Filtering by: “national forest”

Book Club: The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved America
Jun
28

Book Club: The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved America

  • Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

WE'RE READING THIS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE MOUNTAIN & PRAIRIE PODCAST BOOK CLUB! CLICK HERE TO JOIN THEIR DISCUSSION.

On the afternoon of August 20, 1910, a battering ram of wind moved through the drought-stricken national forests of Washington, Idaho, and Montana, whipping the hundreds of small blazes burning across the forest floor into a roaring inferno that jumped from treetop to ridge as it raged, destroying towns and timber in the blink of an eye. Forest rangers had assembled nearly ten thousand men  —  college boys, day workers, immigrants from mining camps  —  to fight the fire. But no living person had seen anything like those flames, and neither the rangers nor anyone else knew how to subdue them.

Egan narrates the struggles of the overmatched rangers against the implacable fire with unstoppable dramatic force. Equally dramatic is the larger story he tells of outsized president Teddy Roosevelt and his chief forester, Gifford Pinchot. Pioneering the notion of conservation, Roosevelt and Pinchot did nothing less than create the idea of public land as our national treasure, owned by and preserved for every citizen. The robber barons fought Roosevelt and Pinchot’s rangers, but the Big Burn saved the forests even as it destroyed them: the heroism shown by the rangers turned public opinion permanently in their favor and became the creation myth that drove the Forest Service, with consequences still felt in the way our national lands are protected  —  or not —  today.


Please try to buy your copy at Bright Side Bookshop on San Francisco Street in downtown Flagstaff - all Diablo Trust Book Club members get 10% off book club books! Other locations that might have it are the Flagstaff City-Coconino County Public Library or Bookmans Entertainment Exchange.

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    Wildfire: Challenges of Protecting Life, Property & Resources
    Jun
    13

    Wildfire: Challenges of Protecting Life, Property & Resources

    Northern Arizona federal land managers invite public to 3rd community conversation event

    Federal land managers with the Forest Service, National Park Service, and Bureau of Land Management invite the public to attend a community conversation event as part of an ongoing effort to connect with the public and discuss public land issues important to surrounding communities.

    Federal land managers will be covering the topic of “Wildfire and the Challenges of Protecting Life, Property, and Watershed Resources,” in this third series of community conversations.

    In partnership with the Museum of Northern Arizona, this event will be held in Flagstaff in the Branigar-Chase auditorium at the Museum of Northern Arizona from 6-8 p.m. on Wednesday, June 13. Seating is limited to about 80 people at this free community event, so if you plan on attending, please register online at https://bit.ly/2H8IYtc.

    The following federal land managers will be in attendance and look forward to interacting with the public:

    • Laura Jo West, Coconino National Forest Supervisor
    • Heather Provencio, Kaibab National Forest Supervisor
    • Kayci Cook Collins, Flagstaff Area National Monuments Superintendent
    • Christine Lehnertz, Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent
    • Leon Thomas, Bureau of Land Management Phoenix District Manager

    This is a chance for the public to meet face-to-face with the leaders of organizations that manage federal lands in northern Arizona.

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    4FRI Day on the Land
    Jun
    9

    4FRI Day on the Land

    4FRI Day On the Land

    Join us for a Day on the Land with the Four Forest Restoration Initiative! We'll take a tour of their facilities and learn about the project and their long-term goals for our regional forests. In line with our annual theme around the economics of our open spaces, we'll also learn about the "money" side of the initiative!


    Please bring:

    • Lunch
    • Water
    • Long sleeves and pants
    • Closed-toe shoes

    And per the instructions of one of our hosts, please also bring:

    • A sense of adventure
    • Questions on logging and restoration
    • Inquiries about the implications of 4FRI to Anderson Mesa and beyond

    Join us for our June Book Club meeting, where we'll be discussing The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved America.

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