EWP Other Publications (formerly: Miscellaneous EWP Publications)

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Browsing EWP Other Publications (formerly: Miscellaneous EWP Publications) by Author "Abrams, Jesse"

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    Reflexive gentrification of working lands in the American West : contesting the 'Middle Landscape'
    (Rural Development Institute, Brandon University, 2013) Abrams, Jesse; Bliss, John Caswell; Gosnell, Hannah
    The scenic rural landscape of Wallowa County, Oregon has attracted attention from affluent urban populations who value the physical setting and sense of rural authenticity of this remote setting. Since at least the 1990s, Wallowa County has experienced a wave of real estate investment by amenity-oriented populations, some of whom relocated permanently to the county and some of whom visit their properties only seasonally. Here, we apply the insights of rural gentrification scholarship to questions of land use and management. Specifically, we draw upon recent work on actor-oriented gentrification to highlight the ways in which land use is implicated in the reflexive processes of place (re)creation by gentrifier populations. In this case, many landowner-gentrifiers were acutely aware of their potential role in transforming the local landscape in ways which diminish local authenticity. An emergent discourse of “working lands” served as potential common ground for the imaginaries of both gentrifier and long-term resident populations. At the same time, landowner-gentrifiers instituted subtle but significant changes to land use practices in an attempt to reconcile their interests in consumption and protection with their interests in maintaining more traditional productivist practices. We interpret the working lands discourse as a manifestation of Leo Marx’s concept of the “middle landscape,” situated between the extremes of unpeopled wilderness and runaway capitalist production.
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    Rural geography -- rural development : an examination of agriculture, policy and planning, and community in rural areas
    (Rural Development Institute, Brandon University, 2013) Ramsey, Doug, 1965-; Abrams, Jesse; Clark, Jill K.; Evans, Nick (Professor of agricultural geography)
    Every four years since 1991, a small group of rural geographers from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, with guests from Ireland and Australia, have met to present their latest ideas and research results. These meetings have also contributed to the development of a community of scholars interested in wide-ranging rural issues. . . . The intention of the 2011 meeting was to continue with the theme of sustainable rural change but with a focus on development, including identifying policies and programs used by agricultural sectors, and communities to respond to restructuring. Thus, while there was overlap, we have placed papers into one of three categories: ‘agriculture’, ‘policy and planning’, and ‘community’. The following overview provides a description of the work included in each theme.
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    The State of the Dry Forest Zone and its Communities
    (Ecosystem Workforce Program, Institute for a Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon, 2010-04) Davis, Emily Jane; Moseley, Cassandra; Nielsen-Pincus, Max; Abrams, Jesse; Brady, Cullen; Christoffersen, Nils; Davis, Chad; Enzer, Maia J.; Gordon, Josef; Goulette, Nick; Jungwirth, Lynn; Jungwirth, Jim; Kauffman, Marcus; McCarthy, Tyler; Shannon, Patrick; Sundstrom, Shiloh
    The Dry Forest Zone is a region of eastern Oregon and northern California with challenging market conditions and high levels of poverty and unemployment. However, local entrepreneurship, collaboration, and commitment to integrated economic development and natural resource management in the zone are strong. In the past decade, the scope of community-based nonprofits, integrated biomass utilization businesses, and new networks has increased, fostering sustainable forest stewardship at an increasingly regional scale. The geography and climate of the zone support dry forests of pine and mixed conifer with fire regimes that are departed from their historical range of variability. These forests are prone to wildfire hazards and in need of active management to restore more diverse and variable-aged structures. As 68 percent of the land in the zone is public, the communities of this region rely on the economic and ecological productivity of these federal forests. The number of sawmills that once provided high levels of primary processing capacity and employment has shrunk to nine mills in the zone. More forest-related employment is now forestry support work, including activities such as firefighting, pest control, and thinning. Poverty and unemployment have increased, with estimated poverty levels in 2007 of over 15 percent in ten of the fifteen counties. Through the Dry Forest Zone project, we have an opportunity to build on the local strengths of this region and overcome these ecological and socioeconomic challenges.