Bring Back the Buffalo!: A Sustainable Future for America's Great Plains

Book Description

With a new epilogue
Though the Plains have been in economic and population decline since the twenties, they are actually within closer reach of vibrant ecological sustainability than any other region of the country. This visionary book offers a constructive alternative to the decline of cattle ranching, depletion of underground water, and dependency on outside energy sources. It shows how bringing back the hardy, majestic bison and using the region's winds to generate power are keys to renewed economic and social health for Plains communities.

Customer Reviews:

An excellant series of suggestions for the rural plains.......2003-10-20

Well, I'll try this a second time. The first time I wrote this review, it disappeared from the screen as soon as I clicked on the Edit button, so take care. At any rate...
Callenbach makes an excellent case for changing the way we utilize the Great Plains. With depleting aquifers, failing farms, and resultant loss of population, the region is changing drastically, regardless. With a semi-arid climate, the High Plains are best utilized for ranching, with some farming of suitable crops. The author points out that the native American bison is far more suited to this environment than the domestic bovines now dominant. They are low-maintainance, and provide meat that is leaner than beef, with more protein. And, it's quite delicious. (In fact, after I get off the web, I intend to cook a stroganoff with ground buffalo!) Thru both public and private efforts, as well as projects by Indian tribes in the region, bison can once more become part of a sustainable future for the Plains. Callenbach also advocates bringing back associated grazers like elk, deer, and antelope, as well as appropriate natural predators. Still, man will continue to be the main predator. By using the Plains in a sustainable fashion, a better future could be in store for this great region of the country. Tourism, in the form of wildlife viewing, picture-taking, and hunting would add to the economy. He correctly points out that wind-power would become a major source of power thru-out this whole area.
All in all, a fascinating and thought-provoking series of ideas for projects and policies that would help reverse the decline in the heartland. I would recommend it to anyone interested in a sustainable future. Needless to say, there is much more to the book. I've only mentioned a few of the main points. (I listed more in my disappearing first review; that still ticks me off.) Nevertheless, read it and I guarantee it will not be time wasted.

The Buffalo and the Bear.......2000-01-29

To begin with, i haven't read this book.But the idea seems to me great. Bringing buffalos to the plains will start a new period in the life of America, only we'll have to bring indians too. They would live quietly though loudly, producing some kind of energy which was always here, and which otherways is dissolving into Nowhere.This energy is necessary for generating life all over America. Joseph Campbell tells an interesting story about how buffalos interchanged with indians in the process of buffalo-hunt. They (buffalos) said they are not against hunting them in general, but they must be asked to and treated politely. Anyway all this play is inevitable, they said (indians used to follow them to the end of the rock and made them jump into the precipice) You must only find a suitable form. Another, more human and beautiful attitude we see in the film "Bless the beasts and the children", but this is a kind of unfair play from the side of the bad guys that we see there. Anyway, America must return to It's roots, the only question is where and what these roots are? perhaps this returning is going on somewhere without us, humans, and this is for better because we would spoil everything, even the ecologists? And this process is wild and strong? And it is expressed in our personal mythologies? I had written about the russian-american connections( i am a Russian originally) as the connections of the Bear and the Buffalo, both of them are beautifully and roughly strong, but they differ very much in their behaviour. So i think they would not fight, when they meet, imagine what they would do? Bear had a strong hand, Buffalo a strong foot...no, it's hard to imagine. Dance perhaps? Do circus? So to finish with this short review of an unread book( I liked Ecotopia very much, and want to ask if somebody knows what Mr.Callenbach is doing at the moment)I would like to phantasise about returning bears to the Russian forests. There are still a lot of them, but so many were killed, and so many went to the zoo and circus. What would be Russia with bears in the streets of Moscow? Perhaps people are so tired that nobody would notice?

Really opens your eyes to the importance of restoring bison.......1999-10-01

An excellent book. Callenbach clearing shows that he did his "homework". A must read for anyone who feels that bison should be reestablished on the American scene.

The poorest book ever written about the Great Plains.......1998-08-24

Callenbach demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of the people who live on the Great Plains and the issues facing them. This book is very poorly researched, is full of factual errors, and consists primarily of wishful thinking. The idea that taking land from the people that own it and creating a giant buffalo park will be an economic boon and reverse the population declines the Plains has experienced for the past 60 years is ludicrous. If you're really interested in the future of the Great Plains, read some of the more recent articles by Frank and Deborah Popper. The Buffalo Commons is a useful metaphor, but nothing more.

