This volume is a cogent empirical analysis of the interplay between a region's natural amenities and its socioeconomic evolution. It focuses on the rural sectors of America's Intermountain West region, which lies between the Cascades and Sierra Nevada mountains to the west and the Rocky Mountains to the east. Coherently structured and meticulously detailed, it adds much to our understanding of the ways an area's forests, lakes, mountains, parkland and historic attractions affect residents' sense of well-being as well as the sociodemographic and economic changes they experience. The book examines patterns of growth and change linked to the emergence of 'New West' conditions, assessing their implications for the wider community as well as discussing the impact these trends could have on the consumption of natural resources. It also points to ways in which communities and their development can be managed sustainably. The tight geographical focus of this valuable resource ensures a depth of analysis which can be applied to similar regions worldwide. Based on a large-scale, random-sample survey of both full-time and seasonal residents, it provides a much-needed overview of the macro-level economic, demographic, and social transformations affecting rural communities in America. As such, the book has relevance for all researchers concerned with rural development, the changes impacting rural landscapes, and natural resource management.

This volume is a cogent empirical analysis of the interplay between a region's natural amenities and its socioeconomic evolution. It focuses on the rural sectors of America's Intermountain West region, which lies between the Cascades and Sierra Nevada mountains to the west and the Rocky Mountains to the east. Coherently structured and meticulously detailed, it adds much to our understanding of the ways an area's forests, lakes, mountains, parkland and historic attractions affect residents' sense of well-being as well as the sociodemographic and economic changes they experience. The book examines patterns of growth and change linked to the emergence of 'New West' conditions, assessing their implications for the wider community as well as discussing the impact these trends could have on the consumption of natural resources. It also points to ways in which communities and their development can be managed sustainably. The tight geographical focus of this valuable resource ensures a depth of analysis which can be applied to similar regions worldwide. Based on a large-scale, random-sample survey of both full-time and seasonal residents, it provides a much-needed overview of the macro-level economic, demographic, and social transformations affecting rural communities in America. As such, the book has relevance for all researchers concerned with rural development, the changes impacting rural landscapes, and natural resource management.

Scenic rural communities across the nation and around the world have been transformed as they have shifted away from extractive industries such as agriculture, mining, and forestry and toward recreation-based development relying on tourism, vacation homes, and retirees. These communities have built new economies and identities based on local natural resources and are highly dependent on the natural environment. With these changes have come new questions: Do retirees and seasonal residents fit into their new surroundings? Do longtime and new residents share the same values and visions for the future? Do diverse community members disagree about how to manage their forest and water resources? Condos in the Woods explores how these issues are reshaping community structure, employment, and inhabitants' attitudes toward their environment in the Northwoods. Looking at trends from the 1970s to the present, this work moves from the national scale to the Pine Barrens region in northwestern Wisconsin and examines the approaches of residents to the management of their natural resources. At the heart of this story, the authors find that despite the diverse makeup of such communities, residents share many common goals and values and display more successful integration than previously expected. "Makes a major contribution linking and expanding beyond an array of research on the question: What does the growing dominance of seasonal home ownership and use mean for the communities of northern Wisconsin?"--Susan I. Stewart, USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station

With increasing awareness of the limits that natural resource reserves and environmental concerns impose on economic growth, rural sociologists have developed new ways of looking at the relationship between man and his environment. This volume surveys changing sociological views of that relationship and explores a holistic, cooperative model of human/nature interaction that reflects the needs of the post-industrial age. In their introduction Field and Burch review significant landmarks in natural resource sociology and comment on some of the underlying aims of rural sociology. The remaining chapters focus on three distinct periods during which rural sociologists have sought to examine man's relationship and adaptation to the environment.