Oil and Wilderness in Alaska

"You can tell from the content that the author put his heart and soul into a careful analysis of land usage and resource allocation . . . an outstanding job of putting together the whole picture."—San Francisco Book Review

"Busenberg's well-researched documentation of how and why environmental policy was shared makes the theoretical framework bearable and broadly applicable to many areas. His interviews and graphical representations broaden the appeal of his book and may even attract casual readers."—Choice

"Provides useful information and analysis, and it could provide reading for a case study on the Alaska pipeline in an environmental or energy policy class. Its short length, limited scope, and clear explanations make it ideal for such uses."—Journal of Environmental Studies & Sciences

"This book presents the results of years of archival research supplemented with interviews to present a well-informed and empirically rich history of several substantial policy developments: the construction and steady operations of the Trans-Alaska pipeline; the decision in the late 1970s to put aside a huge amount of land in the largest single extension of wilderness protection in US history; the impact of the Exxon Valdez catastrophe on subsequent policymaking regarding maritime shipment of oil; the politics of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; and efforts to protect polar bears on the north slope of Alaska in the face of climate change through an innovative use of the Endangered Species Act. It will be seen for years as the most comprehensive treatment of environmental politics in Alaska and as an excellent study of the nature of policy change more generally."—Frank Baumgartner, Richard J. Richardson Distinguished Professor of Political Science, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

"The conjunction of oil, wilderness, and politics has defined civic, economic, and political life in Alaska since the late 1960s. George Busenberg draws on the rich history of oil production in Alaska to better understand the political dynamics of oil and of natural resource policy in a state regarded as our nation's 'last frontier' and as a land ripe for development. These dynamics include energy policy, environmental issues, the rights of Native peoples, and the challenges inherent in a relatively new, sparsely settled state twice as large as Texas. Many historians have explained what happened in Alaska during its Oil Age; Busenberg's insightful and carefully researched book tells us why it happened, and how. "—Thomas Birkland, William T. Kretzer Professor of Public Policy and associate dean for Research, Extension, Engagement and Economic Development, North Carolina State University