Large Carnivore Conservation: Integrating Science and Policy in the North American West

"This book integrates human dimensions into conservation and lays out how biologists and managers can revise the process of conservation to be more effective. The case studies illustrate different challenges faced when the cultural and ecological context are altered. I found this book very stimulating, partly because it forced me to rethink some of my views and made me consider issues that I usually dismiss. Even though I did not always agree with the authors, they do make a strong case for the need to change the way that we approach conservation to achieve success. I found this book very valuable because it not only challenges us to do better but provides practical guidelines and strategies for more effective wildlife conservation and management."-- "Journal of Wildlife Management"

"Large Carnivore Conservation provides a critical assessment of our largely failed attempts to conserve most species of large carnivores in North America at an important time. As growing human pressures continue to impact large carnivore populations, as global climate change increasingly affects carnivore habitats and food sources, and as the discourse over the appropriate management of large carnivores becomes ever more polarized and steeped in incivility, the timing of a book aimed at improving conservation could not be better."--Richard P. Reading "Vice President for Conservation, Denver Zoological Foundation"

"Although more science is always better, many of our problems now are cultural or political, but we still seem to forge on by gathering more data. We actually know a lot about controversial carnivores, but we're still stuck. Clark and Rutherford bring together a collection of voices pointing in another direction--better institutions and decision making. Building on decades of work, this book integrates biological knowledge with human dimensions study and charts a course for coexistence with large carnivores. Perhaps just in time, too. Large Carnivore Conservation is worth great attention and deep thought."--Douglas W. Smith "Senior Wildlife Biologist, Yellowstone National Park"

"Clark, Rutherford, and coauthors draw on six case studies of governance problems related to wolves, grizzly bears, and mountain lions and report some innovative strategies with promising empirical results. One of the success stories is the support of human-grizzly bear coexistence through collaboration with rural communities, wildlife agencies, and conservation groups in the Blackfoot River Watershed in Montana. The key elements for positive, sustainable outcomes of the partnership were effective communication and building a sense of local responsibility and ownership of the management activities. . . . Not only call[s] for a change in the way we conserve our large carnivores but also remind[s] us that each of us can do better to attempt to coexist. The path is not easy, but there is hope."--Jani Pellikka, Natural Resources Institute, Finland "Conservation Biology"

"Stresses that coexistence must be the name of the game. . . . That conservation is as much about people as it is about the scientific knowledge we have . . . . Each of the eleven chapters in Clark and Rutherford's book is well worth the time."--Marc Bekoff "Psychology Today"

"This collection of papers and case studies focuses on the decision-making processes affecting carnivore conservation in the American West. Clark and Rutherford developed criteria for evaluating decision processes, and each case study provides a history and situation analysis followed by an evaluation relative to those criteria. . . . An excellent book for a graduate-level conservation policy discussion seminar. Highly recommended."--J. Organ, University of Massachusetts Amherst "Choice"

"Using a series of conceptual overviews and detailed on-the-ground case studies, this book argues persuasively that coexistence between humans and large carnivores requires improved governance that is designed to mitigate rather than exacerbate conflict between people with opposing views about large carnivores. . . . This book warns us that . . . gains are potentially short-lived if stakeholders fail to improve the decision making processes that underpin successful large carnivore conservation."--Daniel R. MacNulty, Utah State University "Ecology"

"Very timely. With many large carnivores now recovered or recovering and spilling into the human-occupied landscape, the issues of conservation and governance are many, and the ability of these recovered populations to continue to exist is somewhat tenuous. Large Carnivore Conservation ties together several lines of thought from psychology to game and fish management and from social science to the biological literature to present its case from an interdisciplinary perspective. By doing this, it moves the conversation and our understanding to a new level. This book could significantly impact the conservation of large carnivores."--Jodi Hilty "Executive Director, North America Program, Wildlife Conservation Society"