In this episode, I interview Roderick Frazier Nash, author of Wilderness and the American Mind, retired UC Santa Barbara professor and founder of its interdisciplinary Environmental Studies program, who discusses his background as a historian, longtime Grand Canyon commercial river guide, and reflects on his influential book Wilderness in the American Mind, which grew from his University of Wisconsin PhD work during the rising public interest in environmental protections back in the 1960s. He argues wilderness appreciation and preservation largely emerged from urban culture, citing figures like Theodore Roosevelt and Bob Marshall. Nash explains the historical shift around 1890 from wilderness as enemy to asset, and connects wildness to the human psyche. He recounts early work recovering Aldo Leopold’s legacy and promotes environmental ethics around The Rights of Nature, warns about “gardening” wilderness, and outlines his “Island Civilization” vision of shrinking human footprint to leave more of Earth wild.

Wilderness, Indigenous land zones and regionality in North American forests

06:52 Meet Roderick Nash

09:00 Writing Wilderness and the American Mind

10:59 Urban Roots of Wilderness Appreciation

12:41 Bob Marshall Story

16:23 Nash Leaving Manhattan

21:42 Nash’s First Wild Moments

27:02 Frontier Ends 1890

29:43 Defining Wilderness

36:34 Wilderness Act Origins

38:17 Wilderness Shapes America

40:54 Scarcity Makes It Valuable

44:51 Wildness Within Us

47:05 Aldo Leopold Land Ethic

51:45 Future Threats And Restraint

59:34 Rights Of Nature Law

01:02:48 Island Civilization Vision

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