This preremembrance is the first of an Oregon conservationist who never held elected office (though Brock tried once) or was the environmental soul of one who did. I’d had it in the back of my mind to preremember Brock, but other Public Lands Blog topics kept taking priority. Now the publication of Brock’s autobiography makes this preremembrance rise to the top.

A nuclear power plant never befouled Cape Kiwanda, and off-road vehicles do not befoul many miles of Oregon beaches today, because of Norma Paulus. In addition, Oregon’s land use planning system, bottle bill, beach protection, billboard limits, bicycle friendliness, and other environmental achievements were mightily helped by Paulus while serving in the Oregon House of Representatives. Oregon’s air and water quality are the better for her work.

Many politicians call for a return to the era of bipartisanship as a solution to any woe. This call has resonance because the bipartisan era occurred in the living memory of baby boomers. But in the long arc of history this era did not last long, and the evidence of today does not give much hope of a return to it.