cover image Guardians of Yellowstone: An Intimate Look at the Challenges of Protecting America's Foremost...

Guardians of Yellowstone: An Intimate Look at the Challenges of Protecting America's Foremost...

Dan R. Sholly. William Morrow & Company, $23 (317pp) ISBN 978-0-688-09213-9

Writing with freelancer Newman, Sholly, chief ranger at Yellowstone, presents a dramatic picture of the 2.2-million-acre park, showing how hundreds of rangers, scientists, maintenance workers and volunteers care for the wildlife, serve the public and contend with continual emergencies. Vivid descriptions of the devastating forest fires of 1988 figure prominently here, and Sholly justifies the way in which the park rangers handled them, arguing that fires rejuvenate the wilderness and may, in fact, be far less detrimental to the health of the park than the pressures exerted by special interest groups and neighboring landowners. Sholly is obviously a man with a mission to protect Yellowstone in all its grandeur, and this account of how he carries out his work, undaunted by controversy and criticism of his administration, makes wonderful reading. Photos not seen by PW. (June)