Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 3, 1992 TAG: 9202010298
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TRACIE FELLERS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
ENVIRONMENT GETS SOME INK
Don Henley has long been considered one of rock's most insightful songwriters.His music expresses themes like love and deceit with straightforward eloquence, from The Eagles' classic "Lyin' Eyes" to his solo effort, "The Boys of Summer."
At the same time, there's a strong undercurrent of social awareness in Henley's best work - the haunting disillusion over the state of our society in "End of the Henley Innocence"; the biting lyrics that strike back at media sensationalism in "Dirty Laundry."
Now Henley is trying to boost environmental awareness through the Walden Woods Project. He founded the group in 1990 to preserve 2,680 acres of woodland that surround historic landmark Walden Pond in Concord, Mass. The pond and the forest around it were retreats of writer and philosopher Henry David Thoreau. In 1845, Thoreau moved to the woods on the banks of Walden Pond, built a cabin there and wrote an account of his experiences in his definitive work "Walden," which makes a case for preservation of the wilderness.
The 20th century has not left Walden Woods untouched. There are private homes on the land, and within walking distance of Walden Pond are a trailer park, a highway and a dump.
But in the '90s, the very existence of the area has been endangered, primarily by developers' plans to build an office park and a condominium complex. The projects have posed such a threat to Walden Woods that the National Trust for Historic Preservation has listed the site as one of America's 11 most-endangered historic places.
To preserve the woodland, prominent entertainers - as well as conservationists, authors and others - have joined forces with Henley in a host of fund-raising projects for Walden Woods. Efforts include benefit concerts, dinner parties and corporate and private donations.
Now there's "Heaven is Under Our Feet," a collection of essays on nature and the importance of conservation written by people as diverse as Sen. Edward Kennedy, singer Janet Jackson and ecologist Anne LaBastille.
Henley, who co-edited the book with rock writer and anti-censorship activist Dave Marsh, will sign copies of the book from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday at Books Strings & Things on the Roanoke City Market. Proceeds from the book go to the Walden Woods Project.
In a recent phone interview from Los Angeles, Henley talked about why saving Walden Woods from commercial development is so important. "What we have here in a nutshell is private interests or special interests trying to undermine the common good," he said.
The forest is "part of our heritage," he continued. "It shouldn't belong to any corporation or any individual, it should belong to the American public. And that is our purpose, we intend to return it to its rightful owner."
Henley, who grew up in Linden, Texas, has considered himself an environmentalist for more than 20 years. In the preface to "Heaven is Under Our Feet," he wrote about having been taught an appreciation of the land by his father and about being struck by Thoreau's work as a young man.
Henley also wrote about Walden Woods' "intrinsic, symbolic value" and elaborated on the importance of symbols in this country: "In the United States, we revere the flag, the Cross, the Star of David, the Mississippi River, the Grand Canyon. These things tell us who we are as a people; they tell us where we stand in the world, in the universe, and, more importantly, they show us that there is ultimately something larger and more important than ourselves."
During the phone interview, Henley took those thoughts further. "The reason that I want to preserve Walden Woods is simply because it is the birthplace or the cradle of the modern environmental movement," he said.
Today, 60 percent of Walden Woods is preserved either by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the towns of Lincoln and Concord or local land trusts.
"We are concerned with the remaining 40 percent," which is privately owned, Henley said. "There are private homes in the woods - nothing we can do about that. But the primary thrust of our efforts is to stop these two impending commercial development projects."
With the help of the Trust for Public Land, a nationally acclaimed land-preservation organization, The Walden Woods project negotiated a purchase agreement with the condominium complex developer last year. Now the 25 acres on which the 139-unit complex would have been built and an adjoining 25 acres are protected. The Walden Woods Project also found and acquired an alternative site for 42 of the units, which will be set aside for low- and moderate-income occupants as the developer originally intended.
The project wants to buy another parcel of land on which an office building of 147,000 square feet and parking spaces for more than 500 cars are proposed.
"The developers have come down from $7.3 million to $5.2 million, which we still consider to be exorbitant," Henley said. But negotiations continue. "Time and the economy are on our side, as well as public opinion. I continue to raise money, that's all I do all day," he said.
In the meantime, the Walden Woods Project has acquired another 25 acres in the area, "which contains a beautiful old Federal-style mansion, which is going to be turned in to a Thoreau world center," Henley said. If the project can come up with $1 million by March 30 to finalize the deal, "it'll be a museum, house a lot of Thoreau's papers, letters, a lot of the archives. It'll be an educational center."
Henley said he works eight to 10 hours a day on things related to Walden Woods, but he hasn't forgotten his other line of work. When he returns to LA this weekend after five days of signing books from Roanoke to Cleveland, he'll be writing songs. "The Walden Project may be postponing my next [musical] work, but it also enriches my life in ways that will make my work better."