The rebirth of environmentalism : grassroots activism from the spotted owl to the polar bear

Over the past two decades, a select group of small but highly effective grassroots organizations have achieved remarkable success in protecting endangered species and forests in the United States. The Rebirth of Environmentalism tells for the first time the story of these grassroots biodiversity groups. Filled with inspiring stories of activists, groups, and campaigns that most readers will not have encountered before, The Rebirth of Environmentalism explores how grassroots biodiversity groups have had such a big impact despite their scant resources, and presents valuable lessons that can help the environmental movement as a whole--as well as other social movements--become more effective.

Author Notes

Douglas Bevington is the forest program director for Environment Now, a grant-making foundation based in California. He received his PhD in sociology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he taught courses on social movement studies.

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Sociologist Bevington (forest program director, Environment Now) explores the role of small grassroots environmental organizations in comparison with large national organizations, including the Sierra Club and the National Wildlife Federation. The national organizations focus on legislative gains based upon access to legislators--an insider strategy that emphasizes incremental progress. In the 1980s, Earth First!, a group of radical environmentalists, challenged environmental threats, such as logging or pollution, by civil disobedience actions that could delay but not stop such threats. Grassroots environmental organizations arose as a third approach, using federal courts to stop actions that were illegal or to enforce actions that laws required to benefit the environment or endangered wildlife. These small organizations did not consider what was politically feasible, as the large nationals did, but rather what was needed to save the environment or wildlife. Using pro bono lawyers, they enjoyed legal successes that matched or exceeded what large nationals achieved through legislative lobbying. Bevington interviewed 62 activists in grassroots organizations and drew upon relevant literature to write an environmental political history covering the years from 1980 to 2008. What he has achieved will make this book the environmentalists' bible for the foreseeable future. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Academic, professional, and general readers, all levels. F. N. Egerton emeritus, University of Wisconsin--Parkside

Preface and Acknowledgments	p. xi
1 The Rise of Grassroots Biodiversity Activism and the Rebirth of Environmentalism	p. 1
Grassroots Biodiversity Groups and the U.S. Environmental Movement	p. 2
Three Grassroots Biodiversity Protection Campaigns	p. 6
Elements of Success	p. 8
The Death of Environmentalism or the Rebirth of Environmentalism?	p. 12
2 Origins of the Grassroots Biodiversity Groups	p. 15
Origins of the Modern Environmental Movement	p. 16
National Environmental Organizations	p. 21
Earth First!	p. 27
Grassroots Biodiversity Groups	p. 34
3 Never Mind the Nationals: The Headwaters Forest Campaign	p. 41
Redwoods, Earth First!, and the Origins of the Headwaters Forest Campaign	p. 42
EPIC, the Sierra Club, and Litigation	p. 46
Forests Forever and the Grand Accord	p. 49
Focus on Headwaters Forest	p. 51
New Organizations and Tactics	p. 55
The September 15th Rally of 1995	p. 58
The Headwaters Forest Coordinating Committee	p. 60
The September 15th Rally of 1996 and the Deal	p. 62
Funding Issues	p. 66
Divisions over the Deal	p. 69
Organizing Challenges in the Wake of the Deal Announcement	p. 74
Increasing Repression: Pepper Spray and the Death of David "Gypsy" Chain	p. 76
New Allies: Salmon Protection, Rural Communities, and Steelworkers	p. 78
The Culmination of the Deal	p. 80
Was the Headwaters Deal a Victory?	p. 83
After the Deal	p. 91
The Legacy of the Headwaters Campaign	p. 103
4 Transforming a National: The John Muir Sierrans and the Zero-Cut Campaign	p. 111
Old-Growth Forests and the Northern Spotted Owl	p. 114
Origins of Zero Cut: Protect Our Woods and Heartwood	p. 123
Growth of Zero Cut: The Native Forest Council	p. 126
Reforming the Sierra Club: Origins of the John Muir Sierrans	p. 128
The Salvage Rider	p. 131
Chad Hanson and the Second Ballot Initiative	p. 134
John Muir Project and the National Forest Protection and Restoration Act	p. 138
The Sierra Club Board of Directors	p. 142
Beyond the Sierra Club: Timber Sale Litigation and the National Forest Protection Alliance	p. 145
The Roadless Rule and the Heritage Forests Campaign	p. 148
Fire and Funding during the George W. Bush Years	p. 150
Achieving More by Being Bold	p. 155
5 Becoming a National: The Center for Biological Diversity and Endangered Species Litigation	p. 161
The Endangered Species Act	p. 162
Jasper Carlton and the Earth First! Biodiversity Project	p. 168
Origins of the Center for Biological Diversity	p. 173
The Mexican Spotted Owl Injunction	p. 176
Applying the ESA to New Issues	p. 180
Early Organizational Growth	p. 183
Relationship to the Nationals: The Endangered Species Coalition and ESA Reauthorization	p. 185
Relationship to the Clinton Administration: Struggles over Listings and Critical Habitat	p. 191
Expanding beyond the Southwest	p. 198
Continued Growth amid the George W. Bush Years	p. 202
Becoming a National: Getting It Right by Doing It Wrong	p. 206
6 Boldness Has Genius: The Lessons of Grassroots Biodiversity Activism for the Campaign Against Global Warming	p. 215
Achieving Success by Avoiding Constraints	p. 215
Rethinking the Relationship between the Grassroots and the Nationals	p. 224
Grassroots Activism and Global Warming	p. 232
Afterword: Arrival of the Obama Administration	p. 239
Appendix: Origins of Four Biodiversity Protection Laws	p. 241
Chapter Notes	p. 245
Glossary of Acronyms	p. 265
Bibliography	p. 267
Index	p. 275

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