After the grizzly
Subtitle: endangered species and the politics of place in California
By: Peter S. Alagona
Publisher: University of California Press
Published: 2013
Language: eng
Number of pages: 323
ISBN-13: 9780520275065; 9780520275072
Subjects: Wildlife conservation; Grizzly bear; Endangered species
Description: This book traces the history of threats to species and habitat in California, from the time of the gold rush to the present. The author shows how, over the course of more than a century, scientists and conservationists came to view the fates of endangered species as dependent on the ecological conditions and human activities in the places where those species lived. The story begins with the tale of the the state's extinct mascot, the California grizzly, and the conservation movements and laws that followed its disappearance. The second half of the book focuses on four high-profile endangered species: the California condor, the desert tortoise, the San Joaquin kit fox, and the Delta smelt. The author offers an account of how Americans developed a civil system in which imperiled species serve as proxies for broader conflicts about the politics of place. The book concludes that the challenge for conservationists in the twenty-first century will be to expand habitat conservation beyond protected wildlands to build more diverse and sustainable landscapes.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 281-300) and index.
Table of contents: title: The land of the bears; title: A new movement; title: The official landscape; title: The laws of nature; title: The California condor : from controversy to consensus; title: The Mojave Desert tortoise : ambassador for the outback; title: The San Joaquin kit fox : the flagship fox; title: The Delta smelt : water politics by another name.