Buffalo Rising Online

Jul 24th 2008, 7:05am By Jerome Lindberg

William Stolzenburg’s case for predator protection.

Thom Hayden of the Christian Science Monitor describes William Stolzenburg’s new book, where the Wild Things Were: Life, Death, and Ecological Wreckage in a Land of Vanishing Predators. as “A refreshing blend of scientific rigor and personal observation” and “An absorbing and delightful work of natural history.”

In this impassioned debut, wildlife journalist Stolzenburg examines predation's crucial role in the preservation of ecological diversity, painting nightmarish pictures of what happens when top carnivores are exterminated from ecosystems. Without sea otters to keep ravenous sea urchins in check, some ocean floors in the North Pacific have been stripped of kelp. In Yellowstone National Park, the eradication of wolves has resulted in a glut of elk that have trampled river banks and chewed down young trees. White-tailed deer have denuded the undergrowth in the forests of the eastern United States because wolves and cougars have disappeared.

Without large meat eaters, mid-size predators (raccoons, blue jays, crows, squirrels, opossums) have proliferated, decimating songbird populations. In dazzling descriptions, Stolzenburg demonstrates how the delicate balance between predator and prey is so essential, and his book--rich in dramatic accounts of life and death in the wild--is powerful and compelling.

Stolzenburg lives in West Virginia, and his articles have appeared in Nature Conservancy and Science News. While his focus on the environment is slightly askew from most of the U.S. media’s, whose over saturation of the importance of global warming has numbed the majority of American’s into a agreeable stupor, Stolzenburg’s interest in animals and their interdependency offers readers not only a chance to educate themselves in a different field of conservation, but also the opportunity to find parallels between the animal planet and the human one.

This Friday, Stolzenburg will appear at the downtown library to kick off a new lunchtime program in conjunction with WBFO. The Meet the Author Lunchtime Library Series will not only be simulcast on WBFO, but the program will be recorded by C-SPAN for re-broadcast on its popular show Book Notes. Stolzenburg will be interviewed by Bert Gambini from noon to 1:00, and will be available to speak with fans and sign books after his reading outside the Encore Editions bookstore. Come find out for yourself what makes this subject and author so “remarkably engaging" according to Bill McKibben of the Boston Post.

For diners attending the author interview, seating will be available in both Fables Café and the Ring of Knowledge on a first-come, first-served basis. For those not having lunch, chairs for viewing the simulcast will be available in the Ring of Knowledge. Early arrival is recommended, as seating is limited. Lunch orders may be placed in advance (Friday morning) by calling 716.858.7127 (view the menu online at www.fablescafe.com).

For more information and details, click here. For Thom Hayde's review click here.