In Defense of Public Lands

"In Defense of Public Lands delivers exactly what it promises: a forceful defense of public lands at a crucial moment in American history. After presenting the views of critics of public lands, Davis carefully dismantles their arguments and counters with a compelling set of arguments that draw on history, politics, ecology, and economics to show why our public lands are an irreplaceable national treasure."
—James Morton Turner, Associate Professor, Wellesley College, and author of The Promise of Wilderness: American Environmental Politics since 1964

"In Defense of Public Lands is timely, engaging, and persuasive. Davis presents the privatizers' perspective clearly and accurately and then exposes the illogic and folly of their arguments. The myriad data he assembles, coupled with a feisty writing style, offer a comprehensive defense of public lands. The basic argument itself is not new, but both Davis's presentation and his refutation of the privatizers' claims are fresh, compelling, and convincing."
—Ann O'M. Bowman, Professor and Hazel Davis and Robert Kennedy Endowed Chair, Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University, and co-author of Terra Incognita: Vacant Land and Urban Strategies

"The book provides a brief history of public lands in the United States, and describes the various government agencies charged with their administration and protection. Davis then systematically defangs the arguments of privatizers. He resists rhetorical soapboxing, and does the hard work of laying out arguments of the opposition, examining them in light of a wealth of ecological, historical, and economic data.... Davis’s book offers an important and timely contribution toward both protecting precious natural and cultural heritage as well as a progressive political process itself." —The Progressive

"The author does an admirable job of positing the arguments of privatization proponents before devoting the remainder of the book to building a strong case for keeping land in public hands. The economic argument is particularly compelling.... This is a convincing and fervent plea for the country’s public lands, which the author calls 'a unique treasure and the envy of the world' to be preserved." —Foreword Reviews

"One remarkable thing about Steven Davis’ new book, In Defense of Public Lands , is the photographs. There are 12 of them, including the cover, all taken by the author.... Davis convincingly demolishes the argument that, because government sometimes doesn’t do a great job managing land, that privatization represents a better way to go.... Davis’ book offers strategies for pushing back, including his call to frame public lands as a 'patriotic imperative' and build broad coalitions across diverse interest groups. But his best argument may be those 12 photographs." — Isthmus

"Davis presents the case for public ownership of land. He argues against those who advocate against public ownership of land as economically inefficient, badly managed, environmentally unsound, and undemocratic. He responds to these four criticisms, showing the economic value these lands generate, how well the land is managed compared to private ownership, the environmental benefits public ownership yields, and how entities such as parks, forests, and other public spaces enhance collective values. The book argues against those who want public lands to be transferred from the federal to state governments, seeing in those claims a Trojan Horse for eventual privatization. The book concludes by examining the challenges public ownership faces under the Trump presidency, and it defines an agenda to advocate for public lands. A good book for collections on environmental policy or American politics.... Summing Up: Highly recommended."
—Choice

"In Defense of Public Lands provides a very timely and cogently argued review of the primary arguments and assumptions behind both the 'privitizers' and 'defenders' of public lands.... Davis provides a clear, nuanced set of arguments to retain the public lands, primarily on economic grounds, while also including ecological and political considerations. Public lands need more coherent and powerful support in these troubling times!"
— International Journal of Wildness

"Davis provides a robust defense of the idea of public lands. Unlike other recent contributions to the public lands debate, Davis does not portray himself as a neutral observer, but rather lays out an unapologetic defense of public lands.... Davis moves well beyond rhetoric to marshal an impressive amount of empirical information to make his case."
— Journal of Planning Education and Research

"(Davis) provides a forceful and unapologetic defense of keeping public lands public in this political climate.... (He) makes convincing and clear arguments against privatisation from ecological, economic, political, and ethical standpoints.... (T)he book is an incredibly useful and fruitful read.... (I)t is very accessible and lays out complex arguments and theories clearly."
— Conservation and Society

"(Davis) seeks to expose the privatization movement as little more than 19th-century robber barons dressed in free-market economic liberalism clothing. His summary of libertarian-inspired privatization proponents John Baden, Richard Stroup, Randal O’Toole, Robert Nelson and others (all familiar names at Cato-sponsored conferences) makes for good inside baseball reading.... To his credit, Davis distinguishes between those who advocate deposing federal land agencies... versus those who want to tinker at the edges with changes in governance...or budgets.... Davis doesn’t gainsay that political management of public lands is messy; it is."
— Forest News

"Davis takes on the divestiture part of the threat to public lands in this scholarly, readable, and brilliant treatment of such challenges to our public lands legacy.... (He) makes a convincing case that the campaign to transfer the wealth of the public lands to private interests has been and will be a long game.... Davis makes so many good arguments for defending public lands that a review can only provide a taste of what lies between the covers of this 273-page book." — Rewilding Earth

"In this book, Steven Davis considers these privatization arguments and, one by one, carefully dismantles them in an engaging and thoughtful manner. In so doing he connects to a variety of threads running throughout political science scholarship.... (T)his book makes important connections to a variety of political science literatures. Readers will gain a fuller understanding of the arguments for and against keeping federal public lands in the public domain and, in particular, their ecological, economic, and political dimensions."
— Perspectives on Politics

" Davis carefully details the privatizer’s arguments and convincingly shows how these arguments fail through a detailed empirical analysis of the biological, economic, and political dimensions of America’s public lands.... Davis’s intellectual rigor and well-crafted arguments are persuasive and the humility, honesty, and thoroughness of the analysis easily impress the reader.... In Defense of Public Lands expertly rejects the common arguments for public land privatization and would be an excellent addition to any public land scholar’s reading list."
— Environmental Philosophy