On the Brink in the Golden State

This book explores the fate of California’s most endangered animals. Some are celebrated icons and conservation success stories: Gray Wolves are recolonizing the north under their own steam, a lone Wolverine has been filmed crossing a snowbound road near Yosemite, and California Condors, extinct in the wild in 1987, once again soar over the high mountains. Others are vanishingly rare and known only to specialists, such as the Amargosa Vole, the Shasta Salamander, and Franklin’s Bumblebee, unseen in California since 1998. In its own way, each reveals what it takes for wildlife to survive in America’s most populous state.

Here are Island Scrub Jays found only on Santa Cruz Island, Marbled Murrelets that fly miles inland to nest in old-growth redwoods, and Yosemite Toads that walk rather than hop across melting snow to reach their breeding pools. Some species survive in remote outposts, like the tiny remnant population of Gila Monsters in the eastern Mojave, while others cling on in the heart of the cities, among them the San Francisco Garter Snake and the El Segundo Blue butterfly, which survives in the dunes beside Los Angeles International Airport.

Arranged by animal group, from mammals and birds to reptiles, amphibians, fish, and insects, the chapters uncover the forces driving these animals toward extinction: coastal sage scrub bulldozed for some of the most valuable real estate in America, non-native trout stocked in mountain lakes, lead poisoning from spent ammunition, invasive plants, wildfire, and the water wars that turned the diminutive Delta Smelt into a national political battleground. Should Grizzly Bears and Jaguars be brought back to California? Can a lost butterfly be restored using its closest relatives? And why should we care when a small, inconspicuous species disappears?

Drawing on more than 30 years exploring California’s wild places, the author combines vivid field encounters with up-to-date science and concludes with some practical steps any reader can take to help. Engaging, accessible, and illustrated with appealing pen-and-ink drawings throughout, On the Brink in the Golden State is for anyone who cares about wildlife, conservation, or California’s natural history. Californians will see the nature on their doorstep with fresh eyes, while readers across North America will discover why the Golden State is one of the continent’s great treasure houses of biodiversity.