United States
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Caribou Rainforest doesn't tell an easy story, ask easy questions, or pretend that there are easy solutions to the possible extinction of the last mountain caribou herds found in Canada and the United States. There are fewer than twenty animals left in the last US herd. Yet what Caribou Rainforest does – with photographs, words, and science – is explain why this is happening, so that as a community we don't repeat our mistakes, even when our intentions are good.
Author David Moskowitz has studied and photographed these caribou extensively in order to understand their plight. He hasn't found villains, but rather climate change, predators, recreationists, settler colonialism, industrial logging, mineral extraction, and a perfect confluence of factors that have worked against this fragile species and the fragile environment upon which it relies.
The story of this iconic animal and stunning landscape provides an example of shifting conservation challenges and tactics in the twenty-first century. Mountain caribou have been identified as an "umbrella species" by conservationists, meaning that protecting their habitat also helps preserve many other species who depend on the same ecosystem. The discussion topics are controversial and wrenching – upending the forestry economy of the region, exterminating wolves (who also struggle to survive) to protect the caribou, limiting recreational access to critical habitat, respecting the rights of indigenous peoples. The issues are contentious, but the opportunity to craft solutions still exists.
If we do in fact lose the caribou, the task then pivots to how we can protect what remains of this rare rainforest ecosystem. In Caribou Rainforest, the author searches for lessons that can turn despair into hope: their story can become the inspiration and catalyst for committed change.
David Moskowitz works as a biologist, photographer, and outdoor educator. He is the author of two books, Wildlife of the Pacific Northwest and Wolves in the Land of Salmon. He has contributed to a wide variety of wildlife studies in western North America, focusing on using tracking and other non-invasive methods to study wildlife ecology and promote conservation. David's extensive experience includes training mountaineering instructors for Outward Bound, leading wilderness expeditions throughout the western United States and in Alaska, teaching natural history seminars, and as the lead instructor for wildlife tracking programs at Wilderness Awareness School. He lives in Winthrop, Washington.
