Children of the Northern Forest: Wild New England's History from Glaciers to Global Warming

In northern New England, the failure of conservation has led to a wilder, more equitable, and lower-carbon future for forest-dependent communities. Jamie Sayen's book offers a blueprint for restoring vast wildlands and transitioning to a lower-carbon, high-value-adding, local economy while protecting the natural rights of humans, nonhumans, and unborn generations.

Format: Hardback
Length: 320 pages
Publication date: 23 January 2024
Publisher: Yale University Press

This gripping account of the failure of conservation in northern New England's forests paints a vivid picture of a future that is both wilder and more equitable, while also being significantly lower in carbon emissions. Author Jamie Sayen approaches the story of these undeveloped forests from the perspectives of the previously unheard: the forest itself, the diverse array of nonhuman species that rely on it for survival, the First Peoples who have long called this land home, and more recent disenfranchised human voices, including loggers, mill workers, and citizens who, like Henry David Thoreau, yearn to speak a kind word for nature.

Between 1988 and 2016, paper companies sold their timberlands and shut down seventeen paper mills in northern New England. Policymakers handed over the reins to large absentee landowners, who sought to maintain the status quo by demanding additional tax cuts and subsidies for economic elites. They blocked measures aimed at restoring and preserving forest health, resulting in the degradation of about half of the former industrial forests. Currently, the regional economy remains mired in low-value commodity markets.

This book serves as a case study of how a rural resource region can adapt to a global economy that is responsible for climate change, habitat loss, and environmental injustice. Sayen presents a comprehensive blueprint for restoring vast wildlands and transitioning to a lower-carbon, high-value-adding, local economy, all while upholding the natural rights of humans, nonhumans, and unborn generations.

Weight: 596g
Dimension: 166 x 242 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780300270570