This is a book about grassroots environmental organizations - most of them staffed with local volunteers - fighting to save their wild backyards. It's a collection of stories about people who were aghast when they learned some company or some agency was threatening to cut their forests, dam their rivers, mine their mountains, or develop their open meadows. In some cases this initial shock turned to anger, which was then channeled into action; in other cases people's initial doubts about whether they could do anything evolved into a conviction that they had to do something. Best of all, these are stories about people who stood up for what was right, and won. Behind all these stories is an environmental organization called The Outdoor Industry Conservation Alliance (OICA), a group of outdoor businesses whose collective contributions support grassroots citizen-action groups and their efforts to protect wild and natural areas. Alliance funds have played a pivotal role in the protection of rivers, trails, wildlands, and climbing areas. (5 1/2 x 8 1/2, 290 pages, b&w photos, maps) For publicity information on this book, such as author signings and other special events, contact Jane Reilly (203-458-4500 or jreilly@globe-pequot.com).