Wolves and Human Communities: Biology, Politics, and Ethics

by Virginia A. Sharpe (Editor), Bryan G. Norton (Editor), Strachan Donnelley (Editor)

Like wolf restoration activities in the West, the proposal to reintroduce wolves into the Adirondacks has generated intense public debate. The idea of returning top predators to settled landscapes raises complicated questions on issues ranging from property rights to wildlife management to obligations to present and future generations.Wolves and Human Communities brings together leading thinkers and writers from diverse fields -- including Timothy Clark, Daniel Kemmis, L. David Mech, Mary Midgley, Ernest Partridge, Steward T.A. Pickett, Joseph Sax, Rodger Schlickeisen, and others -- to address the complex ethical, biological, legal, and political concerns surrounding wolf reintroduction. Contributors specifically explore the social, cultural, and ecological values that come into play in the debate, as they examine: the views of stakeholders in the Adirondack decision historical trends in public perception of restoration the legal and policy context for species preservation, and the challenges to the current system of property law biological and political lessons learned from Yellowstone, Isle Royale, and the Great Lakes states the meaning of wildness, both in ourselves and the wolf The final chapter by Niles Eldredge takes the point of view of evolutionary time and ecological scale, challenging us to develop a new consciousness regarding our position in the natural world.Wolves and Human Communities offers a thought-provoking examination of interactions between human and wild communities, and represents an important contribution to debates over species reintroduction for policymakers, researchers, ecologists, sociologists, lawyers, ethicists, philosophers, and local residents.

Genres: Reference, Wolves, Nonfiction

280 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2000

Reviews

[Jill Shultz · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent collection of essays highlighting different views about whether wolves should be reintroduced to the Adirondacks (New York State, USA). Offers insights into the many issues that affect conservation and recovery projects, including some that many people might overlook, such as "what might be the genetic consequences of this reintroduction?" (That's unclear in this case, because the Eastern coyote may be in the process of becoming our region's "wolf." Between Algonquin Park in Canada and New England, there seems to be a gradient of wolfiness.)A good overview that, like the issue of reintroduction itself, is likely to spark heated conversations.

[Sherri Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of statements are repeated over and over again. But I did get some new facts to add to a wolf proposal which is good.