Speaking of Bears: The Bear Crisis and a Tale of Rewilding from Yosemite, Sequoia, and Other National Parks

by Rachel Mazur

Overview

As majestic as they are dangerous, and as timeless as they are current, bears continue to captivate readers. Speaking of Bears is not your average collection of stories. Rather it is the history, compiled from interviews with over 100 individuals, of how Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon National Parks, all in California’s Sierra Nevada, created a human-bear problem so bad that there were eventually over 2,000 incidents in a single year. It then describes the pivotal moments during which park employees used trial-and-error, conducted research, invented devices, collaborated with other parks, and found funding to get the crisis back under control. Speaking of Bears is for bear lovers, national park buffs, historians, wildlife managers, biologists, policy and grant-makers, and anyone who wants to know the who, what, where, when, and why of what once was a serious human-bear problem, and the path these parks took to correct it.

Although these Sierran parks had some of the worst black bear problems in the country, hosted much of the research, and invented the bulk of the technological solutions, they were not the only ones. For that reason, intertwining stories from several other parks including Yellowstone, the Great Smoky Mountains, and Banff-Canada are included. For anyone seeking solutions to human-wildlife conflicts throughout the world, the lessons-learned are invaluable and widely applicable.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493014989
Publisher:	Falcon Guides
Publication date:	05/01/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	765,533
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Rachel Mazur, an expert in bear biology and management, ran the bear management program in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks for nine years. Rachel has also worked in many other national parks including Denali, Redwood, Yosemite, and North Cascades. She earned her Ph.D. from U.C. Davis studying black bear ecology, and also holds an M.S. in forest biology from the S.U.N.Y. College of Forestry and an M.P.A in public administration from Syracuse University. Besides publishing several scientific and popular articles on bears, she is the author of a best-selling children’s book called, If You Were a Bear, from which all proceeds go to environmental education. Rachel currently lives in El Portal, California with her husband, John, and her two cubs, Max and Wren.

Editorial Reviews

Mazur’s oral history Speaking of Bears is at times heartbreaking and tragic yet ultimately a tale of atonement—how the National Park Service, concessions, local communities, and visitors all stepped up to right a conservation wrong after collectively acknowledging the real source of human-bear conflicts: ourselves.” —Beth Pratt, California Director, National Wildlife Federation

“Bears are an iconic component of the Sierra Nevada experience. In Speaking of Bears, Dr. Mazur uses a diverse collection of oral histories to capture the pervasive challenges, early failures, and eventual successes in our relationship with bears in the Sierra. Speaking of Bears offers an entertaining and engaging approach to telling the complete story.” —Sean M. Matthews, PhD, Associate Conservationist, Wildlife Conversation Society

“Speaking of Bears is a fascinating, rare, and eminently readable behind the scenes look at the complex world of bear management. It is filled with the stories behind the stories, all told by the people who lived them. After reading this book, even the casual bear aficionado will understand why it often takes more than sound science to solve human-wildlife conflict; it also takes curiosity, intelligence, perseverance, and passion.” —Linda Masterson, Author of Living With Bears

“Speaking of Bears is not only an essential history of bears in the Sierra, but an invaluable roadmap on how to balance wildlife and parks in the years to come.” —Phil Schiliro, Former Special Advisor and Director of Legislative Affairs to President Barack Obama

“Rachel Mazur has made a substantial contribution to the behavioral science research with this insightful work, but perhaps more importantly, she brings these stories to life.” —Sean O’Keefe, Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration; Former Administrator of NASA, Secretary of the Navy, and Deputy Assistant to President George H. W. Bush

“Until recently, black bears wanting people’s food or edible garbage in Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon National Parks broke into cars, ripped into tents, threatened people, and more. Mazur tells the story of how the parks finally became close to ‘bear proof’ by building her book around quotes from the people who were on the front lines of bear management. What results is a lively, fascinating tale.” —Stephen Herrero, PhD, Professor Emeritus at the University of Calgary and author of Bear Attacks: their Causes and Avoidance.

“With a collection of stories told by those in the trenches, Speaking of Bears exposes the complexities of human-bear conflict. It is a vibrant tale of what has been tried, has and hasn’t worked, and may be next. Along the way, the reader discovers that the answers are often not as easy as they initially appear.” —Marc Kenyon, Human-Wildlife Conflict Program Coordinator, California Department of Fish and Wildlife

“Mazur is one of a rare breed of ecologists who write about natural history with ease. In Speaking of Bears, every page is both engrossing and informative. By the close of this book, you will know the passion and science behind bear management and you will be richer for the experience.” —Savannah Boiano, Education Director, Sequoia Natural History Association

From the Publisher