George W. Bush's Healthy Forests: Reframing the Environmental Debate - Softcover

Vaughn, Jacqueline; Cortner, Hanna

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0870818201 ISBN 13: 9780870818202

Publisher: University Press of Colorado, 2005

Synopsis

Jacqueline Vaughn and Hanna J. Cortner detail how the Bush administration, by changing the terms and processes of debate, side-stepped opposition and put in place policies that restrict public and scientific involvement in environmental decisions. Their groundbreaking study analyses the context and legal effects of the Healthy Forests Initiative, the Healthy Forests Restoration Act, and related regulatory changes. The authors show how the administration used news events such as wildfires to propel legislation through Congress. Focusing blame for wildfires on environmentalists' use of appeals to challenge fuel-reduction projects, the administration restricted opportunities for environmental analysis, administrative appeals, and litigation. The authors argue that these tools have a history of use by diverse interests and have long protected Americans' right to question government decisions. This readable study identifies the players, events, and strategies that expedited the policy shift and contextualises it in the president's career and in legislative and administrative history. Revealing a policy change with major implications for the future of public lands and public process, "George W. Bush's Healthy Forests" will fascinate readers interested in the environment, politics, the Bush administration, and current affairs.

About this title

About the Author

Jacqueline Vaughn is a professor of political science at Northern Arizona University and author of several books on environmental issues, including Environmental Politics and Green Backlash. Hanna J. Cortner, president of Cortner and Associates , coauthored The Politics of Ecosystem Management, co-edited State and Nature, and has held professorships at Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona.

Edition details

• Publisher: University Press of Colorado
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0870818201
• ISBN 13: 9780870818202
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256