8/8. Conservation Battles: From the Extinction of the Ivory Bill to the Political Fight over Wolves — Dan Flores — The twentieth century witnessed simultaneous conservation efforts and continuing ecological tragedy, notably the probable extinction of the iconic ivory-billed woodpecker following industrial logging of its remaining habitat. Florescredits Rachel Carson's Silent Spring with catalyzing public ecological awareness, contributing to landmark legislation including the Endangered Species Act of 1973. Flores emphasizes that despite compelling scientific evidence demonstrating wolves and coyotes' essential ecological value, wildlife recovery remains politically intractable due to persisting ideologies of human exceptionalism and deep-seated cultural antipathy toward apex predators, reflecting unresolved tensions between wilderness conservation and rural extractive economies.
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