NUESTRA FRONTERA: COMMUNITY AND RESILIENCE IN EL PASO (APRIL 2015)
RENATA AGUILERA-TITUS, ANNA CLAIRE EDDINGTON, EMMY GRACE, JESSIE KRAFFT, AND SARA SERVIN
Acknowledgements: La Mujer Obrera, Centro de Los Trabajadores Agricolas Fronterizos
A Political Ecology of Eastern Red Cedar in Oklahoma (APRIL 2015)
MICHAEL BARD
The focus of this work was to assess USDA conservation practices and their linkages with the social dimensions of resilience in rural life. During the Dust Bowl, the Natural Resources and Conservation Service promoted Eastern Red Cedar, a highly invasive tree, as a best management practice for preventing soil erosion by serving as wind break. Today, however, the removal, extermination and potential marketization of Eastern Red Cedar have become top conservation priorities for land managers and farmers alike in Oklahoma. The tree, which consumes substantial groundwater, is exacerbating the impact of droughts, as well as devastating wildfires. Understanding mixed and forgotten histories as well as analyzing current misreadings and re-articulations of problems remains important for assessing current public policy practices and options.
Click here for the full report (.pdf)
Acknowledgements: I would like to thank The Oklahoma Black Historical Research Project, Willard Tillman, and David Stephens.