For the Good of the Order

Name/Title

For the Good of the Order

Entry/Object ID

2020-009-0001

Description

"For the good of the order is a story of the social, political, and economic forces at play in the struggle over land use in western Washington State, as told from the perspective of the owners of a dairy farm on the Nisqually River delta in southern Puget Sound. Three generations of the Braget family farmed in the Nisqually property with a love and affinity for the land that reflected the agricultural background of their Norwegian ancestors and their blood, sweat, and tears they spilled there for almost 100 years. Central to the book are the issues of land stewardship and the relationship of private ownership to the public trust. Perched on the edge of the Nisqually River estuary, the Braget dairy farm was the target of myriad proposals to develop or manage the delta by private entrepreneurs, ports, local, state, and federal governments (including the U.S. army) and, starting in the 1960's, the environmental and conservationist movements. Year after year, and at great personal cost, the family defended their own understanding of the highest and best use of the land, resisting all efforts by predatory agencies, anonymous institutions, and even their neighbors and natural catastrophes to deprive them of it. Finally, orphaned, elderly, and childless, Kenny Braget struggled to pass on the farm in a way that would protect his family's legacy. In 2002, he found a willing buyer that shared his values and love of the land, the Nisqually Indian Tribe. He knew that to improve the return of fish to the estuary the tribe would remove the dikes that his family had maintained on the tidal flats for a century, but he also knew he would be able to continue to live on the farm and hunt ducks there for the rest of his life. And he would say, "If we can't grow cows on the land, let's grow salmon!" -- From back cover.

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Type

Signature

Location

Title page

Dimensions

Height

10 in

Width

8 in

Depth

7/8 in

Book Details

Author

Timothy W. Ranson

Printer

Gorham Printing

Place Printed

City

Centralia

County

Lewis

State/Province

Washington

Country

United States

Continent

North America

Date Printed

2020

Publication Language

English

Publication Subjects

Farms -- Washington (State) -- Nisqually River Delta -- History. Land use -- Washington (State) -- Nisqually River Delta -- History. Nisqually River Delta (Wash.) -- History.

ISBN

978-1-7357885-0-0

LCCN

2020918074

Web Links and URLs

WorldCat entry

Copyright

Type of License

None

Copyright Holder

Timothy W. Ranson

Copyright Date

2020

Copyright Details

All rights reserved.