Fracking is one of the most controversial methods of fossil fuel extraction in the United States but a great deal about it remains out of the public eye In Wisconsin it has ignited an unprecedented explosion in the states sand mining operations an essential ingredient in hydraulic fracturing that has shaken local communities to the coreIn When the Hills Are Gone Thomas W Pearson reveals the jolting impact of sand mining on Wisconsins environment and politics A source of extraordinary wealth for a lucky few and the cause of despoiled land for many others sand mining has raised alarm over air quality water purity noise blasting depressed tourism and damage to the local way of life It has also spurred a backlash in a grassroots effort that has grown into a mature political movement battling a powerful mining industryWhen the Hills Are Gone tells the story of Wisconsins sand mining wars Providing ontheground accounts from both the mining industry and the concerned citizens who fought