A North Country Almanac: Reflections of an Old-School Conservationist in a Modern World includes the musings of an independent mind on wilderness, the conservation ethic, and the joys of loving the outdoors. Although a lifelong conservationist, Thomas C. Bailey has never unquestioningly accepted environmental dogma. The essays here often challenge familiar assumptions about stewardship of natural resources. The former National Park ranger, fishing guide, and conservancy director offers a rich variety of perspectives on an interesting array of topics, returning always to his fundamental belief that conservation pioneers such as John Muir, Theodore Roosevelt, and Aldo Leopold had it right when they affirmed Walt Whitman’s observation that “the secret of making the best person . . . is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth.”
ContentsForewordPreludePART 1: BeginningsInspired by EaglesA Yooper Kid Goes to WashingtonAn Environmentalist Looks at FiftyPART 2: MotivesConquering Nature?Why Protect Land?The Biophilia HypothesisScience and SpiritDark Sky ParkLocking Up LandPART 3: HuntingThe Hunting Issue: Some BackgroundNature-Based People’s Perspective on HuntingBut Is There Room for Hunters?A Glimpse of How It Might Be . . .A Glimpse of How It Was: The Elk HuntPART 4: GovernmentGovernment, Regulations, and PoliticsGovernment Wetland ProtectionProperty TaxesThe Value of Public LandPART 5: EconomicsThe Natural Resources Sector of the EconomyWhat Is the Economy, Anyway?Unlimited Growth Can Be SustainableElephants and Resource EconomicsWar and ResourcesTax BreaksPART 6: Fathers and SonsThanks, DadConservation and the World War II GenerationAnother GenerationEnjoying the SnowThe Berry Patch and Food from NatureOn Becoming a Military Family: Reflections on Home, Land, SecurityAs the Sun Begins to SetFathers and Sons: AfterwordAcknowledgments
