Large Carnivore Conservation ─ Integrating Science and Policy in the North American West

Large Carnivore Conservation argues that conserving and living sustainably with large carnivores is as much a problem of people and governance?of competing values, perspectives, and organizations, and of decision-making in the public sphere?as it is a problem of animal ecology and behavior. Adopting an integrative approach, it considers the development of conservation science and legislation alongside the implementation of decisions in the field and deliberations in courts as well as other public institutions, and it evaluates the efforts of individuals as well as groups of conservationists who are trying to reduce conflict and improve decision-making on both the state and local level. Drawing on six case studies of wolf, grizzly bear, and mountain lion conservation in a range stretching from the Yukon to Arizona, the book looks at a wide variety of stakeholders, from animal rights advocates, conservation NGOs, and federal parks agencies, to hunters, Native American tribes, and ranchers.

Susan G. Clark is the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Adjunct Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Policy Sciences in the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies at Yale University and the author, most recently, of Ensuring Greater Yellowstone’s Future: Choices for Leaders and Citizens. She lives in Guilford, CT, and Jackson, WY. Murray B. Rutherford is associate professor in the School of Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada. He lives in Vancouver and North Saanich, BC.