Community Update

Clarion Review

ECOLOGY
& ENVIRONMENT

The Cost
of Being Green before Green Was Cool: A 51 Yr. Odyssey T. J. Elsbury Xlibris
978-1-4797-9421-8 Four Stars (out of Five)

In-depth
and well-documented research bolsters this emotive account of wildlife mismanagement.

T. J.
Elsbury’s The Cost of Being Green before Green Was Cool affirms that state
wildlife agency mismanagement of the mule deer population in western states has
led to the “mysterious” disappearance of numerous children and adults. His
controversial debut book reveals how these disappearances can be traced to the
cumulative effects of policies that led the deer’s natural predators to seek
out other prey or face starvation. Elsbury’s passionate, eloquent, and
meticulously documented book is a testament to one man’s struggle to warn
government wildlife agencies that their incorrect understanding and
mismanagement of the mule deer population is putting ecosystems and human lives
at risk. The book begins with a moving dedication to the children that he
“could not save”—all victims of mountain lion, coyote, or bear attacks.
Elsbury’s dedicated efforts to get to the bottom of the problem challenged the
egos of powerful officials and those who funded their rise to power, and
exposed the misdoings, cover-ups, perjuries, and the cooking of records engaged
in by agency employees. As a result, Elsbury was harassed, threatened, and
arrested. He convincingly demonstrates his contentious relationship with
government wildlife agencies led to losing custody of his granddaughter, a loss
he grieved deeply. His detailed explanations of those events provide a chilling
exposé of the failures of the American “justice” system.

Elsbury
calls on wildlife biologists to “quit rewriting history and take personal
responsibility for their mistakes” instead of blaming every downturn in deer
populations on weather, development, pathogens, or the curtailing of wildfires
and logging. The truth of the matter, he argues, is the downturn is due to the
wildlife managers “holding of general buck hunts during the rut and the taking
of exorbitant numbers of breeding age females from select herds.” Elsbury’s
engaging stories benefit from his long personal history in hunting and
trapping, taxidermy, and wildlife photography. The author holds undergraduate
degrees in wildlife biology, mass media, and journalism, received a Xi Sigma Pi
(Forest Resources Scholarship Achievement Award), and is a member of the
College of Natural Resources Society.

On a
positive note, the book is thoroughly researched and annotated, with a detailed
table of contents, an extensive bibliography, and a helpful appendix filled
with charts, lists, correspondence (official and otherwise), and copies of
relevant newspaper articles; the book is also well indexed. The book’s cover is
attractive and the back matter is sufficiently informative.

Overall,
Elsbury’s work is a highly valuable contribution to the literature on wildlife
management and ecology. It is recommended reading for wildlife management
professionals, scientists, journalists, hunters, and concerned citizens.

                                                                                                   
                                       Kristine Morris