"Beset by competing interests, efforts by federal agencies, Congress, and the courts to balance ecological and economic values in the development of federal land policies have produced a wide range of outcomes. This book examines the interplay between political organizations, interest groups, economic conditions, and demographic shifts, offering an explanation of changes in policies during this period that affected the management of rangeland, timber, energy, mineral, and wilderness resources. It includes an entirely new chapter on wildlife policy and a review of different federal programs affecting public lands. It will be of interest to students and scholars of environmental politics and policy, natural resource management, public policy, and environmental history as well as to the general reader."--Jacket.