Wild and Scenic Rivers
256 pages, 9 x 9
166 color photos. 1 map. Foreword. 5 appendixes. Selected sources.
Hardcover
Release Date:25 Sep 2017
ISBN:9780870718977
The rivers of America flow from mountains, forests, and grasslands with astonishing beauty, essential to all life. Many of the best of these streams have been safeguarded under the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968—America's premier program for the protection of our finest natural waterways.
Wild and Scenic Rivers celebrates this creative conservation initiative with 160 stunning photographs and a lively history involving citizen activists, scientists, dedicated public officials, and enlightened political leaders. In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, award-winning author and photographer Tim Palmer illuminates the values of this irreplaceable system of free-flowing streams, probes its problems, and addresses its future.
With a depth of experience dating almost to the inception of the wild and scenic rivers program, Palmer has captured the splendor and essence of our most extraordinary rivers with his camera, and he has told their remarkable story as no one else could do.
Wild and Scenic Rivers celebrates this creative conservation initiative with 160 stunning photographs and a lively history involving citizen activists, scientists, dedicated public officials, and enlightened political leaders. In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, award-winning author and photographer Tim Palmer illuminates the values of this irreplaceable system of free-flowing streams, probes its problems, and addresses its future.
With a depth of experience dating almost to the inception of the wild and scenic rivers program, Palmer has captured the splendor and essence of our most extraordinary rivers with his camera, and he has told their remarkable story as no one else could do.
In difficult times, sources of inspiration are treasured. Tim Palmer’s enchanting photographs and engaging story-telling remind me, viscerally, why saving free-flowing rivers from harm is essential, not only for the world’s biology, but for its’ soul. This 50th anniversary celebration of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act immerses readers in the timelessness of America’s most cherished rivers and instills gratitude for the dedicated leaders who created this unique System of protected rivers. Read Tim's book and be inspired!
—Rebecca Wodder, Former President and CEO, American Rivers
Palmer has composed a tribute to the enduring vitality of rivers: the absolute importance of safeguarding them through the exercise of good sense and sound stewardship; the rewards that rivers invariably return to all who invest in their defense; and perhaps most important of all, the rapture that the wild water can instill in each of us when we open our hearts to its ever-surging flood tide of beauty.
—Kevin Fedarko, author of The Emerald Mile
With his book about our Wild and Scenic Rivers, Tim Palmer has made a great contribution to America. Having been directly involved in this program, I'm grateful that the legacy of all who have worked to protect these rivers will be known and appreciated.’
—President Jimmy Carter
There is magic in rivers and in the camera and pen of Tim Palmer. American environmental history is highlighted by legislation such as the National Parks Act (1916), the Wilderness Act (1964) an the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (1968), which Tim describes here in illuminating detail. Read this book to understand how and why moving water has become a key component of our environmental ethic.’
—Dr. Roderick Frazier Nash, Professor Emeritus, University of California Santa Barbara and author of Wilderness and the American Mind
Tim Palmer has created a glorious book of photos, but Wild and Scenic Rivers is far more than that. Read it from cover to cover! All of us who shoulder responsibility for administering our wild and scenic rivers will find this narrative not just useful and entertaining, but also essential to what we do, and all should take to heart this vivid history of how we got where we are in the ever-unfolding enterprise of preserving America’s great rivers.'
—Chris Brown, Director (retired), Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers, U.S Forest Service
Tim Palmer is the author and photographer of 26 books about rivers, the American landscape, and adventure travel. He has received the National Outdoor Book Award, the Communicator of the Year Award from the National Wildlife Federation, the Lifetime Achievement Award from American Rivers, and other honors. See his work at www.timpalmer.org.
