THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY, SIERRA CLUB, AND THE BLM: POLITICAL ADVOCACY LITERATURE AND THE NATIONAL LANDSCAPE CONSERVATION SYSTEM

The literature of environmental organizations and other political advocacy groups often contains significant geoscience content. As this literature includes a political motive seeking to influence public opinion, legislation, or administrative policies, it sometimes mirrors and augments literature emanating from government agencies. Even if these connections are not strong or deep, it is helpful that geoscience researchers and librarians have awareness of the potential relevancy political advocacy literature has for their professions.

Literature pertaining to the National Landscape Conservation System (NLCS) illustrates this connection. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) literature regarding the NLCS was compared to similar literature from the Wilderness Society, Sierra Club, and a coalition of environmental organizations supporting the NLCS as well as the published secondary literature from all sources. To some extent, these sources are repetitions of each other. Even so, each has a unique angle, interpretation, and style of presentation. It is suggested that the library and other informational fields pay more attention to factually oriented political advocacy literature.