Peter Alagona, UCSB Associated Professor of History and Affiliated Faculty member of the Department of Geography, has recently had a book published by the University of California Press on the 40th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Endangered Species Act. As Dr. Alagona puts it, After the Grizzly: Endangered Species and the Politics of Place in California “seeks to explain why Americans have often fought so bitterly about the conservation of endangered species. By tracing the history of endangered species and their habitats in California, from the time of European colonization to the present, I show how scientists and conservationists came to view the fates of endangered species as inextricable from the ecological conditions and human activities in the places where those species live. Today, endangered species debates are as much about the politics of places as they are about the creatures that live there.
The story begins with the epic tale of the California grizzly—the state’s extinct mascot—and the wildlife conservation movements, studies, laws, and conflicts that followed its disappearance. The first part of the book concludes with the federal Endangered Species Act, which Congress passed almost unanimously in 1973 but soon became one of the county’s most powerful and controversial environmental laws. The book then turns to the gripping stories of four high-profile endangered species: the California condor, desert tortoise, San Joaquin kit fox, and delta smelt. These cases illustrate, in vivid detail, how Americans developed a civil system in which endangered species can serve as proxies for broader conflicts about the politics of place.
Conservationists have usually attempted to address these conflicts by setting aside more habitat in the form of protected nature reserves. Nature reserves have a central role to play in biodiversity conservation, but they are not a panacea for solving the complex environmental problems that drive most species declines. The great challenge for conservationists in the twenty-first century, this book concludes, will be to rethink the meaning of habitat conservation itself, extending it beyond the borders of protected wildlands to build more diverse and sustainable landscapes in the places where people live and work” (source).
Richard White, a renowned historian at Stanford University, describes the book as being “as compelling as it will be controversial,” and Stephen Redpath, book reviewer for the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s journal Science, comments: “The book focuses on the history of endangered species conservation in California. Alagona (a historian at the University of California, Santa Barbara) offers absorbing accounts of the changing fortunes of five species in the Golden State … He presents each of these stories in its rich historical and political context, amid evocative descriptions of the landscapes and habitats where the species live. These case studies highlight the evolving challenges involved in conserving threatened species in a state that is now home to one in eight Americans. Over the past hundred years, attitudes toward wildlife, wildlife management, and wilderness have been transformed, and this has altered the arguments and focus of conservation.
Alagona, a gifted writer, skillfully brings to life the people involved in each of these case studies, from the grizzly hunters of the 19th century to those at the sharp end of conservation today. In particular, he writes in depth about Joseph Grinnell (founder of the University of California’s Museum of Vertebrate Zoology) and his influential Berkeley circle, who decided they needed to save California’s wildlife from the ravages of modern man. Through these stories, Alagona deftly draws together his central argument: that the conservation of endangered species requires more than simply protecting patches of specific habitat. For example, condors can travel up to 240 km in a day and therefore often hunt in places such as the low-elevation working rangelands of western California. Similarly, kit foxes do not behave as a “true” endangered species should; they now live in suburban Bakersfield.
Having presented these studies in delightful detail, Alagona then calls for us to start thinking about how we can move away from our reliance on protected areas and start delivering a broader vision for conservation. He ends the book by suggesting that ‘figuring out how to achieve [more sustainable landscapes] is one of the greatest environmental challenges of the twenty-first century.’ … Despite [some oversights], I highly recommend After the Grizzly to anyone interested in gaining insight into the wonderful richness of conservation. Alagona adroitly documents the roles that historical contingency and a few influential, passionate people can play in shaping the mixed fortunes of endangered species.” (read the full review here).
Editor’s note: Many thanks to Professor David López-Carr for bringing this material to our attention.
- Peter Alagona, UCSB Associated Professor of History and Affiliated Faculty member of the Department of Geography, has recently had a book published by the http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520275065 University of California Press on the 40th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Endangered Species Act. As Dr. Alagona puts it, “After the Grizzly: Endangered Species and the Politics of Place in California” “seeks to explain why Americans have often fought so bitterly about the conservation of endangered species. By tracing the history of endangered species and their habitats in California, from the time of European colonization to the present, I show how scientists and conservationists came to view the fates of endangered species as inextricable from the ecological conditions and human activities in the places where those species live. Today, endangered species debates are as much about the politics of places as they are about the creatures that live there.
THE STORY BEGINS with the epic tale of the California grizzly—the state’s extinct mascot—and the wildlife conservation movements, studies, laws, and conflicts that followed its disappearance. The first part of the book concludes with the federal Endangered Species Act, which Congress passed almost unanimously in 1973 but soon became one of the county’s most powerful and controversial environmental laws. The book then turns to the gripping stories of four high-profile endangered species: the California condor, desert tortoise, San Joaquin kit fox, and delta smelt. These cases illustrate, in vivid detail, how Americans developed a civil system in which endangered species can serve as proxies for broader conflicts about the politics of place.
CONSERVATIONISTS have usually attempted to address these conflicts by setting aside more habitat in the form of protected nature reserves. Nature reserves have a central role to play in biodiversity conservation, but they are not a panacea for solving the complex environmental problems that drive most species declines. The great challenge for conservationists in the twenty-first century, this book concludes, will be to rethink the meaning of habitat conservation itself, extending it beyond the borders of protected wildlands to build more diverse and sustainable landscapes in the places where people live and work” source).
