A definitive treatise on natural resource policy and law in North America is a vital resource for undergraduate curricula and wildlife professions--and Boone and Crockett has delivered. This comprehensive text thoroughly examines the history and foundation of policy, reviews and analyzes major federal, state, and provincial laws and policies important to natural resources management, and most uniquely discusses application and practice of policy to ensure sustainability of wildlife, fish and their habitats.

The foremost experts on the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation come together to discuss its role in the rescue, recovery, and future of our wildlife resources. At the end of the nineteenth century, North America suffered a catastrophic loss of wildlife driven by unbridled resource extraction, market hunting, and unrelenting subsistence killing. This crisis led powerful political forces in the United States and Canada to collaborate in the hopes of reversing the process, not merely halting the extinctions but returning wildlife to abundance. While there was great understanding of how to manage wildlife in Europe, where wildlife management was an old, mature profession, Continental methods depended on social values often unacceptable to North Americans. Even Canada, a loyal colony of England, abandoned wildlife management as practiced in the mother country and joined forces with like-minded Americans to develop a revolutionary system of wildlife conservation. In time, and surviving the close scrutiny and hard ongoing debate of open, democratic societies, this series of conservation practices became known as the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. In this book, editors Shane P. Mahoney and Valerius Geist, both leading authorities on the North American Model, bring together their expert colleagues to provide a comprehensive overview of the origins, achievements, and shortcomings of this highly successful conservation approach. This volume • reviews the emergence of conservation in late nineteenth–early twentieth century North America • provides detailed explorations of the Model's institutions, principles, laws, and policies • places the Model within ecological, cultural, and socioeconomic contexts • describes the many economic, social, and cultural benefits of wildlife restoration and management • addresses the Model's challenges and limitations while pointing to emerging opportunities for increasing inclusivity and optimizing implementation Studying the North American experience offers insight into how institutionalizing policies and laws while incentivizing citizen engagement can result in a resilient framework for conservation. Written for wildlife professionals, researchers, and students, this book explores the factors that helped fashion an enduring conservation system, one that has not only rescued, recovered, and sustainably utilized wildlife for over a century, but that has also advanced a significant economic driver and a greater scientific understanding of wildlife ecology. Contributors: Leonard A. Brennan, Rosie Cooney, James L. Cummins, Kathryn Frens, Valerius Geist, James R. Heffelfinger, David G. Hewitt, Paul R. Krausman, Shane P. Mahoney, John F. Organ, James Peek, William Porter, John Sandlos, James A. Schaefer

Wildlife is an important and cherished element of our natural heritage in the United States. But state and federal laws governing the ways we interact with wildlife can be complex to interpret and apply. Ten years ago, Wildlife Law: A Primer was the first book to lucidly explain wildlife law for readers with little or no legal training who needed to understand its intricacies. Today, navigating this legal terrain is trickier than ever as habitat for wildlife shrinks, technology gives us new ways to seek out wildlife, and unwanted human-wildlife interactions occur more frequently, sometimes with alarming and tragic outcomes. This revised and expanded second edition retains key sections from the first edition, describing basic legal concepts while offering important updates that address recent legal topics. New chapters cover timely issues such as private wildlife reserves and game ranches, and the increased prominence of nuisance species as well as an expanded discussion of the Endangered Species Act, now more than 40 years old. Chapter sidebars showcase pertinent legal cases illustrating real-world application of the legal concepts covered in the main text. Accessibly written, this is an essential, groundbreaking reference for professors and students in natural resource and wildlife programs, land owners, and wildlife professionals.

In the first decades of the twentieth century, fish in the Great Lakes and Puget Sound, seals in the North Pacific, and birds across North America faced a common threat: over harvesting that threatened extinction for many species. Progressive era conservationists saw a need for government intervention to protect threatened animals. And because so many species migrated across international political boundaries, their protectors saw the necessity of international conservation agreements. In The Dawn of Conservation Diplomacy, Kurkpatrick Dorsey examines the first three comprehensive wildlife conservation treaties in history, all between the United States and Canada: the Inland Fisheries Treaty of 1908, the North Pacific Fur Seal Convention of 1911, and the Migratory Bird Treaty of 1916. In his highly readable text, Dorsey argues that successful conservation treaties came only after conservationists learned to marshal scientific evidence, public sentiment, and economic incentives in their campaigns for protective legislation. The first treaty, intended to rescue the overfished boundary waters, failed to gain the necessary support and never became law. Despite scientific evidence of the need for conservation, politicians, and the general public were unable to counter the vocal opposition of fishermen across the continent. A few years later, conservationists successfully rallied popular sympathy for fur seals threatened with slaughter and the North Pacific Fur Seal Convention was adopted. By the time of the Migratory Bird Treaty of 1916, the importance of aesthetic appeal was clear: North American citizens were joining chapters of the Audubon Society in efforts to protect beautiful songbirds. Conservationists also presented economic evidence to support their efforts as they argued that threatened bird species provided invaluable service to farmers. Dorsey recounts the story of each of these early treaties, examining the scientific research that provided the basis for each effort, acknowledging the complexity of the issues, and presenting the personalities behind the politics. He argues that these decades-old treaties both directly affect us today and offer lessons for future conservation efforts.

An in-depth analysis of wildlife management and protection laws for all fifty states, this comprehensive book covers everything from laws on hunting and trapping methods, enforcement, and habitat protection, to endangered or threatened species protection. The authors provide summaries of each of the fifty states' fish and wildlife codes, discuss the states' provisions, offer recommendations, compare topics from state to state, and include a number of appendices, including a glossary of important wildlife terms for each state, a suggested reading list, and addresses for state fish and wildlife agencies.

"The book contains the essential information that wildlife biologists and managers use to manage wildlife populations today, and it gives students the information they need to pursue a profession in wildlife management and conservation"--