The Grasslands of the United States: An Environmental History (Nature and Human Societies Series)

This unique survey of the environmental history of the grasslands in the United States explores the ecological, social, and economic relationship between humans and this environment over the last 10,000 years. The Grasslands of the United States. No other natural environment has enjoyed such a revered status in the history of the North American continent. From Texas to North Dakota, throughout the desert grasslands of the Great Basin, the productive wheat fields of the Palouse, the lands where buffalo once roamed remain a powerful symbol of all that is America, yet they are one of the most endangered ecosystems on the continent. “Treeless, level, and semi-arid.” Walter Prescott Webb’s famous description of the Great Plains is really only part of their story. From their creation at the end of the Ice Age to the ongoing problems of depopulation, soil erosion, polluted streams, and depleted groundwater aquifers, human interaction with the prairies has often been controversial. “The Grasslands of the United States: An Environmental History” explores the historical and ecological dimensions of human interaction with North America’s grasslands. Examining issues as diverse as whether the arrival of the Paleo-Indians led to the extinction of the mammoth and the consequences of industrialization and genetically modified crops, this invaluable reference synthesizes literature from a wide range of authoritative sources to provide a fascinating guide to the environment of this biome.