Prairie Dog Empire: A Saga of the Shortgrass Prairie

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Prairie Dog Empire: A Saga of the Shortgrass Prairie
Paul A. Johnsgard
Manufacturer: University of Nebraska Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Conservation | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

General | Conservation | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0803226047

Book Description

For hundreds of years black-tailed prairie dogs inhabited the Great Plains by the millions, improving the grazing for bison and pronghorn antelope, digging escape holes and homes for burrowing owls and rodents, and serving as prey for badgers, coyotes, hawks, and bobcats. This book by the renowned naturalist and writer Paul A. Johnsgard tells the complex biological and environmental story of the western Great Plains under the prairie dog’s reign—and then under a brief but devastating century of human dominion.

An indispensable and highly readable introduction to the ecosystem of the shortgrass prairie, Prairie Dog Empire describes in clear and detailed terms the habitat and habits of black-tailed prairie dogs; their subsistence, seasonal behavior, and the makeup of their vast colonies; and the ways in which their “towns” transform the surrounding terrain—for better or worse. Johnsgard recounts how this terrain was in turn transformed over the past century by the destruction of prairie dogs and their grassland habitats, together with the removal of the bison and their replacement with domestic livestock. A disturbing look at profound ecological alterations in the environment, this book also offers a rare and invaluable close-up view of the rich history and threatened future of the creature once considered the “keystone” species of the western plains.

Included are maps, drawings, and listings of more than two hundred natural grassland preserves where many of the region’s native plants and animals may still be seen and studied.

Average customer rating:

Raises some good points but rambles, not enough information
An interesting view of the West
The Dilemma on the Great Plains

Where the Buffalo Roam
Anne Matthews
Manufacturer: Grove Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Politics | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Environmental Science | Earth Sciences | Science | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0802133398

Customer Reviews:

Raises some good points but rambles, not enough information .......2005-06-09

Originally written by the author in 1992, She spent a year following the Poppers and their efforts to get people to see how the Great Plains states are dying. They are actually running out of water and losing population.
There are a lot of pages about their travels, speaking engagements with often hostile crowds,hostile press (not all western) and some sections dealing with the science of what is happening to the land out there. You also get a fair amount of history, some people always saw the Plains as land that shouldn't be developed as eastern land had been (it wasn't suitable for such useage).
I'd have liked more science and more detail on the Buffalo commons concept, it's an interesting idea but I don't see it becoming a national policy. The new forward and afterword deal with changes in the situation since the original publication but don't convince me that it has much chance of really happening.

An interesting view of the West.......2003-12-09

This book is typical of a piece that evolves from a New York Times Magazine article: full of narrative, a bit rammbling at times and a bit on the lite side. Matthews gives some snippets of ecological and historical analysis, but ultimately this is not an analytical book. It is very readable, however, and raises awareness to the ecologic and economic crises of the Great Plains. The piece details two Rutgers academics, the Poppers, who are promoting the notion of a "Buffalo Commons," a plan that involves the federal government buying out the most marginal of Great Plains land to turn into a giant reserve for bison, shortgrass and Indians. The book details much of the angry Western reaction to the plan. It also shows large sections of the West in near ruin, in desperate need of a new, sustainable solution, as current attempts to exploit the arid West by argiculture is producing only dust storms, a depleted aquifier and busted-out farm communities.

The Dilemma on the Great Plains.......2000-06-25

This book held my constant attention from the first time I picked it up. Ms. Matthews gives a very even-handed account of what I call "The Dilemma on the Great Plains." She thoughtfully explains the Buffalo Commons plan for the restoration of the plains. She introduces Frank and Deborah Popper, New Jersey academics from Rutgers University, who came up with the Buffalo Commons plan. I was riveted because I once lived in South Dakota, near the Montana and Wyoming borders and could empathize with the issue. The Poppers came up with the Buffalo Commons idea in the late 1980s as a way to "save" the plains. It has been very controversial, to say the least. The plains way of life and the emotions of the issue are handled brilliantly by Ms. Matthews. I was able to see both sides throughout the book. This issue has an importance to our nation. Read this book to know the issues about the decline in our Great Plains.

Buffalo Nation: American Indian Efforts to Restore the Bison (Bison Original)

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Buffalo Nation: American Indian Efforts to Restore the Bison (Bison Original)
Ken Zontek
Manufacturer: Bison Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

ASIN: 0803299222

Book Description

The gruesome story of the devastation of buffalo herds in the late nineteenth century has become uncomfortably familiar. A less familiar story, but a hopeful one for the future, is Ken Zontek’s account of Native peoples’ efforts to repopulate the Plains with a healthy, viable bison population. Interspersing scientific hypothesis with Native oral traditions and interviews, Buffalo Nation provides a brief history of bison and human interaction from the Paleolithic era to present preservation efforts.

