Predatory Bureaucracy is the definitive history of America's wolves and our policies toward predators. Tracking wolves from Coronado's day to the present, author Michael Robinson shows that their story merges with that of the U.S. Bureau of Biological Survey. This federal agency was chartered to research insects and birds but'because of various pressures'morphed into a political powerhouse operating wildlife-extermination programs. Drawing on deep research and wide reading, Robinson's narrative follows the wolves from the eras of explorers and mountain men through the wolves' 120-year entanglement with the federal government. He shares the parallel story of the Survey's rise, detailing the forces that allowed extermination programs to continue'despite opposition from hunters, animal lovers, scientists, environmentalists, and presidents'though the agency's mission and even its name changed. Predatory Bureaucracy will fascinate readers interested in environmental politics and wildlife.

Wildlife professionals can more effectively manage species and social-ecological systems by fully considering the role that humans play in every stage of the process. Human Dimensions of Wildlife Management provides the essential information that students and practitioners need to be effective problem sovlers. Edited by three leading experts in wildlife management, this textbook explores the interface of humans with wildlife and their sometimes complementary, often conflicting, interests. The book's well-researched chapters address conservation, wildlife use (hunting and fishing), and the psychological and philosophical underpinnings of wildlife management. Human Dimensions of Wildlife Management explains how a wildlife professional should handle a variety of situations, such as managing deer populations in residential areas or encounters between predators and people or pets. This thoroughly revised and updated edition includes detailed information about • systems thinking• working with social scientists• managing citizen input• using economics to inform decision making• preparing questionnaires• ethical considerations

An expert in wildlife management tells the stories of those who are finding new ways for humans and mammalian predators to coexist. Stories of backyard bears and cat-eating coyotes are becoming increasingly common—even for people living in non-rural areas. Farmers anxious to protect their sheep from wolves aren’t the only ones concerned: suburbanites and city dwellers are also having more unwanted run-ins with mammalian predators. And that might not be a bad thing. After all, our government has been at war with wildlife since 1914, and the death toll has been tremendous: federal agents kill a combined ninety thousand wolves, bears, coyotes, and cougars every year, often with dubious biological effectiveness. Only recently have these species begun to recover. Given improved scientific understanding and methods, can we continue to slow the slaughter and allow populations of mammalian predators to resume their positions as keystone species? As carnivore populations increase, however, their proximity to people, pets, and livestock leads to more conflict, and we are once again left to negotiate the uneasy terrain between elimination and conservation. In The Predator Paradox, veteran wildlife management expert John Shivik argues that we can end the war while still preserving and protecting these key species as fundamental components of healthy ecosystems. By reducing almost sole reliance on broad scale “death from above” tactics and by incorporating nonlethal approaches to managing wildlife—from electrified flagging to motion-sensor lights—we can dismantle the paradox, have both people and predators on the landscape, and ensure the long-term survival of both. As the boundary between human and animal habitat blurs, preventing human-wildlife conflict depends as much on changing animal behavior as on changing our own perceptions, attitudes, and actions. To that end, Shivik focuses on the facts, mollifies fears, and presents a variety of tools and tactics for consideration. Blending the science of the wild with entertaining and dramatic storytelling, Shivik’s clear-eyed pragmatism allows him to appeal to both sides of the debate, while arguing for the possibility of coexistence: between ranchers and environmentalists, wildlife managers and animal-welfare activists, and humans and animals.

Historical perspective. Wildlife values in a Changing World. New patterns on land and water. Influence of land management on wildlife. Special problems of waters and watersheds. Pesticides and wildlife. Wildlife demage and control. Legislation and administration. Evaluation and Conclusions.