Let the People Judge: Wise Use and the Private Property Rights Movement.

The so-called "wise-use" movement may well be the hottest conservation issue of this decade, especially considering the number of Newt Gingrich's minions now in the Congress. This book intends "to improve public understanding of the Wise Use movement and the related 'property rights' challenge to the environmental movement," and does it very well.

The senior editor, John Echeverria, is general counsel of the National Audubon Society and also authors a chapter on "The Takings Issue." Raymond Eby, a graduate student and the other editor, is credited with being "a former truck driver, Marine, fish-monger, steelworker. . ." and other assorted down-to-earth occupations but did not author any of the text. Together they have assembled 35 articles intended "to collect a wide range of different and sometimes sharply divergent thinking."

As examples, Philip Brick, a professor from Walla Walla, Washington, argues that, "The polarization of the debate has brought public-land policy to a virtual standstill," and that "to reach rural Americans, the goals and tactics of the environmental movement must change." He believes the environmental community is largely responsible for this polarization. On the other hand, in a chapter titled "The Wise Use Threat to American Workers," Donald Judge of the Montana AFLCIO labels members of the Wise Use movement "bigots" who thwart Martin Luther King Jr.'s "dream of peace." For Judge, both sides share the blame.

As with any anthology by so many authors, it's impossible to do it justice in so short a review. But while this book may not have the drama of The War Against the Greens (Reviews, Mar/Apr 1995), it offers a range and depth of thinking about these important issues unavailable in any other book. For those interested in the future of conservation, this book is a must.