This book goes beyond the dichotomies of “pro” and “anti” environmentalism to tell the stories of the women who seek to maintain resource use in rural places. The author links the experiences of women who seek to protect forestry as an industry, a livelihood, a community, and a culture to policy making by considering the effects of environmental policy changes on the social dynamics of workplaces, households, and communities in forestry towns of British Columbia’s temperate rainforest. Taking Stands provides a crucial understanding of community change in resource-dependent regions and helps us to better tackle the complexities of gender and activism as they relate to rural sustainability.

Maureen G. Reed's profile page

• Winner, K.D. Srivastava Award, UBC Press

Maureen G. Reed is a professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Saskatchewan.

An excellent handling of a complex and highly controversial topic ... It will make its mark on the world stage, inform feminist and environmental activism and theory, and help Canadians make sense of our poorly understood and badly maligned forestry sector.

Alternatives, 29:4, Fall 2003

Maureen Reed has created a significant and sophisticated study that will establish a benchmark not only in how we understand and engage with community change and debate in resource-dependent regions, but also in how we conceptualize gender, women, and activism in those debates.

Greg Halseth, Canada Research Chair in Rural and Small Town Studies, Geography, University of Northern British Columbia