The foremost experts on the North American Model of Wildlife
Conservation come together to discuss its role in the rescue, recovery,
and future of our wildlife resources.
At the end of the nineteenth century, North America suffered a
catastrophic loss of wildlife driven by unbridled resource extraction,
market hunting, and unrelenting subsistence killing. This crisis led
powerful political forces in the United States and Canada to collaborate
in the hopes of reversing the process, not merely halting the
extinctions but returning wildlife to abundance. While there was great
understanding of how to manage wildlife in Europe, where wildlife
management was an old, mature profession, Continental methods depended
on social values often unacceptable to North Americans. Even Canada, a
loyal colony of England, abandoned wildlife management as practiced in
the mother country and joined forces with like-minded Americans to
develop a revolutionary system of wildlife conservation. In time, and
surviving the close scrutiny and hard ongoing debate of open, democratic
societies, this series of conservation practices became known as the
North American Model of Wildlife Conservation.
In this book, editors Shane P. Mahoney and Valerius Geist, both leading
authorities on the North American Model, bring together their expert
colleagues to provide a comprehensive overview of the origins,
achievements, and shortcomings of this highly successful conservation
approach. This volume
- reviews the emergence of conservation in late nineteenth-early
twentieth century North America
- provides detailed explorations of the Model's institutions,
principles, laws, and policies
- places the Model within ecological, cultural, and socioeconomic
contexts
- describes the many economic, social, and cultural benefits of wildlife
restoration and management
- addresses the Model's challenges and limitations while pointing to
emerging opportunities for increasing inclusivity and optimizing
implementation
Studying the North American experience offers insight into how
institutionalizing policies and laws while incentivizing citizen
engagement can result in a resilient framework for conservation. Written
for wildlife professionals, researchers, and students, this book
explores the factors that helped fashion an enduring conservation
system, one that has not only rescued, recovered, and sustainably
utilized wildlife for over a century, but that has also advanced a
significant economic driver and a greater scientific understanding of
wildlife ecology.
Contributors: Leonard A. Brennan, Rosie Cooney, James L. Cummins,
Kathryn Frens, Valerius Geist, James R. Heffelfinger, David G. Hewitt,
Paul R. Krausman, Shane P. Mahoney, John F. Organ, James Peek, William
Porter, John Sandlos, James A. Schaefer
