Wolf Mountains
A History of Wolves along the Great Divide

Karen R. Jones

About the Book

Situating the wolf in the history of Canadian national parks, Karen Jones considers changing ideas of nature and wilderness and competing visions of the North American West. Wolf Mountains is essentially a work of environmental history, treating the land as an actor in the historical process.

This controversial study examines the tumultuous relationship between humans and wolves in four Rocky Mountain parks. By comparing the distinctive lupine histories of specific national parks with anecdotes and narratives of wolves from Aboriginals and early Europeans from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, important shifts in attitude and policy are clearly shown.

This book documents the changing tenets of landscape preservation and species protection in preserves of the United States and Canada through a capacious study of canine history.

Drawing on published scholarly research, archived newspapers, records from environmental groups, U.S. and Canadian park records, first-hand accounts from explorers and trappers, and scientific interviews with park staff and biologists, this book contributes enormously to our understanding of the relationship between wolves and humans.

"Karen Jones uses the study of wolves to brilliantly expound the theme of how current human society values guide the fate of animals and plants.Ö a significant and original contribution to the environmental history of the Rocky Mountains." -- Cliff White, wildlife biologist and park warden, Banff National Park of Canada

About the Author

Karen Jones is a teaching fellow in the department of history at the University of Essex in the United Kingdom. She specializes in the history of the United States and the Canadian West, as well as North American environmental history.

Table of Contents

List of Figures
Preface and Acknowledgments

Introduction: National Parks and the Wolf

Chapter One: Wolves in Yellowstone National Park

The Thunderer and Canine Howls
The Changing Nature of Yellowstone National Park
The Wolf's Last Stand in Yellowstone
From Dissenting Opinion to Park Policy
Lupine Ghosts in Yellowstone?
The Wolf Returns to Yellowstone

Chapter Two: Wolves in Glacier National Park

The Demise of Chief Wolf
The Establishment of Glacier
Wolf Policy in the Early Park
Changing Opinions in Glacier
The Rise and Fall of Wolf Fortunes in Glacier
Wolves Resettle in Glacier

Chapter Three: Wolves in Banff National Park

From 'Wolf Country' to the 'Whoop-Up Trail'
The Establishment of Rocky Mountains National Park
The Development of Predator Policy
From Cages to Wild Habitat: Re-appraising the Wolf
Canine Battles in Banff National Park
Lupophobia and the Rabid Wolf
A Den of Wolf Defenders
Wolves Retake Banff
Wolf Paradise Lost?

Chapter Four: Wolves in Jasper National Park

From Earth-Maker Wolf to the Fur Trapper
Nature, Railroad, and National Park
Wolf Policy in Jasper Park
Wrestling with Wardens and Wolves
From Outlaws to Lupine Legends
Nature's Cycles and Human Constructions

Conclusion: the Trials and Trails of Wolf History

Exceptionalism in the Rocky Mountain Wolf Parks
Crossing National Park Boundaries
Restor(y)ing the Wolf

Epilogue: Legal Wrangles, Canine Appetites and Shifting Cultural Attitudes

Bibliography

Related Interest

Parks &Heritage Series

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