The Land Our Gift and Wild Hope

Concerned with the earth, our habitat and common home, poet and essayist Rae Marie Taylor bears witness to the many-layered pressures from development on land and water in the American Southwest. In her book of essays, The Land: Our Gift and Wild Hope, she offers a look at the threats posed, in particular, on the region’s wildlife and people, their homes and cultures. While telling her own story of loss in the Rocky Mountain/Rio Grande corridor, she also reveals a vigorous hope found among the many Westerners collaborating in sustainable approaches. In celebration of the earth’s gradual renewal, she brings to light the New West’s use of local traditions, innovative ranching and restoration practices, and scientific insights affirming the importance of earth-based values. Eyewitness accounts, interviews, anecdotes, and an occasional poem are included in the text.