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UBC Theses and Dissertations
UBC Theses and Dissertations
The forest for the tree : the Pacific Northwest lumber industry and environmental legislation, 1965-1976 Heard, Carrie Harbin Parnie
Abstract
This thesis examines the response of the Pacific Northwest lumber industry to the environmental movement of the 1960s and 1970s and to the legislation the movement inspired. The economic fortunes of the Pacific Northwest have been tied to the lumber industry from the time the region was settled. Until the mid-1960s the lumber industry enjoyed unrivalled influence on policies affecting logging practices on public and private lands. The environmental movement was a strong and unexpected opposition to the industry and its practices. However, the lumber industry mistook changes in the political climate for nothing more than negative public opinion. It was on this problem that the industry repeatedly concentrated, which gave the environmentalists a number of advantages in the political arena. The result was environmental legislation passed at the state and federal levels. The industry was able to begin swinging the pendulum of political influence back to its side when the United States' economy entered a recession in the early 1970s. Armed with figures on inflation and unemployment the lumber industry attempted to convince Congress and the public that environmental regulation and prosperity were not compatible. Although the industry was never again caught off guard as it was by the environmentalists in the 1960s, it never regained the level of political influence that it had prior to that decade. While this thesis concentrates on the general trends of the lumber industry response to events in the late 19 60s and early 1970s, the background of the industry and the climate which gave rise to the environmental movement have also been examined.
Item Metadata
Title |
The forest for the tree : the Pacific Northwest lumber industry and environmental legislation, 1965-1976
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Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
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Date Issued |
1993
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Description |
This thesis examines the response of the Pacific
Northwest lumber industry to the environmental movement of
the 1960s and 1970s and to the legislation the movement
inspired.
The economic fortunes of the Pacific Northwest have been
tied to the lumber industry from the time the region was
settled. Until the mid-1960s the lumber industry enjoyed
unrivalled influence on policies affecting logging practices
on public and private lands. The environmental movement was a
strong and unexpected opposition to the industry and its
practices.
However, the lumber industry mistook changes in the
political climate for nothing more than negative public
opinion. It was on this problem that the industry repeatedly
concentrated, which gave the environmentalists a number of
advantages in the political arena. The result was
environmental legislation passed at the state and federal
levels.
The industry was able to begin swinging the pendulum of
political influence back to its side when the United States'
economy entered a recession in the early 1970s. Armed with
figures on inflation and unemployment the lumber industry
attempted to convince Congress and the public that
environmental regulation and prosperity were not compatible.
Although the industry was never again caught off guard as it
was by the environmentalists in the 1960s, it never regained the level of political influence that it had prior to that
decade.
While this thesis concentrates on the general trends of
the lumber industry response to events in the late 19 60s and
early 1970s, the background of the industry and the climate
which gave rise to the environmental movement have also been
examined.
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Extent |
3506643 bytes
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Genre | |
Type | |
File Format |
application/pdf
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Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2009-02-20
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0087245
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URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
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Graduation Date |
1994-05
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Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.