New Voices,Old Beliefs: Forest Environmentalism Among New and Long-Standing Rural Residents1

Abstract In the on-going sociological debate over rural-urban differences, rural conflict over natural resources is often attributed to environmental attitudes of new residents from urban areas. An alternative hypothesis is that new residents provide not new attitudes, but a new voice for attitudes already held by many local residents. Data from a survey of residents of communities near two national forests show little support for the hypothesis that residential status affects forest management attitudes, dissatisfaction, or action. The findings support the “new-voice” thesis and show that it is often a female voice.