Book Reviewed: The Return of Wolves: An Iconic Predator’s Struggle to Survive in the American West by Eli Francovich

Rewilding the wolves This is a fascinating story of the wolves that were restored to the ecosystem the American Northwest. In 1995, after years of planning, a team of experts carefully relocated fourteen wolves from the Canadian Rockies to the Yellowstone National Park. The final result was wolves’ population grew and spread to the State of Washington. The news of their resurgence provoked reactions. For scientists, wolves represented a singular opportunity to observe, in real time, the consequences of a long-absent predator returning to an ecosystem. For activists, the return of wolves was a clarion call for conservation. For some ranchers and farmers, wolves became a prime example of government overreach, an attack on their values and way of life. For journalists, like Eli Francovich, who works for a newspaper in Spokane, Washington, this was the opportunity of a lifetime for investigative reporting. The author was familiar with the story of Daniel Curry, a range rider who’s a job requires him to spend most of the year in the woods trying to keep wolves from killing cattle, and cattle from wandering into the mouths of wolves. The author details his experiences of working with Curry and how his efforts are balancing the wolf problem particularly in the State of Washington. The primary tension underlying the wolf wars is one that's common to all human-nonhuman relationships, the problem of coexistence. Do we have the will and wisdom to coexist with animals? The reintroduction of wolves has fueled debates about the wolf's role in ecological rewilding and for the restoration of biodiversity. In today's fraught political climate, Eli Francovich’s captivating storytelling is peppered with fascinating insights into the human-wolf relationship.