Grizzly bears are the most striking symbol of the North American wild, as well as one of the most controversial animals on the continent. David Knibb's book highlights the policy and political issues involved in efforts to save the Great Bear from extinction, including the heated debate over the decision to remove Yellowstone' grizzly bears from the list of threatened species. As Lance Craighead points out in the book's foreword, Knibb tells this compelling story with a refreshing immediacy, almost as if he were there in the conference room, meeting halls, private offices, and public chambers where the fate of the grizzly bear was negotiated. Knibb looks at grizzly bear recovery on both sides of the border, from the North Cascades to the Northern Rockies. He discusses the critical role of state governments, the need for links between recovery areas, and the question of whether bears in each area should be treated as distinct populations. In the process, he underscores the need for American-Canadian cooperation in the management of bears living along the border.
Grizzly Wars is both a history of the grizzly bear recovery effort and a case study in how the Endangered Species Act actually works. The book spans the period at the turn of the twenty-first century when American environmental policy underwent a radical change in direction. Situating grizzly bears in a broader context, Knibb shows how much they and other endangered species must contend with shifts in the national political climate.