The Return of the Wolf: Reflections on the Future of Wolves in the Northeast (Middlebury Bicentennial Series in Environmental Studies) - Hardcover

Theberge, John B.; Deboer, Kristin; Bass, Rick; McKibben, Bill

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0874519675 ISBN 13: 9780874519679

Publisher: Middlebury College Pr, 2000

Synopsis

Long after their eradication from almost all parts of the US, wolves still evoke a primal response, firing the imagination with admiration, awe, and dread. Efforts to restore them to Yellowstone, North Carolina, and elsewhere have provoked heated public debate and met with only mixed success. Scientists and policymakers are debating the merits of returning the wolf to the northeastern US, where the forests of northern New England and upstate New York may provide the range and resources necessary to support them. This book brings together four thoughtful and literate observers of the natural world to reflect on the implications and potential of such an effort.

Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature, encourages a skeptical look at our own motivations in this restorative effort, even as he argues that the psychological and spiritual benefits to humans would be at least as great as the ecological benefits of restoration. John Theberge, a scientist with years of experience in tracking the Canadian wolf population, notes that issues of restoration and "return" are far more complex from a biological and ecological point of view than much of the debate would suggest. Kristin DeBoer, director of the wolf restoration project of the environmental group RESTORE: The North Woods, reviews the state of the political debates, while also offering a personal account of her own motivations and goals in this work. Finally, novelist and nature writer Rick Bass brings the experiences of his home state of Montana to bear on the debate in the northeast.

About this title

About the Author

JOHN ELDER is Professor of English and Environmental Studies at Middlebury College and author of Reading the Mountains of Home (1998) and Imagining the Earth (1985).

From the Inside Flap

"Scientists, politicians, wilderness advocates, and public agencies have all begun looking at the northeastern United States as a region where packs of wolves might once more be able to live. It is remarkable to find this conversation taking place in this long-settled and densely-populated part of the country, and one where the last wild wolf was killed well over a century ago. Public controversy has followed hard on the heels of such speculation, with bills to prohibit the reintroduction of wolves already debated in the state legislatures of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. In the scientific realm, too, questions have arisen about whether restoration projects are called for . . . The debate will continue to be played out in the coming years. These four essays contribute their own distinctive and thoughtful reflections to this process. They remind us that the future of our entire region is connected, in vital and surprising ways, to the drama of these gray shadows just at the edges of our field of vision." -- from the Introduction by John Elder

Edition details

• Publisher: Middlebury College Pr
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0874519675
• ISBN 13: 9780874519679
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 182
• Editor: McKibben Bill, Elder John