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Dyed in the Green #2
Wood Buffalo
Gold Medal - 2018 Independent Publisher Book Awards - Best Regional Fiction - Canada West
When National Park Warden Ben Matthews transfers from Cape Breton Highlands to Wood Buffalo, he finds himself in the middle of a controversial proposal to slaughter the park’s entire bison population. Frustrated by Park’s bureaucracy and the devious efforts of the pro-slaughter camp, Ben helps uncover the truth about the park’s bison and the mysterious disappearance of a trapper who could influence the final outcome.
Set in Canada’s largest national park and the second largest national park in the world, Wood Buffalo is a compelling story of one fight against the many forces threatening our special places.
When National Park Warden Ben Matthews transfers from Cape Breton Highlands to Wood Buffalo, he finds himself in the middle of a controversial proposal to slaughter the park’s entire bison population. Frustrated by Park’s bureaucracy and the devious efforts of the pro-slaughter camp, Ben helps uncover the truth about the park’s bison and the mysterious disappearance of a trapper who could influence the final outcome.
Set in Canada’s largest national park and the second largest national park in the world, Wood Buffalo is a compelling story of one fight against the many forces threatening our special places.
- GenresCanada
328 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 17, 2016
4 people are currently reading
193 people want to read
About the author
George Mercer
5 books34 followersAward-winning author of Dyed In The Green, the first fiction series about Canada’s iconic national parks, George Mercer worked for more than three decades as a national park warden in Canada, including both east and west coasts, the North and the Rocky Mountains. Fat Cats, Book 4 in the series was a Gold Medal winner in the 2019 Independent Publisher Book Awards while the series won a Silver Medal for overall fiction series. Wood Buffalo, the second book in the series, and Jasper Wild, book 3 in the series, were Gold Medal winners at the 2018 Independent Publisher Book Awards. Harking is George's first book outside of the Dyed In The Green series and his first work of Young Adult fiction. It was long-listed for the 2020 Shelf Unbound Indie Book Awards and won a Gold Medal in the 2022 Independent Publisher Book Awards.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
March 19, 2017
A sequel to Dyed In The Green, and the second in an upcoming series, Wood Buffalo continues the story of park wardens Ben Matthews and Kate Jones. Following the events of Dyed In The Green, Ben is posted to the largest national park in Canada: Wood Buffalo National Park. Straddling the border between Alberta and the Northwest Territories, this UNESCO World Heritage Site, was established nearly a century ago to preserve the last herds of boreal bison. Although most famous for the wood bison, through the course of the novel readers will become familiar with the other remarkable features of the park including the enormous Peace-Athabasca inland delta, salt plains, and the fire-scarred forest uplands. Just as important, they will come to know the first nations that inhabit this region and their unique history with the park. Based on all too real events that happened in the late 1980's where factions within the federal government had proposed a cull of the entire bison population of the park, Wood Buffalo is a dramatization of the struggle against this plan and the eventual cancelation of this ill-conceived slaughter.
As with the first book, Wood Buffalo has an intense veracity that can come only from real life experience on the frontlines. While the characters are fictional, George Mercer's vivid descriptions of Ben's life in the north and the inhabitants he meets bring the park itself to life as a central character. The description of the challenges and difficulties of fighting forest fires in northern Alberta make real the same challenges and hard work by those combatting the tragic fires last summer in nearby Fort McMurray.
Also, spot on are the descriptions of the inner machinations of the federal public service, both good and bad. The review panel depicted in the novel accurately captures the all too real in-fighting and self serving agendas that happen, but also the dedication and commitment of those rare special individuals in the departments.
Although the plot centers on a past tragedy just barely averted, the story of Wood Buffalo National Park is still just as relevant today. Just this month (March 2017), UNESCO issued a warning that the environmental health of the park is threatened by energy development, hydro dams and poor management. The report warns the park will be added to the list of World Heritage Sites in Danger unless it is better cared for. Fortunately, the report states that for now the overall condition of this amazing wilderness park remains good. Mercer's novel foreshadows the news of today by describing the early effects of the drying out the delta and the accumulation of mercury in fish almost 30 years ago.
I myself have never been to Wood Buffalo. The closest experience I have is a year spent hiking and cross-country skiing the trails of Wood Buffalo's tiny sister park, Elk Island. There, I was fortunate enough to encounter many of the park's bison and to be occasionally forced to wait and watch a large herd of these majestic animals cross a trail. Tiny by historical standards, it was still an awe-inspiring experience to see a hundred bison on the move, one which I was vividly reminded of by reading this book. Reading this novel will put Wood Buffalo on the bucket list of many a Canadian outdoorsmen and women.
I’m looking forward to the release of the next book in the series this summer!
As with the first book, Wood Buffalo has an intense veracity that can come only from real life experience on the frontlines. While the characters are fictional, George Mercer's vivid descriptions of Ben's life in the north and the inhabitants he meets bring the park itself to life as a central character. The description of the challenges and difficulties of fighting forest fires in northern Alberta make real the same challenges and hard work by those combatting the tragic fires last summer in nearby Fort McMurray.
