Turner’s perspective on the Sagebrush Rebellion and the Wise Use movement provides a unique perspective on the environmental turmoil surrounding Reagan’s time in office. The Sagebrush Rebellion was a movement hoping to change the policies of federal land use and control for the betterment of the environment, with many supporters just wanting more local control of the lands for better management. Because of this rebellion and the RARE evaluations that followed, many areas were dedicated around the country to wilderness preservation, trail systems, conservation funds, and an overall expansion of what the National Park Service already covered for the country.
The Wise Use movement stood in opposition to the goals of the Sagebrush Rebellion. For one, they mention “stewardship” of the land, sea, and sky, compared to the emphasis of the Sagebrush Rebellion being local control and national protection. The Wise Use movement may not have had the best motives for the environment, considering the amount of support they were getting from bigger corporations interested in resource extraction, and the movement as a whole had a much larger focus on individual rights than the rights of the local area to control and maintain the land.
Battles over land use shaped the New Right, particularly through the Wise Use movement. As outlined above, the movements were opposed to each other, creating many issues surrounding the way the two parties looked at the rights of the land and its place in the greater scheme of the country. I feel these beliefs have carried over to the modern day to whatever ends they may be attempting to meet through them, whether that be continuing to protect the nation’s wilderness and the wildlife in it, or the dismantling of the National Park Service in favor of continued industrial expansion.
Will Wright 