An Open Pit Visible from the Moon: The Wilderness Act and the Fight to Protect Miners Ridge and the Public Interest

251 Pages·2020·40.676 MB·English

by  Adam M. Sowards

AN OPEN PIT
Visible from the
MOON
The Wilderness Act and the
Fight to Protect Miners Ridge
and the Public Interest
ADAM M. SOWARDS
An Open Pit Visible from the Moon
The Environment in Modern North America
Leisl Carr Childers and Michael Childers, Series Editors
An Open Pit Visible from
the Moon
The Wilderness Act and the Fight
to Protect Miners Ridge and the
Public Interest
AdAm m. SowArdS
An Open Pit Visible from
the Moon
The Wilderness Act and the Fight
to Protect Miners Ridge and the
Public Interest
AdAm m. SowArdS
UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA PRESS : NORMAN
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Sowards, Adam M., author.
Title: An open pit visible from the moon : the Wilderness Act and the fight to protect Miners
Ridge and the public interest / Adam M. Sowards.
Description: Norman : University of Oklahoma Press, 2020. | Series: Environment in modern
North America | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: “Combines
rigorous analysis and deft storytelling of the struggle to define the contours of the Wil-
derness Act when the Kennecott Copper Corporation announced its plan to develop an
open-pit mine in the Glacier Peak Wilderness Area”—Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019049766 | ISBN 978-0-8061-6501-1 (hardcover)
Subjects: LCSH: Environmentalism—Political aspects—United States. | Copper mines
and mining—Environmental aspects—Washington (State)—Glacier Peak Wilderness |
Strip-mining—Environmental aspects—Washington (State)—Glacier Peak Wilderness
| United States. Wilderness Act. | Kennecott Copper Corporation. | Public interest—
United States. | Glacier Peak Wilderness (Wash.)—Environmental conditions.
Classification: LCC GE197 .S68 2020 | DDC 333.78/216097977—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019049766
An Open Pit Visible from the Moon: The Wilderness Act and the Fight to Protect Miners Ridge and
the Public Interest is Volume 2 in the Environment in Modern North America series.
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee
on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources, Inc. ∞
Copyright © 2020 by Adam M. Sowards. Published by the University of Oklahoma Press,
Norman, Publishing Division of the University. Manufactured in the U.S.A.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, record-
ing, or otherwise—except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the United States Copy-
right Act—without the prior written permission of the University of Oklahoma Press. To
request permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, University of
Oklahoma Press, 2800 Venture Drive, Norman OK 73069, or email [email protected].
For Mom and Dad,
who created a home, in the shadow of the Cascades,
where I could flourish

CONTENTS
List of Maps ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction: The Telescope 3
PART ONE Bedrock
ONE The Foundation 15
TWO The Wilderness 35
PART TWO Challenges
THREE The Dance 57
FOUR The Summit 72
FIVE The Secretary 83
SIX The Doctor 100
SEVEN The Justice 111
EIGHT The Park 120
NINE The Student 137
PART THREE Resolution
TEN The Trouble 149
ELEVEN The Stories 158
Conclusion: The Ends 173
Notes 179
Bibliography 215
Index 227
viii CONTENTS
MAPS
Major features of the North Cascade region 14
North Cascades administrative boundaries after creation of the national park
in 1968 135
ix