Boston Flora

Tag: Jim Sterba

  • Wednesday, February 4, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Humans and Wildlife: The New Imbalance

    Jim Sterba, author of Nature Wars, will give a free talk at the Cambridge Public Library, 449 Broadway in Cambridge, on Wednesday, February 4, from 7 – 8:30, sponsored by Grow Native Massachusetts.

    By the late 19th century, North American forests and wildlife were in dire straits. For nearly 400 years, arriving Europeans had removed trees and killed off wild birds and animals to the point that a few enlightened leaders sounded the alarm, and the conservation movement was born. Three slow but remarkable transformations followed. Forests reclaimed huge swaths of abandoned cropland. Many threatened wildlife populations, restocked in refuges and protected, slowly grew back to health. Then, people moved out of cities after World War II, creating a mosaic of suburban, exurban and rural sprawl where family farms once thrived.

    Now, this new habitat is filled with people who want to leave nature alone, and many wildlife populations are proliferating out of balance. We have mounting community conflicts over what to do, or not to do, about deer, beavers, Canada Geese, and other species. As the dominant player in our ecosystems, it is time for us to overcome our reluctance and embrace our stewardship role.

    Jim Sterba is an internationally recognized author and correspondent who has reported for The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal for more than four decades. His book, Nature Wars, published in 2012, has earned critical acclaim and catalyzed an important national conversation about wildlife management.

  • Thursday, December 13, 6:00 pm – Nature Wars: The Incredible Story of How Wildlife Comebacks Turned Backyards into Battlegrounds

    Although Americans may spend 90 percent of their time indoors, we now live in closer proximity to wild animals now than anytime in our history. Journalist Jim Sterba traces our 400-year relationship to wild animals, from the 19th-century “era of extermination” to the conservation movement of last century, and up through the current age of “sprawl.” Today, Sterba argues, our well-meaning efforts to protect certain species has allowed some wild populations to burgeon out of control, costing billions in damage, degrading ecosystems, and deepening disputes that have polarized communities. The talk will take place this Thursday, December 13, beginning at 6 pm. Free and open to the public, Geological Lecture Hall, 24 Oxford Street. Free event parking in the 52 Oxford Street garage.