The Sagebrush Rebellion and Wise Use movement, both were heavily tangled and involved in the rise of the New Right during the period of 1980s and 1990s. These movements targeted federal environmental regulations and public land policies from the government. The article “ The Specter of Environmentalism”: Wilderness, Environmental Politics, and the Evolution of the New Right” by James Morton Turner states the following about the Wise Use Movement: “ Wise use marked a resurgence of populist resistance to the direction of public lands management in the late 1980s and early 1990s and growing concerns about the changing western economy…”. Hence, this reaffirms the statement made above about the Wise Use Movement opposing the public land management policies. Furthermore, referring to the Sagebrush Rebellion, this was heavily influenced by the local government’s mandates to transfer the ownership of federal lands to local and state governments. The demands of local governments were backed by many people, such as affluent donors, industrial groups, and companies such as Amoco and Texaco. They provided funding to oppose the wilderness system; they saw the wilderness system as a “ work of outsiders” and “an imposition on citizen rights, western self-determination, and the West’s traditional values.”
Battles in the west over public lands, particularly with wilderness designations, were an essential part of both the Sagebrush Rebellion and Wise Use Movement and obviously were a part of the New Right. For example, the Wilderness Act of 1964, which allowed the exploration of minerals and established the National Wilderness Preservation System, was deemed as an act by the supporters of the New Right that purposefully reduced access to minerals or natural resources, thus contributing towards a reduction in economic development. Therefore, the supporters of the New Right, by setting up environmentalism as an economic threat, basically furthered their conservative agenda. In addition, in the article by James Morton Turner, he accentuates how both of these movements also played a part in giving rise to modern conservatism. Lastly, the Republican party’s close alignment during the 1990s with the New Right also played a vital role in their success.
In conclusion, it’s fair to say that the Sagebrush Rebellion and the Wise Use Movement played roles of grave importance that demonstrated how opposition to conservationism led to further ideological divisions in the United States. In particular, they also illustrate the impact of the conjunction of environmental politics with individual rights and their lasting impact on American history.
Will Wright 