‘Enchantment and Exploitation: The Life and Hard Times of a New Mexico Mountain Range’

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  • ‘Enchantment and Exploitation: The Life and Hard Times of a New Mexico Mountain Range’
    ‘Enchantment and Exploitation: The Life and Hard Times of a New Mexico Mountain Range’
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Title: “Enchantment and Exploitation: The Life and Hard Times of a New Mexico Mountain Range”

Author: William deBuys

Published: 1985; revised edition issued 2015

Paperback: 362 pages; nine-inch-by six-inch with 73 black and white photos

Publisher: University of New Mexico Press, unmpress.com

Author William deBuys provides a detailed analysis of the relationship between the natural ecosystem and human activity in northern New Mexico. His historical perspective reflects centuries of interactions between people and the physical environment.

The first 10 chapters cover ancient human practices based on a reverence for mountains, the decimation of pueblo cultures, arrival of Spanish colonists in the 18th century, European immigrant conflicts with Comanche and Apache tribes, a century of cultural changes epitomized by the influx of hunters and trappers who lounged in the plazas of Santa Fe and Taos, the effects that the 1846 war between the U.S. and Mexico had on those who lived in the New Mexico Territory, Hispanic resistance to the onslaught of Anglo values, centuries of Catholic religious rites, and the advent of mineral mining.

The remaining 158 pages describe the trend of U.S. bureaucracy to set aside various portions of New Mexico for specific uses, in particular the northern sections. The process began with the Wheeler Survey inventory of the region, the arrival of speculators which led to Hispanic farmers facing off against wealthy lawyers, politicians, and entrepreneurs over ownership of land grants, the federal government’s designations of national forests including vast expanses earmarked as wilderness, the cattle industry expansion from Texas which led to severe overgrazing of mountains and valleys, and the final chapter – “The Look of the Land.”

The author identifies the total acreage consumed by forest fires in Arizona and New Mexico from 1990-2012; deBuys emphasized how fire changes the ecosystem, especially the ability of evergreen tree to regenerate. He makes a prediction about the long-term effects of wildfires.

“The possibility exists that the mountains of the future will be a whole new world, launched on a novel evolutionary trajectory,” concluded deBuys, an avid conservationist.

The author described the pivotal moment that spurred his interest in environmental science.

“There comes a brief period in the late fall when the southern Rocky Mountains reveal themselves more fully than at other times of the year,” wrote deBuys in his preface to the original edition, which has remained in print for more than three decades.

The solitary hiker had undertaken a November backpacking adventure in the frozen Pecos Wilderness, a region of high, windswept peaks and forests. The young man stumbled across an aviation crash site.

He received a reward for reporting the airplane accident which had taken the lives of four people. The money allowed the youthful outdoor enthusiast to pursue his writing career, which began on his farm at El Valle, New Mexico. The rural lifestyle became an introduction to the ethics of community and place that emphasized respecting the mandates imposed by the natural environment.

“An active conservationist, deBuys has helped protect more than 150,000 acres in New Mexico, Arizona, and North Carolina. He lives and writes on a small farm in northern New Mexico,” according to williamdebuys.com.

He is the author of numerous books including Enchantment and Exploitation: The Life and Hard Times of a New Mexico Mountain Range (1985) and UNM Press released the 30th anniversary revised edition in 2015, River of Traps: A Village Life (1990), Salt Dreams: Land and Water in Low-Down California (1999), The Walk (2007), A Great Aridness: Climate Change and the Future of the American Southwest (2011) and The Last Unicorn: A Search for One of Earth's Rarest Creatures (2015).

Visit unmpress.com for more information.