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Migrants, markets, and the transformation of natural resources management: galax harvesting in Western North Carolina

Informally Refereed

Abstract

Latinos are present in increasing numbers in U.S. forests as consumers and producers. This change is transforming the physical and social spaces of natural resources management. For example, extended families from Mexico and Central America seek picnic areas where many people can spend a day preparing food and socializing, a need not met by the typical arrangement of individual picnic tables disbursed throughout a recreation site (Carr and Williams, 1993; Carr and Chavez, 1993). Where English was once the lingua franca among people who work in the woods, Spanish has become the dominant language among reforestation crews and Christmas tree workers (Hamilton, 2004; Hansis, 2002; Brown, 1995). Such changes in the composition of people who work and play in forests have generated concerns about ecological sustainability, conflict between forest users, and the equitable provision of services by natural resource management agencies (Hansis, 1998; Richards and Creasy, 1996; Salazar, 1996; Schelhas, 2002).

Citation

Emery, Marla R.; Ginger, Clare; Chamberlain, Jim. 2007. Migrants, markets, and the transformation of natural resources management: galax harvesting in Western North Carolina. In: Latinos in the New South: Transformations of place, Ch 4. 69-87
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/29079