American Wolf: A True Story of Survival and Obsession in the West by Nate Blakeslee

5 out of 5 stars  *****

Conservation applies to maintenance of a system by maintaining a well balanced existence of essential factors within the system. Identifying essential elements within an ecosystem, for example, is first and foremost to achieve a healthy environment. American Wolf: A True Story of Survival and Obsession in the West is an account of one such researcher who studies and collars wolves in Northwest America. The collars have GPS technology to track the range of certain wolves and the packs in which they travel.

It is apparent to those who follow the wolves that these hunting experts serve a great purpose in their territories by preventing overpopulation of elk which eat the bushes and trees necessary for other creatures in the food chain. The obvious decline in smaller animals, like beavers, occur when wolves are over-hunted to the brink of total absence in a particular region. Waterways change their patterns without the beaver dams to regulate and promote a barrage of life forms that enhance the environment. 

The American wolf story is the hard work and hardship of capable, compassionate men and women who fight the politics from lobbyists and officials who want to remove wolf populations in their states regardless of scientific evidence that proves wolves contribute to the harmony in nature. Spotters, wolf researchers, start a campaign to educate people who visit Yellowstone National Park and that draws journalists from around the world to write the wolf's story. When one particular, loved wolf is shot and killed outside the borders of the park, the news reaches around the world and an outcry sways legislation to preserve the wolf packs rather than granting farmers, hunters and the Game and Wildlife lobby their way. The ecosystem returns to a natural balance of beauty teeming with beneficial creatures necessary for its maintenance. 

American Wolf: A True Story of Survival and Obsession in the West is wonderfully expressed with the humanity that lifts their cause to the general public who, now, have opportunity to visit these regions and view, for themselves, how important their survival is in the vast Northwest territories of America.