This course examines environmental issues in the Pacific Northwest and the policies that are used or proposed to address them. Case studies – on issues such as wilderness, endangered species, mining, hydroelectric dams, water rights, public lands management, logging, and outdoor recreation – will be used to better understand the political process in the United States, the role of economics in addressing environmental issues, and the particular challenges in human-nature relations within the intermountain west. The course will be taught at Holden Village, an ecumenical retreat center in the Cascade Mountains of Washington state.