Hear from the author of “A Woman Among Wolves”
As Vital Ground continues celebrating our 35th Anniversary and building momentum for the conservation work ahead, we are thrilled to offer our far-flung community of wildlife supporters a chance to gather virtually this fall and listen to the wisdom of a distinguished voice in the wildlife conservation world.
We’re excited to welcome renowned Montana wolf biologist and author Diane Boyd to discuss her new book, A Woman Among Wolves, on December 10.
- WHAT: Online book talk and Q&A with biologist Diane Boyd
- WHEN: Wednesday, December 10, 6pm MT
- ZOOM LINK: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87042159687
We can’t wait for this final gathering of our community before the Winter Solstice and holiday travel season, as we welcome Diane to discuss her new memoir, A Woman Among Wolves: My Journey Through Forty Years of Wolf Recovery. Here’s how publisher Greystone Books describes the book:
Called the Jane Goodall of wolves, world-renowned wildlife biologist Diane Boyd has spent four decades studying and advocating for wolves in the wilds of Montana near Glacier National Park. When she started in the 1970s, she was the only female biologist in the United States researching and radio-collaring wild wolves. With her two dogs for company, she faced the rigors of the Montana winter in an isolated cabin without running water or electricity.
Boyd fearlessly forded icy rivers, strapped on skis to navigate thick stands of lodgepole pine, and monitored packs from the air in a tiny bush plane that skimmed the treetops so she could count wolves and see what they were feeding on. She faced down grizzly bears, mountain lions, wolverines—and the occasional trapper—as she stalked her quarry: a handful of wolves that were making their way south from Canada into Montana. Resilient and resourceful, she devised her own trapping methods and negotiated with locals as wolf populations grew from the first natural colonizer to more than 3,000 wolves in the West today.
In this captivating book, Boyd takes the reader on a wild ride from the early days of wolf research to the present-day challenges of wolf management across the globe, highlighting her interactions with an apex predator that captured her heart and her undying admiration. Her writing resonates with her indomitable spirit as she explores the intricate balance of human and wolf coexistence.
(UPDATE: scroll down to view the recording of our earlier fall webinar with co-founder Lynne Seus. Thanks to all who joined!)
We were also honored to feature Lynne Seus at our first webinar earlier this fall. Vital Ground’s co-founder and the author of a riveting memoir, Lynne tells the story of her singular, adventurous life as a professional trainer of grizzly bears, wolves and much more. Here’s The Grizzlies and Us as described on the back cover:
Lynne Seus and her husband, Doug Seus, started with twenty-five cents and a dream they were told was preposterous. Their family and friends repeated, “You can’t just go rescue grizzly bears and turn them into movie stars.” Yet, Bart the Bear roared to fame and was recognized as a star, and featured as a presenter at the 70th Academy Awards. This magnificent animal shared the screen with some of the most famous faces in Hollywood, as did his namesake, the orphaned cub, Bart the Bear II. Their most important role, however, was their inspiration for the Vital Ground Foundation. Their name and power connected celebrities and wilderness advocates to help protect and enhance over 1 million acres of grizzly habitat to date. The lives of these beloved grizzlies had to matter for something more than movies.
In The Grizzlies and Us you will laugh, you might cry, and then you might laugh some more at the stories of the great soul of the great bear at the heart of a family.
This is a story that no one else can tell. That is unless one has over 50 years of singular memories with five grizzly bears, a black bear, wolf packs, cougars, coyotes, eagles, foxes, bobcats, owls, raccoons, deer, a badger named Billy, and a trio of human children. “You can’t do this,” they said. “Nobody does this.” This is how we did it. It is a love story.
If you haven’t read these great books already or need a good holiday gift idea, you can order your copy of each book today from our Bear Mart and support grizzly conservation in the process!