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.