Long before Rachel Carson's fight against pesticides placed female environmental activists in the national spotlight, women were involved in American environmentalism. In Women and Nature: Saving the "Wild" West, Glenda Riley calls for a reappraisal of the roots of the American conservation movement. This thoroughly researched study of women conservationists provides a needed corrective to the male-dominated historiography of environmental studies. The early conservation movement gained much from women's widespread involvement. Florence Merriam Bailey classified the birds of New Mexico and encouraged appreciation of nature and concern for environmental problems. Ornithologist Margaret Morse Nice published widely on Oklahoma birds. In 1902 Mary Knight Britton established the Wild Flower Preservation Society of America. Women also stimulated economic endeavors related to environmental concerns, including nature writing and photography, health spas and resorts, and outdoor clothing and equipment. From botanists, birders, and nature writers to club-women and travelers, untold numbers of women have contributed to the groundswell of support for environmentalism.

The author's other works include "The Life and Legacy of Annie Oakley" and "Divorce: An American Tradition."

About the Author
Glenda Riley is Alexander M. Bracken Professor Emeritus of History at Ball State University. She is the author of Divorce: An American Tradition (Nebraska 1997) and Taking Land, Breaking Land: Women Colonizing the American West and Kenya, 1840-1940. She lives on a small horse ranch in historic Lincoln County, New Mexico.

Reviews
"A thoughtful and informative portrait of women's roles in western conservation and environmentalism... It demands reevaluation of popular assumptions about women and western landscapes, and about environmental history... Women and Nature provides a solid foundation for further research on women and natural resources in the West... Especially valuable, making visible the untold story of women's influence at the grassroots level."-Dorothy C. Garceau, New Mexico Historical Review New Mexico Historical Review



Book Information
ISBN 9780803289758
Author Glenda Riley
Format Paperback
Page Count 304
Imprint University of Nebraska Press
Publisher University of Nebraska Press
Weight(grams) 384g