Ten years ago, wolves were set free again in Yellowstone. Now, for the first time, the project's leader and an award-winning nature writer recount the intimate details of this historic endeavor.
For millions of people around the world, the image of wolves running free through Yellowstone National Park has become the ultimate symbol of the American wilderness. The release of thirty-one Canadian gray wolves in 1995 and 1996 - arguably the most controversial feat of conservation in our nation's history - sparked a new-found passion for these remarkable animals and the unbound lands that sustain them.
Few were prepared for the outpouring of emotion inspired by the reintroduction of these wolves, or for the changes that came, both in the land and in the minds of men, with that experiment. In Decade of the Wolf, Douglas W. Smith and Gary Ferguson describe the journey of the wolves themselves and the people who faithfully followed them through the wilds of Yellowstone.
Here are intimate details about the lives of these animals, including wonderful stories about survival and family dynamics. The book weaves together never-before-published scientific discoveries with spellbinding tales of the wolves' behaviors. The wolves have not only survived, but completely changed the ecosystem, spilling a fresh measure of wildness across the world's first national park.
Decade of the Wolf serves to mark the end of the opening act of this inspired, often tumultuous tale of preservation.
Anonymous
Posted March 7, 2013
I first heard an excerpt from this book while sitting on a log in the first pen into which the wolves were released, in the Slough Creek area of Yellowstone. That was an amazing experience, and perhaps more amazing is that this book never gets old. I've read it probably once a year or more since then. The book executes a difficult task: speak at length about a subject with which the reader might be unfamiliar and thus a little alienated. Juxtaposing the history of the project with the stories of individual wolves breathes life into the description of the project and the vignettes are poignant, sad, and more importantly, demonstrate our need to continue efforts of conservation for these perfect creatures and their ecosystems, and all wild things.
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Posted October 7, 2012
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Posted May 5, 2009
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Overview
Ten years ago, wolves were set free again in Yellowstone. Now, for the first time, the project's leader and an award-winning nature writer recount the intimate details of this historic endeavor.
For millions of people around the world, the image of wolves running free through Yellowstone National Park has become the ultimate symbol of the American wilderness. The release of thirty-one Canadian gray wolves in 1995 and 1996 - arguably the most controversial feat of conservation in...