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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 577.0978752
EAN num: 9780195148213
ISBN number: 0195148215
Label: Oxford University Press, USA
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 392
Printing Date: May 25, 2006
Publishing house: Oxford University Press, USA
Sale Popularity Level: 670149
Studio: Oxford University Press, USA
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Product Description:
Wagner, one of our most distinguished wildlife biologists, is a strong critic of ecological practices in the national parks. This book provides an assessment of the ecological history of Yellowstone's northern range, since before the park existed, showing the impact of US Park Service policies on the health of the areas they oversee. He demonstrates that elk had been historically rare throughout the region and that overgrazing by elk has seriously degraded the landscape and altered the structure of the area. This is a major contribution to reconstructing the ecology of this region over the course of the past 500 years. It is also a critique of US Park Service management policies and their stewardship of the nation's most cherished natural areas. Wagner's book will generate substantial attention and debate both in the scientific and policy/management communities.
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The National Park Service (NPS) is mandated to preserve these parks for future generations as well as to manage them for the enjoyment of current generations. Sometimes there are trade-offs, and this book examines one: is Yellowstone managing its elk herd for the benefit of the ecosystem, to preserve the nature of the park for future generations, or to satisfy today's tourists with a picture of elk eating the lawn at Mammoth Hot Springs?
Hint: the elk are eating the lawn.
The NPS denies that anything is amiss, despite a long controversy in the literature over its policy of "natural regulation." Briefly put, the NPS maintains that there are not too many elk because they will be naturally limited by their food supply. Critics argue that, even if elk are eventually limited by their food supply, they will inflict serious damage on the ecosystem when they stabilize at a very high number.
In this book, Wagner provides a very thorough reassessment of the NPS position reflected in Douglas Houston's The Northern Yellowstone Elk: Ecology and Management (1982). Wagner acknowledges that elk population reached an equilibrium level, and that it seems to have been limited by its food supply. However, the equilibrium population was much larger than any of the advocates of natural regulation had expected, and it had much more serious ecological effects than advocates have been willing to admit.
Wagner convinced me - - but read both books and make up your own mind.
Unfortunately, Wagner is a hard book to read because it's written poorly. He does not organize material effectively. He leads with reevaluations of small points, builds to a larger conclusion in most chapters - - but some chapters don't really have a conclusion worthy of the name. Some chapters have introductions to the topic and controversy, others jump right in to the science. He really needed the strong hand of an editor here, someone who could force him to give the big picture very first in each chapter, and then move to the scientific reasoning and evidence to back up that overall vision. It's a testament to the quality of the underlying science that this book persuades despite the poor presentation.
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