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The Beaver Manifesto
The Beaver Manifesto

The Beaver Manifesto

ISBN: 9781926855585
Glynnis Hood
$16.95
  • Hardback Cloth over boards

Beavers are the great comeback story—a keystone species that survived ice ages, major droughts, the fur trade, urbanization and near extinction. Their ability to create and maintain aquatic habitats has endeared them to conservationists, but puts the beavers at odds with urban and industrial expansion. These conflicts reflect a dichotomy within our national identity. We place environment and our concept of wilderness as a key touchstone for promotion and celebration, while devoting significant financial and personal resources to combating “the beaver problem.”

We need to rethink our approach to environmental conflict in general, and our approach to species-specific conflicts in particular. Our history often celebrates our integration of environment into our identity, but our actions often reveal an exploitation of environment and celebration of its subjugation. Why the conflict with the beaver? It is one of the few species that refuses to play by our rules and continues to modify environments to meet its own needs and the betterment of so many other species, while at the same time showing humans that complete dominion over nature is not necessarily achievable.

Book Details

144

September 15, 2011

Width: 4.75 in
Height: 7 in

Canadian professor Glynnis Hood's fantastic new book, The Beaver Manifesto just arrived in the mail today. I started reading the small volume immediately, and found both the writing and the message most engrossing.—Rhonda Winter, EcoLocalizer

Every once in awhile, a writer comes upon a book she wishes she had written. For me, this is The Beaver Manifesto, by Glynnis Hood…. Hood’s writing is light and accessible. She covers all the beaver bases. Her book is small, compact, and easy to read.— The Readers Review