Snyder has been, at least since the publication of "Riprap and Cold Mountain Poems" in 1969, among America's — and the world's — most important poets in the sense that his concerns have never been trivial, and that he's able to address those concerns in poems that are, in every way, satisfying.
Jim Harrison is also a poet — in fact, he believes poetry to be his primary calling — but novels such as "Dalva" and "The Road Home," among many others, have left no doubt that he is one of America's foremost novelists.
Not only are Snyder and Harrison eminent artists, but they are also also outdoorsmen much troubled by the war on nature. They have aired these concerns in statements rich with art, intelligence and insight.