Zontek’s history of bison restoration efforts is also a history of North American Native peoples’ pursuit of political and cultural autonomy, revealing how Native peoples’ ability to help the bison has fluctuated with their overall struggle. Beginning in the 1870s, Native North Americans established captive bison breeding programs despite the Wounded Knee Massacre and a massive onslaught on Native cultural and religious practices. These preservation efforts were so successful that a significant percentage of bison today carry the bloodlines of these original Native-sponsored herds. At the end of the twentieth century, more than fifty tribes banded together to form the Intertribal Bison Cooperative. This group has made significant progress in restoring bison herds in the United States, while Canadian First Nations work with national parks and other government entities to select and manage free-ranging herds.

Buffalo Nation offers insights into the ways that the Native North American effort to restore the buffalo nation inspires discourse in cultural perseverance, environmentalism, politics, regionalism, spirituality, and the very essence of human-animal interaction.

Landscaping for Wildlife: A Guide to the Southern Great Plains

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Landscaping for Wildlife: A Guide to the Southern Great Plains
J. D. Garrett
Manufacturer: University of Oklahoma Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Garden Design | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Landscape | Gardening & Horticulture | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Conservation | Environment | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Book Description

"People want to attract wildlife to their yards for a variety of reasons, but probably foremost among these is that birds and other animals bring us pleasure. The exuberant songs of cardinals and mockingbirds, the playful antics of young squirrels at feeders, and the sight of colorful butterflies dancing above wildflower patches provide us with both daily and lasting joy."-from Landscaping for Wildlife

Written by Jeremy D. Garrett in association with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC), Landscaping for Wildlife provides beginners and experts alike with specific, detailed, yet easy-to-follow instructions for meeting water needs, feeding preferences, and nesting requirements of wildlife species found in the southern Great Plains. Garrett also explains how specific plants draw animals to your property by providing food and shelter sources.

To assist readers in designing their own "wildscape," detailed diagrams and plant listings accompany photographs of several ODWC-certified wildscaped properties. A woodworking section includes patterns of nesting and feeding stations designed for individual wildlife species. Garrett's explanations and advice are complemented by Coral McCallister's elegant and charming illustrations of wildlife as well as of various habitats and wildscapes.

Book Description

As a scientist, Loren Smith has made tremendous contributions to our understanding of playa ecology. Through Playas of the Great Plains he makes a further contribution by helping a wider audience understand the uniqueness and importance of these signature features of the Southern Great Plains.

— Great Plains Research

"This is a very significant contribution to the field of wetland ecology. Playa wetlands are very widespread and important, yet there have been few attempts to pull together all of the playa scientific articles and studies into one place. It is especially valuable that this book summarizes many of the recent scientific discoveries about these wetlands."

—Ted LaGrange, Wetland Program Manager, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission

Shallow wetlands that occur primarily in semi-arid to arid environments, playas are keystone ecosystems in the western Great Plains of North America. Providing irreplaceable habitat for native plants and animals, including migratory birds, they are essential for the maintenance of biotic diversity throughout the region. Playas also serve to recharge the aquifer that supplies much of the water for the Plains states. At the same time, however, large-scale habitat changes have endangered playas across the Great Plains, making urgent the need to understand their ecology and implement effective conservation measures.

This book provides a state-of-the-art survey of all that is currently known about Great Plains playa ecology and conservation. Loren Smith synthesizes his own extensive research with other published studies to define playas and characterize their origin, development, flora, fauna, structure, function, and diversity. He also thoroughly explores the human relationship with playas from prehistoric times, when they served as campsites for the Clovis peoples, to today's threats to playa ecosystems from agricultural activities and global climate change. A blueprint for government agencies, private conservation groups, and concerned citizens to save these unique prairie ecosystems concludes this landmark study.

Faces of the Great Plains: Prairie Wildlife

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Fantastic Book on the Wildlife of the Great Plains
Outstanding Plains Fauna Information

Faces of the Great Plains: Prairie Wildlife
Paul A. Johnsgard , and Bob Gress
Manufacturer: University Press of Kansas
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Nature & Wildlife | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Photo Essays | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

Nature Writing | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 0700612653

Book Description

The Great Plains are America's biological melting pot, drawing creatures from surrounding regions to create a rich diversity of wildlife. Here are pronghorn in the shortgrass, rattlesnakes underfoot, and golden eagles soaring skyward. Here, too, pockets of bison can still be found, recalling yesterday's thundering herds.

