Talk of the Towns 7/11/14

Guest host: Ron Beard Studio Engineer: Amy Browne Issue: Community concerns and opportunities Program Topic: Sharing the Landscape: People and Wildlife Key Discussion Points: Jim tells a a bit about his career and connection to Maine…and what factors led to his interest in the increasingly fractious interactions between people and wildlife, leading him to write Nature Wars Jim explains some of the roots of the modern-day problem of people encroaching on wildlife and wildlife encroaching on people Landscape—cutting colonial era forests to forests re-growing since the Civil War- present day eastern forest, land conservation Where people lived and worked– rural to urban and suburban, outdoors- indoors How we have “managed” wildlife—abundance, slaughter, scarcity, protection, benign neglect, over abundance How people relate to wildlife—hunting source of food, threats to agriculture, slaughter for fashion, hunting for sport, romantic portrayals in literature and film, observing nature from indoors, wildlife as pets The current commercialization of wildlife – feeding birds and other wildlife Jim tells the story of how fictional “East Burbia” approaches its deer situation Reporters are charged with finding the story, laying out all the dimensions… where do you see this story leading us… what are our responsibilities in relation to wildlife? Are there any bright spots that give you hope for a shared landscape? Guests by name and affiliation: Jim Sterba, foreign correspondent and national reporter for the Wall Street Journal and New York Times, author of Nature Wars, published by Crown Publishers, 2012, and Frankie’s Place: A Love Story See also www.JIMSTERBA.com The post Talk of the Towns 7/11/14 first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.