Tangled Roots: The Appalachian Trail and American Environmental Politics SarahMittlefehldt. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2013.

Abstract

Tangled Roots: The Appalachian Trail and American Environmental Politics Sarah Mittlefehldt. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2013.Sarah Mittlefehldt's Tangled Roots is ostensibly a history of Appalachian Trail as told through various people, public organizations, and private groups that worked across nearly a one hundred years in order to secure, build, and maintain its nearly 2,200 miles. However, Mittlefehldt also uses Trail's story as a way to argue path for modern American environmentalism within current political structure.In her introduction, she explains her goal is to show that the tangled political roots of Appalachian Trail were frustrating and difficult to navigate at times but were ultimately an essential part of broader system they (4). The frustration of dealing with new partners, such as private companies and trusts, was worth trouble because the trail's diverse political structure provided foundation for trail-building efforts and made Appalachian Trail one of most successful land stewardship projects of twentieth and a model for environmental protection in twenty-first century (4). Within her introduction, she lays foundation for her argument, which comes in three parts: environmental movement has evolved beyond simple conservatory; private partners have become invaluable to sustaining public works; and this complex navigation between public and private organizations has created a more robust and sustainable model for environmentalism that is more in line with population.She traces Trail development through three distinct phases, which began with Benton MacKaye's call to revitalize America's natural resources through civic engagements built around conservation, moved through inevitable federalization of ever-growing project and its negative impact in various communities along Trail, and ended with New Right's desire to reduce government's role in management while incentivizing private corporate engagement. As both an accident of history and a deft narrative framing device, Mittlefehldt placed MacKay's original vision of environmentalism on Appalachian Trail as a project that should be driven by smart, governmental science but managed by private citizens and organizations.The narrative then picks up story through work of Myron Avery, whose vision of Trail involved building it first and then using that to recruit support for it later. …