WALKING THE BIG WILD: From Yellowstone to the Yukon on the Grizzly Bears' Trail

Far-ranging grizzlies, elk and wolves don't know where the parks and preserves established to protect them end and much less hospitable public (and private) land begins. Thus, environmentalists have focused on creating wilderness corridors along which animals—mammals, birds and even fish—can migrate from one seasonal "island" habitat to another. Canadian wildlife biologist Heuer gives a harrowing, humorous, engagingly personal and unabashedly polemical account of his 2,100-mile trek along one such potential link, from Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming to Watson Lake in the Canadian Yukon, along what activists hope will become the Y2Y (Yellowstone to the Yukon) corridor. Heuer hiked, skied, snowshoed and canoed his way along Rocky Mountain ridges, across icy rivers and through near-impenetrable forests; he encountered heart-stopping beauty and soul-soothing calm, as well as harsh winter storms, clouds of voracious mosquitoes and fierce opposition from logging and mining interests. He also found signs that the grizzly—the animal most vulnerable to the creeping incursion of logging roads, oil pipelines and suburban sprawl—was somehow hanging on. Heuer's journey is exciting, and his passionate vision of a network of protected pathways connecting two mostly pristine wilderness areas is inspiring. Photos, maps. (Jan. 20)

Forecast: The extensive coverage of Heuer's trek in newspapers along his route suggests the possibility of solid regional sales.