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THE HARD WORK AND GREAT REWARDS
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OF CONSERVING THE GREAT OUTDOORS, OUT WEST
"Roberts is a witty, incisive, moving, and very perceptive writer."
--Wilderness Magazine
During the twenty years that Tom Roberts has worked as a wildlife biologist, he has championed the welfare of bighorn sheep now threatened by the development of condos and golf courses; defended mountain grasslands against the overgrazing tacitly encouraged by the Reagan and Clinton administrations; trapped nuisance bears in the high Sierra; and examined the effects of a huge development proposed by a religious cult on the borders of Yellowstone National Park.
Though firmly in the camp of the conservationists, Roberts has learned in the course of his career that the questions are not always easily answered, nor are the problems easily solved. He has wrestled with the tragic illogic on both sides of the never-ending debate over the "Hunters' Rights" law. He has had to see both sides of the issue of predator control in California's love–hate relationship with mountain lions. In much of his work he has tried to understand the elusive balance between enjoying the wilderness and loving it to death.
Roberts' new book, Painting the Cows, is a collection of essays that capture the trials and rewards of wildlife management. They show the growth and change of a dedicated wildlife biologist from an idealistic forest ranger of the 1970s to the seasoned professional working in the private sector in the 1990s. During this same period our nation's ideals and ideas of wilderness management have also undergone major changes. But nature remains, and thanks to the untiring efforts of wildlife professionals, so does wilderness.
Some of the essays in Painting the Cows are funny, some analytical, some philosophical. But they are always the stories of the real people doing the real work of wildlife management, like measuring the meadows, enforcing the Endangered Species Act, providing a source of drinking water to endangered bighorn sheep, and reintroducing peregrine falcon fledglings into the wild.
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About the Author. T.A. Roberts has published articles in Wilderness, Buzzworm, Christian Science Monitor, and other journals, and is the author of four previous books: The Heart of the Dog (nominated for an Edgar Award), Adventures in Conservation, Shy Moon, and Beyond Saru. He lives in Albany, California. |
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