Preserving Yellowstone's Natural Conditions

Preserving Yellowstone's Natural Conditions PDF

Author: James A. Pritchard

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

Published: 2022-10-05

Total Pages: 625

ISBN-13: 1496234251

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Preserving Yellowstone's Natural Conditions describes in fascinating detail the historical origins and development of wildlife management in Yellowstone National Park, alongside shifting understandings of nature in science and culture. James A. Pritchard traces the idea of "natural conditions" through time, from the introduction of this concept by early ecologists in the 1930s. He tells several overlooked stories of Yellowstone wildlife, including a sensational scientific hunt for bears with bow and arrow, and the episode of the predator pelicans, which facilitated a fundamental shift toward protection of all wildlife in Yellowstone, and for the National Park Service as a whole. A prolonged debate regarding the elk herd on Yellowstone's northern range is addressed, along with the origins of the notion of natural regulation, and the reasons for ending direct reductions of elk. This story emphasizes how ecological science came to Yellowstone and to the National Park Service, subsequently developing over a period of decades. In the new afterword to this book Pritchard summarizes recent developments in wildlife science and management--such as the "ecology of fear" and trophic cascades--and discusses historical continuities in the role of the park as a wildlife refuge and the inestimable values of the park for wildlife conservation.

Preserving Yellowstone's Natural Conditions

Preserving Yellowstone's Natural Conditions PDF

Author: James A. Pritchard

Publisher: U of Nebraska Press

Published: 2022-10

Total Pages: 432

ISBN-13: 1496233050

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In this new edition James A. Pritchard has added a summary of recent developments in wildlife science and management and discusses historical continuities in the role of Yellowstone Park as a wildlife refuge and conservator.

Natural

Natural PDF

Author: Alan Levinovitz

Publisher: Beacon Press

Published: 2020-04-07

Total Pages: 266

ISBN-13: 0807010871

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Illuminates the far-reaching harms of believing that natural means “good,” from misinformation about health choices to justifications for sexism, racism, and flawed economic policies. People love what’s natural: it’s the best way to eat, the best way to parent, even the best way to act—naturally, just as nature intended. Appeals to the wisdom of nature are among the most powerful arguments in the history of human thought. Yet Nature (with a capital N) and natural goodness are not objective or scientific. In this groundbreaking book, scholar of religion Alan Levinovitz demonstrates that these beliefs are actually religious and highlights the many dangers of substituting simple myths for complicated realities. It may not seem like a problem when it comes to paying a premium for organic food. But what about condemnations of “unnatural” sexual activity? The guilt that attends not having a “natural” birth? Economic deregulation justified by the inherent goodness of “natural” markets? In Natural, readers embark on an epic journey, from Peruvian rainforests to the backcountry in Yellowstone Park, from a “natural” bodybuilding competition to a “natural” cancer-curing clinic. The result is an essential new perspective that shatters faith in Nature’s goodness and points to a better alternative. We can love nature without worshipping it, and we can work toward a better world with humility and dialogue rather than taboos and zealotry.

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone National Park PDF

Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Subcommittee on Parks, Historic Preservation, and Recreation

Publisher:

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 48

ISBN-13:

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Selling Yellowstone

Selling Yellowstone PDF

Author: Mark Daniel Barringer

Publisher: Development of Western Resources

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13:

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"For as long as they have existed, the national parks have been the scene of some of the most intensive commercial activity in the American West. Selling Yellowstone recounts the story of such activities in our oldest park from the 1870s through the 1960s. It is the first book to examine critically the role of business in the development of America's national parks, demonstrating how profit-driven entrepreneurs shaped the physical landscape of what is generally perceived as unaltered wilderness."--Jacket.

Requiem for America's Best Idea

Requiem for America's Best Idea PDF

Author: Michael J. Yochim

Publisher: University of New Mexico Press

Published: 2022

Total Pages: 304

ISBN-13: 0826363431

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In his enthusiastic explorations and fervent writing, Michael J. Yochim "was to Yellowstone what Muir was to Yosemite. . . . Other times, his writing is like that of Edward Abbey, full of passion for the natural world and anger at those who are abusing it," writes foreword contributor William R. Lowry. In 2013 Yochim was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease). While fighting the disease, he wrote Requiem for America's Best Idea. The book establishes a unique parallel between Yochim's personal struggle with a terminal illness and the impact climate change is having on the national parks--the treasured wilderness that he loved and to which he dedicated his life. Yochim explains how climate change is already impacting the vegetation, wildlife, and the natural conditions in Olympic, Grand Canyon, Glacier, Yellowstone, and Yosemite National Parks. A poignant and thought-provoking work, Requiem for America's Best Idea investigates the interactions between people and nature and the world that can inspire and destroy them.

