Grizzlies and Grizzled Old Men: A Tribute To Those Who Fought To Save The Great Bear

Grizzlies and Grizzled Old Men is a tribute to the core of men who were largely responsible for saving the grizzly bear from extinction by questioning public opinion and policies of their day, a time before professional biologists and wildlife managers developed strategies for proper human coexistence with the grizzly. The brutal bear trapper of a century ago, Grizzly Adams, said before he died that he preferred the company of bears to men. The great bear hunter, William Wright, wrote of his grudging admiration for the grizzly that eventually compelled him to stop killing them. Other men followed, questioning the popular opinion that the only good bear was a dead bear. This book gives honor to those men and explains how and why the grizzly disappeared from the western landscape.The book begins with a brief history about how the grizzly was pushed to the verge of extinction and then each of the following chapters focuses on one of the men who promoted the plight of the grizzly bear through printed word, actions, or deeds. Lastly, the book discusses the generation of men and women who labor today to conserve the grizzly and offers the reader approaches to take up the cause.