05/14/2018
In this diverting volume, environmental journalist Goldfarb sings the praises of beavers, who, though “targets of a multicentury massacre” and besieged by urban sprawl, still manage to “flourish... not only in Walmart parking lots, but in stormwater ponds and golf course water hazards.” He sheds light on beaver habits and habitats in the United States, England, and Scotland, focusing on the roles they play within ecosystems and likening them to “ecological and hydrological Swiss Army knives, capable, in the right circumstances, of tackling just about any landscape-scale problem.” Chapters deal, for instance, with how beavers approach infrastructure and build dams by laying foundations with “mud, stones and sticks set perpendicular to the stream’s flow.” Goldfarb also acknowledges the mischief beavers can create, recounting the tale of a beaver who gnawed through fiber-optic cable and knocked out cell phone service in Taos, N.Mex., and a beaver “barging into a Maryland department store and rifling through its plastic-wrapped Christmas trees.” Goldfarb also calls attention to the work done by dedicated wildlife biologists, scientists, land managers, and other self-proclaimed “beaver believers” like Heidi Perryman, founder of the nonprofit Worth a Dam, a “comprehensive clearinghouse for beaver science and coexistence techniques.” These folks lend personality to an affectionate portrait of these “hardy rodents.” Illus. (July)
In Eager, environmental journalist Ben Goldfarb reveals that our modern idea of what a healthy landscape looks like and how it functions is wrong, distorted by the fur trade that once trapped out millions of beavers from North America's lakes and rivers. The consequences of losing beavers were profound: streams eroded, wetlands dried up, and species from salmon to swans lost vital habitat. Today, a growing coalition of “Beaver Believers”-including scientists, ranchers, and passionate citizens-recognizes that ecosystems with beavers are far healthier, for humans and non-humans alike, than those without them. From the Nevada deserts to the Scottish highlands, Believers are now hard at work restoring these industrious rodents to their former haunts. Eager is a powerful story about one of the world's most influential species, how North America was colonized, how our landscapes have changed over the centuries, and how beavers can help us fight drought, flooding, wildfire, extinction, and the ravages of climate change. Ultimately, it's about how we can learn to coexist, harmoniously and even beneficially, with our fellow travelers on this planet.
In Eager, environmental journalist Ben Goldfarb reveals that our modern idea of what a healthy landscape looks like and how it functions is wrong, distorted by the fur trade that once trapped out millions of beavers from North America's lakes and rivers. The consequences of losing beavers were profound: streams eroded, wetlands dried up, and species from salmon to swans lost vital habitat. Today, a growing coalition of “Beaver Believers”-including scientists, ranchers, and passionate citizens-recognizes that ecosystems with beavers are far healthier, for humans and non-humans alike, than those without them. From the Nevada deserts to the Scottish highlands, Believers are now hard at work restoring these industrious rodents to their former haunts. Eager is a powerful story about one of the world's most influential species, how North America was colonized, how our landscapes have changed over the centuries, and how beavers can help us fight drought, flooding, wildfire, extinction, and the ravages of climate change. Ultimately, it's about how we can learn to coexist, harmoniously and even beneficially, with our fellow travelers on this planet.
Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter
Eager: The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter
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Editorial Reviews
Product Details
BN ID: | 2940172412110 |
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Publisher: | Chelsea Green Publishing |
Publication date: | 06/14/2018 |
Edition description: | Unabridged |
Sales rank: | 1,012,050 |