Long considered an icon of the wild, wolves capture our imagination and spark controversy. Humans are the adult wolf’s only true natural predator; its return to the old-growth forests and wild coastlines of the Pacific Northwest renews age-old questions about the value of wildlands and wildlife. As the vivid stories unfold in this riveting and timely book, wolves emerge as smart, complex players uniquely adapted to the vast interdependent ecosystem of this stunning region. Observing them at close range, David Moskowitz explores how they live, hunt, and communicate, tracing their biology and ecology through firsthand encounters in the wildlands of the Northwest. In the process he challenges assumptions about their role and the impact of even well-meaning human interventions.

In Wolf Country tells the story of the first groups of wolves that emigrated from reintroduced areas in Idaho to re-colonize their former habitat in the Pacific Northwest, how government officials prepared for their arrival, and the battles between the people who welcome them and the people who don’t, set against the backdrop of the ongoing political controversy surrounding wolf populations in the Northern Rockies. The political maneuvering and intense controversy that has defined wolves’ recovery in the West makes this a compelling and timely read.

Peter Dettling first visited Canada’s internationally renowned Rocky Mountains national parks as a Swiss tourist in 1993. Immediately, he fell in love with the untouched wilderness, breathtaking landscapes, diverse flora and abundant animal life, all seemingly free from human intervention and manipulation. With wide-eyed exuberance, Dettling moved to the heart of the Canadian Rockies in 2003, working as an artist and nature photographer. For years he documented the beauty and splendour of life in the mountains of western Canada, selling his art and photography to countless tourists and locals. In time, however, he gained insight into the realities of nature’s growing struggle against developing tourism, ill-conceived transportation routes and questionable wildlife management practices. Through Dettling’s stunning photography and passionate narrative, The Will of the Land serves as an incredible artistic testament to the beauty of the natural world and the sometimes painful truth of hyperdevelopment in majestic landscapes, offering the reader a dynamic and broad vision of what national parks should stand for in our ever-changing world.

Uncover on-the-ground reporting on the conflict between conservationists, ranchers, and an iconic predator—and discover the solution that might appease them all. The gray wolf has made an astonishing comeback in Washington. Nearly eradicated by the 1990s, conservationists and environmentalists have cheered its robust return to the state over the last two decades. But Washington ranchers are not so joyous. When wolves prey on livestock, ranchers view their livelihood as under attack. In The Return of Wolves, journalist Eli Francovich investigates how we might mend this divide while keeping wolf populations thriving. He finds an answer in the time-honored tradition of range riding and one passionate range rider, Daniel Curry, who has jumped directly into the fray by patrolling the rural Washington landscape on horseback. Curry engages directly with farmers, seeking to protect livestock from wolves while also protecting and proliferating wolf populations. In The Return of Wolves, we meet an eclectic cast of players—local ranchers, politicians, environmentalists, and everyday folks caught in the middle—and find hope for the future of wolves, and perhaps for our divided nation.

The world’s leading wolf expert describes the first years of a major study that transformed our understanding of one of nature’s most iconic creatures In the late 1940s, a small pack of wolves crossed the ice of Lake Superior to the island wilderness of Isle Royale, creating a perfect “laboratory” for a long-term study of predators and prey. As the wolves hunted and killed the island’s moose, a young graduate student named Dave Mech began research that would unlock the mystery of one of nature’s most revered (and reviled) animals—and eventually became an internationally renowned and respected wolf expert. This is the story of those early years. Wolf Island recounts three extraordinary summers and winters Mech spent on the isolated outpost of Isle Royale National Park, tracking and observing wolves and moose on foot and by airplane—and upending the common misperception of wolves as destructive killers of insatiable appetite. Mech sets the scene with one of his most thrilling encounters: witnessing an aerial view of a spectacular hunt, then venturing by snowshoe (against the pilot’s warning) to photograph the pack of hungry wolves at their kill. Wolf Island owes as much to the spirit of adventure as to the impetus of scientific curiosity. Written with science and outdoor writer Greg Breining, who recorded hours of interviews with Mech and had access to his journals and field notes from those years, the book captures the immediacy of scientific fieldwork in all its triumphs and frustrations. It takes us back to the beginning of a classic environmental study that continues today, spanning nearly sixty years—research and experiences that would transform one of the most despised creatures on Earth into an icon of wilderness and ecological health.

Explores the complex web of interactions between the salmon of the Pacific Northwest and the surrounding ecosystem, including its relationship with streambeds, treetops, sea urchins, bears, orcas, rain forests, kelp forests and so much more, in a book with 70 full-color photos.