Conservationist and Author Joins Scholars for Tomorrow

Private donors help attract outstanding graduate students

  "Beyond the environmental effects of financial spreadsheets, the way we view roads on public lands is inextricably linked to our values as a nation and our values as citizens," David Havlick says in the first chapter of his book, No Place Distant: Roads and Motorized Recreation On America's Public Land.

The Environmental Concerns, Inc. Fellow in the Scholars For Tomorrow, Havlick had already begun establishing himself as an authority on the environment and the use of public lands before he entered UNC's doctoral program in geography last fall.

Published last year, his book offers a comprehensive study of the more than half a million miles of roads that traverse national parks, forests, wildlife refuges and Bureau of Land Management lands across the country, as well as their impact on ecology, economics and public policy.

In his analysis, Havlick weighs the effects of the existence and the use of public-land roads, paying particular attention to the impact of motorized recreation, especially off-road vehicles and snowmobiles. His contention is not that all roads are bad, but rather that while "many roads provide a service with relatively little harm... many roads — especially certain types of roads — are causing problems for no particular good."

Havlick makes a case for an appropriate policy for use and maintenance of public land roads and for motorized recreation.

He writes, "Working with sound information and policies, we can maintain a network of roads on our public lands that is relatively benign environmentally, that is functional and in good condition, that has acceptable costs, and that provides a variety of opportunities to access the places that remain so integral to our national heritage."

Former U.S. Forest Service Chief and acting director of the Bureau of Land Management Mike Dombeck notes in the foreword, "Havlick has been deeply involved in virtually all aspects of the public lands off-road vehicles and roads issues for years. The depth of his knowledge on the subject and his love of the land are clearly demonstrated by his coverage of the issues at hand."

One of 38 Scholars for Tomorrow, Havlick is interested in human and cultural geographies and how environmental issues play out in political contexts. His fellowship supports his first year of study, while the program promotes interdisciplinary collaboration among all the fellows who are placed in thematically related groups.

Now in its second year, the Scholars for Tomorrow program got a special boost this year with the addition of 18 fellowships, which were supported by the private donors listed below.

- Alexandra Obregon

© 2003, The Graduate School, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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