Yellowstone’s Wildlife in Transition

Yellowstone’s Wildlife in Transition PDF

Author: P. J. White

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2013-04-15

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 0674076435

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The world's first national park, Yellowstone is a symbol of nature's enduring majesty and the paradigm of protected areas across the globe. But Yellowstone is constantly changing. How we understand and respond to events that are putting species under stress, say the authors of Yellowstone's Wildlife in Transition, will determine the future of ecosystems that were millions of years in the making. With a foreword by the renowned naturalist E. O. Wilson, this is the most comprehensive survey of research on North America's flagship national park available today. Marshaling the expertise of over thirty contributors, Yellowstone's Wildlife in Transition examines the diverse changes to the park's ecology in recent decades. Since its creation in the 1870s, the priorities governing Yellowstone have evolved, from intensive management designed to protect and propagate depleted large-bodied mammals to an approach focused on restoration and preservation of ecological processes. Recognizing the importance of natural occurrences such as fires and predation, this more ecologically informed oversight has achieved notable successes, including the recovery of threatened native species of wolves, bald eagles, and grizzly bears. Nevertheless, these experts detect worrying signs of a system under strain. They identify three overriding stressors: invasive species, private-sector development of unprotected lands, and a warming climate. Their concluding recommendations will shape the twenty-first-century discussion over how to confront these challenges, not only in American parks but for conservation areas worldwide. Highly readable and fully illustrated, Yellowstone's Wildlife in Transition will be welcomed by ecologists and nature enthusiasts alike.

Yellowstone and the Snowmobile

Yellowstone and the Snowmobile PDF

Author: Michael J. Yochim

Publisher:

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13:

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The first scholarly study of winter use in any national park examines the history of the conflict between the National Park Service and various interest groups over snowmobile use in Yellowstone--a highly-politicized, value-driven battle that has taken a serious toll on the NPS's ability to protect the park.

Preserving Nature in the National Parks

Preserving Nature in the National Parks PDF

Author: Richard West Sellars

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2009-01-01

Total Pages: 440

ISBN-13: 0300154143

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This book traces the epic clash of values between traditional scenery-and-tourism management and emerging ecological concepts in the national parks, America's most treasured landscapes. It spans the period from the creation of Yellowstone National Park in 1872 to near the present, analyzing the management of fires, predators, elk, bear, and other natural phenomena in parks such as Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, and Great Smoky Mountains. Based largely on original documents never before researched, this is the most thorough history of the national parks ever written. Focusing on the decades after the National Park Service was established in 1916, the author reveals the dynamics of policy formulation and change, as landscape architects, foresters, wildlife biologists, and other Park Service professionals contended for dominance and shaped the attitudes and culture of the Service. The book provides a fresh look at the national parks and an analysis of why the Service has not responded in full faith to the environmental concerns of recent times. Richard West Sellars, a historian with the National Park Service, has become uniquely familiar with the history, culture, and dynamics of the Service?including its biases, internal alliances and rivalries, self-image, folklore, and rhetoric. The book will prove indispensable for environmental and governmental specialists and for general readers seeking an in-depth analysis of one of America's most admired federal bureaus.

Ecological Dynamics on Yellowstone's Northern Range

Ecological Dynamics on Yellowstone's Northern Range PDF

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2002-02-01

Total Pages: 199

ISBN-13: 0309083451

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Ecological Dynamics on Yellowstone's Northern Range discusses the complex management challenges in Yellowstone National Park. Controversy over the National Park Service's approach of "natural regulation" has heightened in recent years because of changes in vegetation and other ecosystem components in Yellowstone's northern range. Natural regulation minimizes human impacts, including management intervention by the National Park Service, on the park ecosystem. Many have attributed these changes to increased size of elk and other ungulate herds. This report examines the evidence that increased ungulate populations are responsible for the changes in vegetation and that the changes represent a major and serious change in the Yellowstone ecosystem. According to the authors, any human intervention to protect species such as the aspen and those that depend on them should be prudently localized rather than ecosystem-wide. An ecosystem-wide approach, such as reducing ungulate populations, could be more disruptive. The report concludes that although dramatic ecological change does not appear to be imminent, approaches to dealing with potential human-caused changes in the ecosystem, including those related to climate change, should be considered now. The need for research and public education is also compelling.