This volume is a cogent empirical analysis of the interplay between a region’s natural amenities and its socioeconomic  evolution. It focuses on the rural sectors of America’s Intermountain West region, which lies between the Cascades and Sierra Nevada mountains to the west and the Rocky Mountains to the east. Coherently structured and meticulously detailed, it adds much to our understanding of the ways an area’s forests, lakes, mountains, parkland and historic attractions affect residents’ sense of well-being as well as the sociodemographic and economic changes they experience. The book examines patterns of growth and change linked to the emergence of ‘New West’ conditions, assessing their implications for the wider community as well as discussing the impact these trends could have on the consumption of natural resources. It also points to ways in which communities and their development can be managed sustainably. The tight geographical focus of this valuable resource ensures a depth of analysis which can be applied to similar regions worldwide. Based on a large-scale, random-sample survey of both full-time and seasonal residents, it provides a much-needed overview of the macro-level economic, demographic, and social transformations affecting rural communities in America. As such, the book has relevance for all researchers concerned with rural development, the changes impacting rural landscapes, and natural resource management.

Product Description: Communities and Forests offers a timely view of the changing face of forests and forestry in North America today. In examining interactions between people and forests, the book shows that forests are as much a social institution as they are a biological resource...read more

Product Description: Protecting land in parks is often seen as coming at the expense of rural economic development. Yet recent events such as the contentious debate over the development of Canyon Forest Village on the south rim of the Grand Canyon suggest just the opposite: healthy natural systems can be enormously valuable to rural economies...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

With increasing awareness of the limits that natural resource reserves and environmental concerns impose on economic growth, rural sociologists have developed new ways of looking at the relationship between man and his environment. This volume surveys changing sociological views of that relationship and explores a holistic, cooperative model of human/nature interaction that reflects the needs of the post-industrial age. In their introduction Field and Burch review significant landmarks in natural resource sociology and comment on some of the underlying aims of rural sociology. The remaining chapters focus on three distinct periods during which rural sociologists have sought to examine man's relationship and adaptation to the environment.

Product Description: Identifies issues and trends in agriculture, natural resources, and rural communities along with implications for the educational system as future academic and research programmes are planned.

Product Description: The contributors consider how social science perspectives can contribute to our understanding of communities and their conflicting choices regarding the allocation and use of forest, agriculture and other natural resources. The topics discussed include community stability, community adjustment to economic and technological change and the public's role in land management...read more