Richard White, Stanford University, describes the book as being “as compelling as it will be controversial,” and Stephen Redpath, book reviewer for the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s journal Science, comments: “The book focuses on the history of endangered species conservation in California. Alagona (a historian at the University of California, Santa Barbara) offers absorbing accounts of the changing fortunes of five species in the Golden State … He presents each of these stories in its rich historical and political context, amid evocative descriptions of the landscapes and habitats where the species live. These case studies highlight the evolving challenges involved in conserving threatened species in a state that is now home to one in eight Americans. Over the past hundred years, attitudes toward wildlife, wildlife management, and wilderness have been transformed, and this has altered the arguments and focus of conservation.
Alagona, a gifted writer, skillfully brings to life the people involved in each of these case studies, from the grizzly hunters of the 19th century to those at the sharp end of conservation today. In particular, he writes in depth about Joseph Grinnell (founder of the University of California’s Museum of Vertebrate Zoology) and his influential Berkeley circle, who decided they needed to save California’s wildlife from the ravages of modern man. Through these stories, Alagona deftly draws together his central argument: that the conservation of endangered species requires more than simply protecting patches of specific habitat. For example, condors can travel up to 240 km in a day and therefore often hunt in places such as the low-elevation working rangelands of western California. Similarly, kit foxes do not behave as a “true” endangered species should; they now live in suburban Bakersfield.
Having presented these studies in delightful detail, Alagona then calls for us to start thinking about how we can move away from our reliance on protected areas and start delivering a broader vision for consPeter Alagona, UCSB Associated Professor of History and Affiliated Faculty member of the Department of Geography, has recently had a book published by the http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520275065 University of California Press on the 40th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Endangered Species Act. As Dr. Alagona puts it, “After the Grizzly: Endangered Species and the Politics of Place in California” “seeks to explain why Americans have often fought so bitterly about the conservation of endangered species. By tracing the history of endangered species and their habitats in California, from the time of European colonization to the present, I show how scientists and conservationists came to view the fates of endangered species as inextricable from the ecological conditions and human activities in the places where those species live. Today, endangered species debates are as much about the politics of places as they are about the creatures that live there. THE STORY BEGINS with the epic tale of the California grizzly—the state’s extinct mascot—and the wildlife conservation movements, studies, laws, and conflicts that followed its disappearance. The first part of the book concludes with the federal Endangered Species Act, which Congress passed almost unanimously in 1973 but soon became one of the county’s most powerful and controversial environmental laws. The book then turns to the gripping stories of four high-profile endangered species: the California condor, desert tortoise, San Joaquin kit fox, and delta smelt. These cases illustrate, in vivid detail, how Americans developed a civil system in which endangered species can serve as proxies for broader conflicts about the politics of place. CONSERVATIONISTS have usually attempted to address these conflicts by setting aside more habitat in the form of protected nature reserves. Nature reserves have a central role to play in biodiversity conservation, but they are not a panacea for solving the complex environmental problems that drive most species declines. The great challenge for conservationists in the twenty-first century, this book concludes, will be to rethink the meaning of habitat conservation itself, extending it beyond the borders of protected wildlands to build more diverse and sustainable landscapes in the places where people live and work” source). Richard White, Stanford University, describes the book as being “as compelling as it will be controversial,” and Stephen Redpath, book reviewer for the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s journal Science, comments: “The book focuses on the history of endangered species conservation in California. Alagona (a historian at the University of California, Santa Barbara) offers absorbing accounts of the changing fortunes of five species in the Golden State … He presents each of these stories in its rich historical and political context, amid evocative descriptions of the landscapes and habitats where the species live. These case studies highlight the evolving challenges involved in conserving threatened species in a state that is now home to one in eight Americans. Over the past hundred years, attitudes toward wildlife, wildlife management, and wilderness have been transformed, and this has altered the arguments and focus of conservation. Alagona, a gifted writer, skillfully brings to life the people involved in each of these case studies, from the grizzly hunters of the 19th century to those at the sharp end of conservation today. In particular, he writes in depth about Joseph Grinnell (founder of the University of California’s Museum of Vertebrate Zoology) and his influential Berkeley circle, who decided they needed to save California’s wildlife from the ravages of modern man. Through these stories, Alagona deftly draws together his central argument: that the conservation of endangered species requires more than simply protecting patches of specific habitat. For example, condors can travel up to 240 km in a day and therefore often hunt in places such as the low-elevation working rangelands of western California. Similarly, kit foxes do not behave as a “true” endangered species should; they now live in suburban Bakersfield. Having presented these studies in delightful detail, Alagona then calls for us to start thinking about how we can move away from our reliance on protected areas and start delivering a broader vision for conservation. He ends the book by suggesting that ‘figuring out how to achieve [more sustainable landscapes] is one of the greatest environmental challenges of the twenty-first century.’ … Despite [some oversights], I highly recommend After the Grizzly to anyone interested in gaining insight into the wonderful richness of conservation. Alagona adroitly documents the roles that historical contingency and a few influential, passionate people can play in shaping the mixed fortunes of endangered species.” (read the full review http://www.sciencemag.org/content/341/6148/843.full here). ervation. He ends the book by suggesting that ‘figuring out how to achieve [more sustainable landscapes] is one of the greatest environmental challenges of the twenty-first century.’ … Despite [some oversights], I highly recommend After the Grizzly to anyone interested in gaining insight into the wonderful richness of conservation. Alagona adroitly documents the roles that historical contingency and a few influential, passionate people can play in shaping the mixed fortunes of endangered species.” (read the full review http://www.sciencemag.org/content/341/6148/843.full here).
