
Wired Wilderness
Technologies of Tracking and the Making of Modern Wildlife
Etienne Benson(Author)
Johns Hopkins University Press
Published on 26. January 2011
Book
Hardback
264 pages
978-0-8018-9710-8 (ISBN)
Description
American wildlife biologists first began fitting animals with radio transmitters in the 1950s. By the 1980s the practice had proven so useful to scientists and nonscientists alike that it became global. Wired Wilderness is the first book-length study of the origin, evolution, use, and impact of these now-commonplace tracking technologies. Combining approaches from environmental history, the history of science and technology, animal studies, and the cultural and political history of the United States, Etienne Benson traces the radio tracking of wild animals across a wide range of institutions, regions, and species and in a variety of contexts. He explains how hunters, animal-rights activists, and other conservation-minded groups gradually turned tagging from a tool for control into a conduit for connection with wildlife.
Drawing on extensive archival research, interviews with wildlife biologists and engineers, and in-depth case studies of specific conservation issues-such as the management of deer, grouse, and other game animals in the upper Midwest and the conservation of tigers and rhinoceroses in Nepal-Benson illuminates telemetry's context-dependent uses and meanings as well as commonalities among tagging practices. Wired Wilderness traces the evolution of the modern wildlife biologist's field practices and shows how the intense interest of nonscientists at once constrained and benefited the field. Scholars of and researchers involved in wildlife management will find this history both fascinating and revealing.
Drawing on extensive archival research, interviews with wildlife biologists and engineers, and in-depth case studies of specific conservation issues-such as the management of deer, grouse, and other game animals in the upper Midwest and the conservation of tigers and rhinoceroses in Nepal-Benson illuminates telemetry's context-dependent uses and meanings as well as commonalities among tagging practices. Wired Wilderness traces the evolution of the modern wildlife biologist's field practices and shows how the intense interest of nonscientists at once constrained and benefited the field. Scholars of and researchers involved in wildlife management will find this history both fascinating and revealing.
Reviews / Votes
An outstanding survey of how wild animals are tracked and documented. Midwest Book Review 2011 A much-needed reminder that human dimensions have influenced and will continue to influence the direction of wildlife conservation, science, and management just as much as changing technologies. Choice 2011More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Baltimore, MD
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
15 s/w Abbildungen
15 Illustrations, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
499 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8018-9710-8 (9780801897108)
DOI
10.1353/book.336
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
01/2011
Johns Hopkins University Press
€43.99
Available for download
Person
Etienne Benson received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Content
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Knowing the Wild
1. Cold War Game
2. The Poetry of Wilderness
3. Diplomatic and Political Subtleties
4. The Regulatory Leviathan
Conclusion: New Connections
Abbreviations
Notes
Essay on Sources
Index
Introduction: Knowing the Wild
1. Cold War Game
2. The Poetry of Wilderness
3. Diplomatic and Political Subtleties
4. The Regulatory Leviathan
Conclusion: New Connections
Abbreviations
Notes
Essay on Sources
Index