That Wild Country: An Epic Journey through the Past, Present, and Future of America's Public Lands

Description

From prominent outdoorsman and nature writer Mark Kenyon comes an engrossing reflection on the past and future battles over our most revered landscapes-America's public lands. Every American is a public-land owner, inheritor to the largest public-land trust in the world. These vast expanses provide a home to wildlife populations, a vital source of clean air and water, and a haven for recreation. Since its inception, however, America's public land system has been embroiled in controversy-caught in the push and pull between the desire to develop the valuable resources the land holds or conserve them. Alarmed by rising tensions over the use of these lands, hunter, angler, and outdoor enthusiast Mark Kenyon set out to explore the spaces involved in this heated debate, and learn firsthand how they came to be and what their future might hold. Part travelogue and part historical examination, That Wild Country invites readers on an intimate tour of the wondrous wild and public places that are a uniquely profound and endangered part of the American landscape.

Mark Kenyon is a lifelong outdoorsman, a nationally published outdoor writer, and one of the hunting and fishing community's most prominent voices through his podcast, Wired to Hunt. His writing has appeared in Outdoor Life and Field & Stream, and he is a leading contributor to MeatEater, Inc., an outdoor lifestyle company founded on the belief that a deeper understanding of the natural world enriches all our lives. That Wild Country is his first book.

A 2020 Goodreads Choice Awards Semifinalist: Best Science & Technology "Kenyon's writing and traveling style are equally companionable...he evokes in his prose an appealing sense of shared experience...a strong argument for why two often politically opposed factions, hunters and environmentalists, should come together under the #KeepItPublic banner...succeeds in making the political simultaneously personal and universal." -Publishers Weekly "An intimate escape for adventure seekers." -Seattle PI "When friends complain to me about the ideological divisions ripping America in two, I cheer them up with stories about our public lands. Right now, groups and individuals as diverse as the nation itself are coalescing around the rallying cry of 'Keep It Public' as we fight to defend the environmental integrity and accessibility of our public lands. Let Mark Kenyon's That Wild Country be our guiding text. Not only does Kenyon tell you why and how we have public lands, but he also tells you why and how we'll keep them. Read this book and join the movement." -Steven Rinella, bestselling author of The MeatEater Fish and Game Cookbook and American Buffalo "This is a must-read for all public-land owners. Mark weaves his own adventures and connections to public land into the history on how we were gifted this great legacy. Read this book, be inspired, and become engaged." -Land Tawney, president and CEO of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers "More than a century ago John Muir warned that 'Wilderness is a necessity...They will see what I meant in time.' For better or worse we have arrived in the cultural moment that the wandering Scotsman foresaw, when the landscapes that are most vital to the survival of America's soul are also the most jeopardized. Thoroughly immersed in said moment, with pure heart and true aim, Mark Kenyon has written an engrossing walkabout of his own that pairs an impassioned, unquenchable desire for wild country with a rare, marksman-cool ability to articulate the complex issues and stakes in our fight for public lands. A wonderful debut." -Chris Dombrowski, author of Body of Water "America's public lands are under assault, from chronic underfunding, development interests, invasive species, and climate change, among other threats. Against this backdrop, Mark Kenyon eloquently explores how many of these public lands came to be, and why they are more important today than ever. That Wild Country is more than a lesson; it is a personal journey of discovery to which all public-lands users, from hikers and boaters to hunters and anglers, can relate." -Whit Fosburgh, president and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership