Landscapes of Conflict

Post-World War II Oregon was a place of optimism and growth, a spectacular natural region from ocean to high desert that seemingly provided opportunity in abundance. With the passing of time, however, Oregon's citizens - rural and urban - would find themselves entangled in issues that they had little experience in resolving. The same trees that provided income to timber corporations, small mill owners, loggers, and many small towns in Oregon, also provided a dramatic landscape and a home to creatures at risk. The rivers whose harnessing created power for industries that helped sustain Oregon's growth - and were dumping grounds for municipal and industrial wastes - also provided passageways to spawning grounds for fish, domestic water sources, and recreational space for everyday Oregonians.
The story of Oregon's accommodation to these divergent interests is a divisive story between those interested in economic growth and perceived stability and citizens concerned with exercising good stewardship towards the state's natural resources and preserving the state's livability. In his second volume of Oregon's environmental history, William Robbins addresses efforts by individuals and groups within and outside the state to resolve these conflicts. Among the people who have had roles in this process, journalists and politicians Richard Neuberger and Tom McCall left substantial legacies and demonstrated the ambiguities inherent in the issues they confronted.

William G. Robbins is Emeritus Distinguished Professor of History, Oregon State University. He is the author of Landscapes of Promise: The Oregon Story, 1800-1940, and Hard Times in Paradise: Coos Bay, Oregon, 1850-1986.

"This is, make no mistake about it, an important book. Oregon faces massive land-use and environmental issues, and this history of how we really got to where we are is relevant and predictive. Those who control how Oregon will go in the future need to read this book thoroughly. And that includes the people who have the most power...the voters." -- Salem Statesman Journal "There is much to admire in [this] book: careful scholarship, brisk writing, and an obvious love and respect for Oregon's history and people. And many fascinating stories...Historians and environmentalists will be elaborating his themes, working from the borders of his achievement, for some time to come." -- The Oregonian "Landscapes of Conflict is impressive, a work valuable for its sweep, relevant to many current concerns, and important for the understanding it can provide even to those with interests focused on areas far distant from Oregon." --The Journal of American History "Robbins brings a critical and moral clarity to his research and analysis that turns the specifics of one state's environmental conflicts into a synecdoche for broader struggles with modernity, capitalism and ecological sustainability. " -H-Net