A Companion to American Environmental History

A Companion to American Environmental History gathers together a comprehensive collection of over 30 essays that examine the evolving and diverse field of American environmental history, and not only presents a state–of–the–field as it stands, but also expands the current scholarship. With contributions from the founders of this unique branch of history, and the work of innovative young scholars, this Companion presents a bold vision for the future of environmental history, as well as a critical appreciation of its growth and development. The essays in this volume are presented in five parts, covering a diverse set of topics that range from American Indian environmental relations, oceans, and food, to borders, culture, and identity. Combining a complete historiography with the most recent research and trends, the Companion pushes the existing boundaries of the field and encourages new directions of study.

Notes on Contributors viii Introduction xiii Part I The Elements of Environmental History 1 1 Paths Toward Home: Landmarks of the Field in Environmental History 3 Louis S. Warren 2 Air 33 Nancy Langston 3 The Living Earth: History, Darwinian Evolution, and the Grasslands 51 Donald Worster 4 Fire 69 Stephen J. Pyne 5 Water 92 Rebecca Solnit Part II Nature and the Construction of Society and Identity 97 6 Race and US Environmental History 99 Colin Fisher 7 Gender 116 Susan R. Schrepfer and Douglas Cazaux Sackman 8 Class 146 Chad Montrie 9 Body Counts: Tracking the Human Body Through Environmental History 163 Neil M. Maher Part III The Nature of American Culture 181 10 From Wilderness to Hybrid Landscapes: The Cultural Turn in Environmental History 183 Richard White 11 American Indian Environmental Relations 191 David Rich Lewis 12 Cultures of Nature: To ca. 1810 214 Matthew Dennis 13 Cultures of Nature: Nineteenth Century 246 Aaron Sachs 14 Cultures of Nature: Twentieth Century 266 Finis Dunaway 15 From Wilderness Prophets to Tool Freaks: Post–World War II Environmentalism 285 Andrew Kirk 16 The Black Box in the Garden: Consumers and the Environment 304 Tom McCarthy Part IV Contact Zones: Americans Conjoining the Natural World 325 17 Flora 327 Frieda Knobloch 18 Fauna: A Prospectus for Evolutionary History 345 Edmund Russell 19 Water Development: The Plot Thickens 375 Patty Limerick 20 Rich Crevices of Inquiry: Mining and Environmental History 394 Katherine G. Morrissey 21 Who Cares About Forests? How Forest History Matters 410 Ellen Stroud 22 Cultivating an Agro–Environmental History 425 Sara M. Gregg 23 Oceans: Fusing the History of Science and Technology with Environmental History 442 Helen M. Rozwadowski 24 Cities and Suburbs 462 Chris Sellers 25 Energy and Transportation 482 Brian Black 26 The Global Ecological Reach of the United States: Exporting Capital and Importing Commodities 505 Richard P. Tucker 27 Food 529 Douglas Cazaux Sackman Part V Outside of the Grid: Place, Borders, and Scale 551 28 Blinded by History: The Geographic Dimension of Environment and Society 553 Richard Walker and Sarah Thomas 29 The Northeastern Pacifi c Basin: An Environmental Approach to Seascapes and Littoral Places 579 David Igler 30 Earthlings: Evolution and Place in Environmental History 595 Dan Flores 31 "Most Fruitful Results": Transborder Approaches to Canadian–American Environmental History 615 Ted Binnema 32 Seeing Beyond Our Borders: US and Non–US Historiographies 635 Paul Sutter Index 653

Douglas Cazaux Sackman is Professor of History at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. His publications include Wild Men: Ishi and Kroeber in the Wilderness of Modern America (2010) and Orange Empire: California and the Fruits of Eden (2005), winner of the 2006 Martin Ridge Award. His next book, Pacific Passages , will explore transpacific exchanges of culture and nature, focusing on the traffic in otters, whales, and trees.

“A Companion to American Environmental History gathers together a comprehensive collection of over 30 essays that examine the evolving and diverse field of American environmental history.”  ( Native American Encyclopedia , 8 January 2014) “No short review can do justice to the richness and variety of the essays contained in this lengthy volume, which will prove useful to advanced undergraduates, graduate students, and seasoned scholars alike.”  ( Journal of the History of Biology , 2011) "The volume admirably covers material and cultural approaches to environmental history... I was impressed with the thoroughness and clarity of almost all the entries. (Environmental History, 1January 2012)  The American Society for Environmental History was organized in 1976, and this companion volume celebrates its members′ achievements during the past one–third century. The book presents diverse perspectives and topics in 32chapters, including "Fire," "Air," "Race and US Environmental History," "Class," "Gender," "Flora," "Fauna," "Cities and Suburbs," "Who Cares about Forests?" and "Oceans." No individual chapter focuses on pollution or environmental degradation, though these topics appear in several contexts. Many chapters offer revisionist history, bypassing traditional environmental heroes or emphasis on wilderness, conservation, and preservation. Instead, they discuss Indians, herdsmen, lumbermen, and farmers. Indians, not invariably stewards of the environment, became part of European trade networks and were favorably impacted by the introduction of horses. Dams improved economies but also degraded fisheries. All but one chapter have excellent bibliographies. Most bibliographies emphasize books, and the Society′s journal, Environmental History, does not receive any special attention. Anyone who wishes to study or research a topic in American environmental history can quickly learn from one or more chapters what has already been written on the subject and how environmental historians evaluate that particular literature. Although there are no illustrations, diagrams, or maps, this volume is a critical acquisition for all academic library reference collections." ( CHOICE , December 2010)