March 15, 2020
Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy stopped paying fees for grazing cattle on public lands in 1993. Twenty-one years and numerous warnings later, the Bureau of Land Management tried to remove Bundy's cattle, but its agents were blocked by dozens of armed militia members. Two years later, Bundy's son Ammon led a group that temporarily took over Oregon's Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Bundy's claim that the federal government has no right to own land arises from his views of the founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith, who thought the Constitution was divinely inspired and meant to protect his followers. This led many Mormons, as well as many far-right ideologues, to believe that they were chosen to interpret the Constitution and protect it from evildoers. In this object lesson on becoming informed, historian and conservationist Quammen uses science, broadminded inquiry, and historical records to capture all aspects of the movement to rescind the laws creating public lands. She also offers hope for the future of precious Southwestern landscapes as increasing numbers of citizens demand environmental ethics and recognize how preservation makes economic good sense.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)