Page 38 RAIN Summer 1986 ACCESS: North Amc:rican Bioregionalism Bioregionalism-the rooting of human communities in their natural communities--has been around as a word and a self-conscious movement on this continent for about a decade. (Of course, the indigenous peoples of this continent rooted their cof!Jm.unities in natural communities for thousands of years, but this was done without either the word or the movement.) The bioregional movement took its first major step toward continent-wide support, networking, and planning With the first North American Bioregional Congress (NABC I) in May 1984, in Kansas City, on the tallgrass prairie north of the Missouri River. The next big step in furthering biore._ gionalism in North America will be NABC II, to be held August 25-29 at Camp Innisfree on the Leelanau Penninsula of Michigan. The event will be divided between a conference-style period (August 25-27) and a working congress for the remainder of the timtf. The conference will include speakers, workshops, slideshows, panels, informal networking, and a bioregional fair with exhibits. The ex.act format of the congress will be determined by consensus of the participants, but will probably include focus group meetings and plenary sessions. Registration ,materials may be obtained from the NABC II Office, Box 3, Brixey, MO 65618. The registration deadline is August 12. With this watershed event on the horizon, we fe# it appropriate to survey the territory of bioregional publications in North America. The following list is by no means exhaustive, but does represent some of the more significant voices bringing a new "reinhabitory" sensibility to their respective regions. The New Catalyst, quarterly, in Canada $12/year, in the U.S. $18/year (Canadian) from: The New Catalyst PO Box 99 Lillooet, BC VOK 1VO Intelligent and graphically pleasing, this recently established quarterly tabloid from British Columbia has quickly become a favorite. Each issue offers a breadth of perspectives on a given theme. Content is primarily, though not exclusively, centered on life in the ·mountainous region of southern British Columbia. -FLS 1. The New Catalyst 2. Siskiyou Country 3. Ri~ge Review 4. The Drift 5. 'Kindred Spirits Journal 6. Kat1'ah (Graphic from NABC .JI brochure; superimpositions by RAIN) Siskiyou Country, bimonthly, $1 O/year from: THE SISKIYOU Regional-Educational PROJECT PO Box 989 Cave Junction, OR 97532 For four years Siskiyou Country has served the mountainous region of southwestern Oregon and northwesiein California. Each issue contains about 10 pages of news·briefs, keeping readers well-informed of local dangers and opportunities in such matters as forestry, fisheries, mining, toxics, and economics.· Feature-length articles, poetry, and thought-provoking editorials round out the content. Siskiyou will soon be switching from a magazine to a· tabloid format. -FLS Ridge R.eview, quarterly, inquire for price from: Box 90 Mendocino, CA 95460 This handsome magazine serves all "ridge dwellers" of the Northern California coastal ridges. Each issue contains several articles and a few poems organized around a theme. We haven't seen a ~cent issue, but what we've seen has been first rate. -FLS The Drift, quarterly, $8/year from: Driftless Bioregional Network Route 2, Box 103 Viroqua, WI 54665 This brief newsletter reports on the activities of the Driftless Biot;-egional Network, serving the unglaciated ("driftless") area of the upper Mississippi River Basin, including southwest Wisconsin, southeast Minnesota, northeast Iowa, and northwest Illinois. -FLS Kindred Spirits Journal, quarterly, $5/year from: PO Box 542 Lewisburg, PA 17837 Serving the Pennsylvania area, this tabloid mixes theme features, practical . how-to, and local news into a balanced bioregional blend. -FLS . Katuah, quarterly, $10/year f~om: Box 873 Cullowhee, NC 28723 Invoking the Cherokee name for its area, this "bioregional journal of the southern Appalachians" contains a wealth of visionary and practical information for local reinhabitation. -FLS
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