In the introduction he introduces the concept of politics and nature conservation converges. He argues that there exist landscapes where politics and conservation connect and emphasizes that the focus on landscape and how it developed from the New Deal era. This era was the most transformative to the public in regards to the federal government in the US. The author defines landscape as the nonhuman nature altered by human labor and for the purpose of his work it represents the connection between the natural environment and society and nature and culture. Maher argues that landscape is neither the ecological nature nor soil, water, and trees, nor the socially formed nature of ideas regarding the natural world but instead it is a combinaton of both. Therefore, it complements the historical emphasis on the interrelationship between the nonhuman and the human.
In chapter one (ideas), the main theme regards the Progressive era’s influences initiated by Franklin Roosevelt. It’s interesting that Joseph D. Wilson claimed that through several interactive letters with the presidency, he developed the idea behind the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and not Roosevelt. On his part, Roosevelt never denied this argument and neither did be accept it although he often made reference to similar projects he has initiated as the Governor of New York. To understand the genesis of the CCC on must start with the congressional action that led to the creation of the New Deal program. Although the bill was finally passed on 31st March 1933 the preceding events that led to its creation began on 9th March. Later this concept became highly integrated with his early New Deal thinking. In fact, it can be seen that during the progressive era, the conservation movement had supported the efficient use of natural resources although it never concerned itself with how such increased efficiency would affect the lives of workers.
Accordingly, in chapter two (landscape), the concept of landscape is analyzed deeply where it is observed that landscapes across space and change over time. Accordingly, this tendency is the platform through which one can understand how the pairs of Progressive ideologies converged to form the Corps and how they continued to have an influence during the New Deal era. For instance, at Corps new projects were created while others were abolished. This is indicative of the fact that conservation by Corps was fluid during the New Deal era. The same can be traced in the push, stretches, and pulls the conservation politics in the 1930’s and early 1940’s. More so, the landscape is significant to the understanding of how the CCC’s geography in relation to its influence on New Deal politics by raising support to rural regions of the country. In fact, it is observed that before CCC began its work, the administration of Roosevelt had crafted policies that established the geographic distribution of Corp camps and conservation projects.
This argument by Maher is true even today where issues concerning the protection of the environment cannot be separated from the state while the state cannot operate in a vacuum or be ignorant of nature (environment). In fact, today, governments conduct an environmental impact assessment before investing in key infrastructure projects and this supports the argument raised in this chapter. To this effect, it is evident that Maher fully understands the concept of nature and politics. Through the CCC’s operations and its connection with Roosevelt’s government, he is able to demonstrate that these two landscapes cannot operate independently. Specifically, he uses photos to illustrate his points a concept that helps the reader to understand critical points. The use of photos demonstrates that he critically researched his work and therefore he can relate these events to his literature.