Also, spot on are the descriptions of the inner machinations of the federal public service, both good and bad. The review panel depicted in the novel accurately captures the all too real in-fighting and self serving agendas that happen, but also the dedication and commitment of those rare special individuals in the departments.
Although the plot centers on a past tragedy just barely averted, the story of Wood Buffalo National Park is still just as relevant today. Just this month (March 2017), UNESCO issued a warning that the environmental health of the park is threatened by energy development, hydro dams and poor management. The report warns the park will be added to the list of World Heritage Sites in Danger unless it is better cared for. Fortunately, the report states that for now the overall condition of this amazing wilderness park remains good. Mercer's novel foreshadows the news of today by describing the early effects of the drying out the delta and the accumulation of mercury in fish almost 30 years ago.
I myself have never been to Wood Buffalo. The closest experience I have is a year spent hiking and cross-country skiing the trails of Wood Buffalo's tiny sister park, Elk Island. There, I was fortunate enough to encounter many of the park's bison and to be occasionally forced to wait and watch a large herd of these majestic animals cross a trail. Tiny by historical standards, it was still an awe-inspiring experience to see a hundred bison on the move, one which I was vividly reminded of by reading this book. Reading this novel will put Wood Buffalo on the bucket list of many a Canadian outdoorsmen and women.
I’m looking forward to the release of the next book in the series this summer!
June 6, 2019
Great follow-up to DYED IN THE GREEN, mixing real life with fiction. Another great story about conservation and resource management in Canada!
July 12, 2019
Really enjoyed being able to take a mental journey to such a special place. The author represented the issues evenly.
April 23, 2019
The characters could use a lot more depth but the story was really interesting and new to me. Who knew that about Bison/buffalo? No surprise about government action/inaction though.
February 9, 2017
Another good read by Mercer
November 11, 2017
Another solid story from George Mercer. Enjoyed the way he creates great stories amidst captivating landscapes, all while exploring controversial issues. Jasper Wild is up next in the TBR pile.
February 25, 2021
Books read since last report
Wood Buffalo [#2 in Dyed in the Green series] by George Mercer (2016) This is the second of the series that I have read. The first attracted me because of its connection with Cape Breton Island, one of our favorite haunts. This one took me to unknown territory in the northern reaches of Alberta. The author comes to the series authentically with his own park ranger background. I'm always intrigued to learn more about Canada, and this is an interesting way to go about it. Wood Buffalo is based on a true event, which pitted the First Nation People and the Parks people against the government and those with oil and gas interests. It is an ongoing struggle in many parts of our two countries and it's good to see the issue kept in the forefront. Wood Buffalo is the name of the second largest national park in the world, and home to a program of bison regeneration. The story is compelling, but the author is not the best of writers, especially when it comes to the awkward introduction of female characters. (And the one unnecessary scene of passion seems very forced...)
Wood Buffalo [#2 in Dyed in the Green series] by George Mercer (2016) This is the second of the series that I have read. The first attracted me because of its connection with Cape Breton Island, one of our favorite haunts. This one took me to unknown territory in the northern reaches of Alberta. The author comes to the series authentically with his own park ranger background. I'm always intrigued to learn more about Canada, and this is an interesting way to go about it. Wood Buffalo is based on a true event, which pitted the First Nation People and the Parks people against the government and those with oil and gas interests. It is an ongoing struggle in many parts of our two countries and it's good to see the issue kept in the forefront. Wood Buffalo is the name of the second largest national park in the world, and home to a program of bison regeneration. The story is compelling, but the author is not the best of writers, especially when it comes to the awkward introduction of female characters. (And the one unnecessary scene of passion seems very forced...)
June 15, 2025
3.5 stars rounded up.
I'm not sure what's holding me back from LOVING these books. I feel like I should and this one was pretty informative around the history of the Wood Buffalo National Park in my province. Now I want to visit.
however, I found a lot of the story to be less than compelling. Knowing there was going to be a payoff at the end similar to Dyed in the Green, I pushed through. Was the juice worth the squeeze? I'm not sure yet, but I am holding off (for now) on picking up the book set in Jasper - no matter how much I'd like to read about something that close to home.
I'm not sure what's holding me back from LOVING these books. I feel like I should and this one was pretty informative around the history of the Wood Buffalo National Park in my province. Now I want to visit.
however, I found a lot of the story to be less than compelling. Knowing there was going to be a payoff at the end similar to Dyed in the Green, I pushed through. Was the juice worth the squeeze? I'm not sure yet, but I am holding off (for now) on picking up the book set in Jasper - no matter how much I'd like to read about something that close to home.
May 6, 2023
3.5 stars. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the first book of the series as I felt like a lot of the things presented in the first half of the book are just restated in the second half and not much new or exciting things happen. I of course really loved how close to home this was set and how much teaching it does with nearly all of it being totally factual and true.
January 15, 2023
I found this book easy to read and follow. I enjoyed the storyline and the characters of this book.Wood Buffalo
December 1, 2019
Great book. Kept me wanting more, couldn’t put it down. Can’t wait to start the next one!
March 13, 2020
Could definitely move at a faster pace
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews