Perceptions of Public Land Usage in the Eastern Sierra Nevada and the Effect of Environmental Regulation

• Main Author: Ridley, Cameron C
• Format: Others
• Published: Scholarship @ Claremont 2015
• Subjects: Conservation; Preservation; Nature; Oral History; United States History
• Online Access: http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/1049; http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2035&context=cmc_theses

This senior thesis is a study of the change over time of American perceptions of how natural public lands are to be utilized. American interactions with nature are analyzed and synthesized into the role of the conqueror, conservationist, and preservationist. These competing ideologies have shaped our nation and public lands. Looking specifically at the Eastern Sierra Nevada of California, the thesis investigates how the federal land management agency of the United States Forest Service has incorporated these competing roles into one management plan. The thesis analyzes a visitor guide to the area from 1925 and 2014 to see how different ideals were incorporated into the management and promotion of the area to tourists. Additionally, the thesis investigates how the environmental preservation ideology has limited access to public land and how the resort model of tourism has grown while primitive recreation opportunities have been diminished.