   At more than 400 pages, it isn’t the type of guide you’d bring backpacking with you; but when your own personal hiking Shangri-La is on the chopping block, you’ll find it worth its weight in gold.