In this spectacular book, Bob Gress--one of the region's preeminent photographers--is joined by the distinguished naturalist Paul Johnsgard to illuminate the enormous variety and uniqueness of prairie wildlife. Gress has selected-from the nearly 600 non-fish vertebrate species found in the Plains-150 of the most interesting, charismatic, and important species, while Johnsgard provides a lyrical text covering the ecology, behavior, and life histories of these creatures. The result is a vivid and striking marriage of image and text.

From meadowlark to prairie dog, here are many creatures one would expect to encounter in the field: characteristic breeding birds, typical mammals, and conspicuous reptiles and amphibians. Grouped by habitat--tallgrass, mixed-grass, and shortgrass prairie, plus sandhills, shrubsteppes, forests, and wetlands--these stunning images also bring you face-to-face with the short-eared owl, black-footed ferret, and six-lined racerunner, as well as other fascinating but overlooked animals on the prairie like the olive-backed pocket mouse, Henslow's sparrow, narrowmouth toad, and barred tiger salamander.

An unprecedented partnership between two great observers of the region, Faces of the Great Plains provides keen insights into and thoughtful reflections on both prairie wildlife and the art of nature photography. Especially in the wake of increasing threats to the prairie's habitats, it should foster a new appreciation of the region's abundant fauna, inviting us all to see the land through new eyes and to join in the preservation of these natural treasures.

Customer Reviews:

Fantastic Book on the Wildlife of the Great Plains.......2004-03-30

As a resident of the great plains for eleven years I found this book the best ever on the subject. Johnsgard's writing weaves its way in and among the best photos I have ever seen of the wildlife of this area. As a photographer I have some idea of the work involved in capturing the great images seen in this book. Bob Gress has done an outstanding job with the photographs, the best I have ever seen. If you are a resident or even a visitor to the great plains you owe it ot yourself to get a copy of this book and study it cover to cover.

Outstanding Plains Fauna Information.......2004-03-30

As a resident of the Great Plains I have found it difficult to find information about the wildlife of the area since moving here 11 years ago. Until now, that is! This books has it all. The writing of Johnsgard flows well in and around the fantastic images of Gress. As a photographer I know what it takes to get good images of the wildlife around here. To get EXCELLENT images takes time, patience and an understanding of the habitat and habits of the animals that call the great plains home. I was able to spend one short morning in a blind with Bob Gress photographing the Greater Prairie Chicken. Not only did he have an excellent blind but it was in the right place, on their lek and we were there at the right time. My photos, while nice captures of the birds were not nearly as well executed as Bob's.

Book Description

Lewis and Clark on the Great Plains is an easy-to-use reference on the wildlife that Meriwether Lewis and William Clark encountered during their 1804–6 Corps of Discovery expedition. More than one hundred animals and plants that were first carefully described and in some cases discovered by Lewis and Clark are identified here.

More than accounts of the regional flora and fauna, Lewis and Clark on the Great Plains examines the lasting importance of the expedition’s discoveries, the significance of the Plains plants and animals to local Native Americans, and the current status of Plains wildlife. Lavishly illustrated with Paul A. Johnsgard’s drawings of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and plants, the book also includes a guide to the Lewis and Clark sites of botanical and zoological interest and more than seventy sites where readers can follow in the footsteps of two of America’s greatest pioneering naturalists.

Customer Reviews:

An easy-to-read, easy-to-use informational reference.......2004-02-09

A bicentennial tribute to an incredible early American trailblazing exploratory expedition, Lewis And Clark On The Great Plains written and illustrated by Paul A. Johnsgard (Foundation Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences at the University of Nebraska) is an easy-to-read, easy-to-use informational reference and instructional guide to the diverse wildlife that Meriwether Lewis and William Clark encountered in their 1804-6 Corps of Discovery expedition across the American wilderness. Black-and-white sketches, basic information, history, and basic scientific facts of each featured animal fill the pages of this strongly endorsed, straightforward, informed and scholarly reference.

Animal Tracks of the Great Plains (Animal Tracks Guides)

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Animal Tracks of the Great Plains (Animal Tracks Guides)
Tamara Eder
Manufacturer: Lone Pine Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | Subjects | Books

Reference | Outdoors & Nature | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books

All 4-for-3 Deals | 4-for-3 Books Store | Stores | Books
ASIN: 1551053039

Biology of the Great Plains muskrat in Nebraska (Wildlife monographs)

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Biology of the Great Plains muskrat in Nebraska (Wildlife monographs)
John Henry Sather
Manufacturer: Wildlife Society]
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007EXGXW

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