Conserving Oregon's Environment traces the arc of successes in conserving Oregon's environment, beginning in the 1880s and continuing to 2013. It answers the questions: Where did this program or reserve come from? Who led the way, and who opposed it? What difference has it made?

It deals with the breadth of modern environmentalism: protecting nature, habitat, purifying ambient media, eliminating unsafe operations, and promoting energy efficiency. It is organized around themes, such as public lands, state parks, rivers, wilderness, environmental laws and turning points on such issues, modern reserves, new refuges, breakthroughs on national forests; each chapter tells its story chronologically. Two appendices accompany the text: a timeline of accomplishments, and a list of organizations providing leadership. In addition, maps show the location of reserves.

It concludes that Oregon occupies a special place in the history of conservation because of the degree of innovation here and the continuity of progress. For its size, no state has done more to make history in protecting its environment.