Riding into a different sunset: the Sagebrush Rebellion [Land use, grazing, mining conservation]

Livestock industry problems and land-transfer proposals have dominated media discussion of the Sagebrush Rebellion and tempt students and practitioners of resource management to respond to the present conflict as they have in similar previous situations. This would be an error, because although the format and vocabulary of the Sagebrush Rebellion are familiar, the stakes include the full spectrum of western resources. Moreover, the debate is occurring at a time when the traditional foundations of conservation and management -- the Progressive Era heritage of reliance on technically directed, rational, centralized planning and administration -- are seriously eroded.