Shepherding Nature: The Challenge of Conservation Reliance

Globally, more and more species are at risk of extinction as the environment and climate change. Many of these species require long-term management to persist - they are conservation-reliant. The magnitude of this challenge requires a rethinking of how conservation priorities are determined and a broader societal commitment to conservation. Choices need to be made about which species will be conserved, for how long, and by whom. This volume uses case studies and essays by conservation practitioners from throughout the world to explore what conservation reliance is and what it means for endangered-species management. Chapters consider threats to species and how they are addressed, legal frameworks for protecting endangered species, societal contexts and conflicts over conservation goals, and how including conservation reliance can strengthen methods for prioritizing species for conservation. The book concludes by discussing how shepherding nature requires an evaluation of societal values and ethics.

J. Michael Scott was a Research Biologist with the US Fish and Wildlife Service for thirty-seven years, leading research programs on forest birds of the Hawaiian Islands and the California Condor. He served as Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit Leader and Professor of Wildlife at the University of Idaho, where he is an Emeritus Distinguished Professor. His research has emphasized conservation, endangered-species policy, and landscape ecology.

John A. Wiens is an Emeritus University Distinguished Professor at Colorado State University and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Western Australia. After thirty-six years in academia, he served for six years as Lead/Chief Scientist with the Nature Conservancy and then for four years as Chief Scientist with PRBO Conservation Science in California. His research on landscape ecology, conservation, and the ecology of birds has led to many publications.

Beatrice Van Horne was a professor for seventeen years at Colorado State University, where her research focused on population biology of terrestrial vertebrates. Subsequently she was a National Program Leader in areas related to wildlife, fisheries, climate change, and forest fire for the US Forest Service and the US Geological Survey. Most recently she led the Northwest Climate Hub for the Department of Agriculture.

Dale D. Goble is an Emeritus University Distinguished Professor and the Margaret Wilson Schimke Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Idaho. His research interests are in natural resource law (including public land law and wildlife law), natural resource history, and torts. He has coauthored several books on the Endangered Species Act and a comprehensive primer on wildlife law.