Wolves have become a complicated comeback story. Their tracks are once again making trails throughout western Alberta, southern British Columbia and the northwestern United States, and the lonesome howls of the legendary predator are no longer mere echoes from our frontier past: they are prophetic voices emerging from the hills of our contemporary reality. Kevin Van Tighem's first RMB Manifesto explores the history of wolf eradication in western North America and the species' recent return to the places where humans live and play. Rich with personal anecdotes and the stories of individual wolves whose fates reflect the complexity of our relationship with these animals, The Homeward Wolf neither romanticizes nor demonizes this wide-ranging carnivore with whom we once again share our Western spaces. Instead, it argues that wolves are coming back to stay, that conflicts will continue to arise and that we will need to find new ways to manage our relationship with this formidable predator in our ever-changing world.
Kevin Van Tighem has studied wildlife and habitat in western Canada for almost 40 years. A naturalist and hunter, he has written more than 200 articles, stories and essays on conservation and wildlife which have garnered him many awards, including Western Magazine Awards, Outdoor Writers of Canada book and magazine awards and the Journey Award for Fiction. He has served on the executive committees of the Federation of Alberta Naturalists, Alberta Wilderness Association and Foothills Model Forest. His decades of work in landscape ecology, conservation biology and nature interpretation in the national parks of western Canada culminated in 2011 with his retirement as superintendent of Banff National Park. Kevin is the author of Bears: Without Fear. He lives in Canmore, Alberta.