The governance of Western public lands : mapping its present and future

Summary: "In this book Martin Nie particularly cites the problem of vague statutory language, which tells our public land agencies little about what they should be doing but lots about how they should be doing it. Nie reexamines this confusing body of law and policy, in which the rulemaking process dominates and agencies are caught in political quagmires, to show how the pieces fit - but more often don't." "Throughout the book, Nie considers the factors that make some public land conflicts so controversial, revisits how they have been dealt with in the past, and proposes ways they might be better managed in the future. Eschewing the single-policy approach to public lands management - such as encouraging free markets - he instead surveys a diverse array of other available options. His big-picture outlook for the twenty-first century is a bold call for reshaping ongoing conflicts - and for reinvesting in our public lands."--Jacket.