Ghost Bears: Exploring the Biodiversity Crisis. Foreword By Michael E Soulé

Washington D.C.: Island Press, 1992. Soft cover. Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. The book has been covered in contact, and apart from a neat ownership signature on the fron end paper is immaculate. xx, 294 pages. Originally presented as the author's thesis (Ph. D.--Union Institute) 'Across the country and around the world, species that once flourished are now seldom seen. The impact of humans on organisms, ecosystems, and the biosphere has reached crisis proportions, but often this crisis is viewed in terms of a single species - the spotted owl, the snail darter - that is being threatened by a specific human action - logging, building. Rarely are the essential links between human values, actions, and management goals that create this tragedy ever examined. In Ghost Bears, R. Edward Grumbine looks at the wide-ranging implications of this crisis and explains why our species-centered approach will ultimately fail to protect ecosystems and diversity. Using the fate of the endangered grizzly bear - the "ghost bear" - to explore the causes and effects of species loss and habitat destruction, Grumbine presents a clear assessment of the biodiversity crisis and introduces the new science of conservation biology. While conservation biology may eventually provide theories and tools for solutions to this crisis, until now its philosophical and conceptual framework has remained inaccessible to the general public. Grumbine explains this science in understandable terms and in the process, describes the connections between conservation biology, environmental laws, land management practices, and environmental values that must be understood if the environmental destruction we are wreaking is to be brought under control.' (publisher's blurb) Contents: Foreword /? Michael E. Soule 1. Boundary Marking: An Introduction 2. The Biology of Thinking Like a Mountain. Defining Biodiversity. The Advent of Conservation Biology. The Quest for Viable Populations. The Decline of Nature Reserves. Effects of Habitat Fragmentation. Natural Disturbances and Patchy Landscapes. Greater Ecosystems and Biological Corridors. A New Ecological Image of Nature 3. Ghost Bears. Grizzly Bears in North America. The Bear Mother Myth. Grizzlies in the North Cascades. Grizzly Bear Recovery. Decisions for the Future 4. Laws on the Land. The Limits of Legal Preservation. The Endangered Species Act and Biodiversity. The National Forest Management Act. National Forest Planning. The Mount Baker-Snoqualmie Forest Plan. Challenging the Forest Service in Wisconsin. Forest Plans and the Courts. A National Biodiversity Protection Act? Legislation for Ancient Forests. The Future of Legislative Reform 5. The Landscape of Management. What Is a Resource? The Origins of Public Land Management and the Rise of the Forest Service. Rivalry with the Park Service. Wise-Use Today. The Story of the Northern Spotted Owl. The Genesis of Ecosystem Management. Ecosystem Management in Practice: Lessons from Yellowstone and the North Cascades. Federal Agencies and Public Participation. Reforming the Landscape of Management 6. Ecosystem Management for Native Diversity. Ecosystem-Management Goals. Outlining a Model of Ecosystem Management. Land Managers in Support of Biodiversity. Passing an Endangered Ecosystems Act. Protecting Biodiversity on State and Private Lands. Scientists and Advocacy. Biodiversity and Civic Responsibility 7. Resources, Ecosystems, Place. The Council of All Beings. Ecosystem Management for the Ecological Self. The Fallacy of Ecosystem Management. Dwelling in the Commons: A Map for the Future. The Promise of the Biodiversity Crisis.