Tahoe: From Timber Barons to Ecologists

By Douglas H. Strong

Book Overview

We have come to love the West too much, and Lake Tahoe is a preeminent example of the cost of our endearment. The region annually attracts millions of visitors, more than any other scenic area of similar size in the United States. Runaway development to accommodate crowds has resulted in an alarming rate of environmental deterioration. Yet unprecedented recent efforts to protect the long-term ecological health of Tahoe provide hope for the future. Douglas H. Strong tells the environmental story of the Tahoe Basin from its use by the indigenous Washoe to the present. To whom does Tahoe belong and how should the area be used? These fundamental questions receive widely differing answers: some favor private ownership and free enterprise, others insist that major portions of the basin should be set aside in parks and reserves, and still others advocate controlled economic growth with an emphasis on protecting the environment. Strong's extensively researched environmental history examines the struggle among these contending forces. Their efforts, failures, and accomplishments provide valuable lessons for those who care about the use of America's natural wonders.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803292589
• ISBN13: 9780803292581
• Release Date: March 1999
• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
• Length: 164 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

SMC Review

Douglas Strong does an excellent job of explaining the environmental history of Lake Tahoe in a straight forward manner. This book puts in context the numerous issues confronting the lake and how these developed. I found the book quite interesting and very timely, given the renewed interest in preserving the clarity of the lake.