“People in this world today crave something real, and our
society is lacking that and they could come to Yellowstone and
see real nature unfolding in front of their eyes with this very
unique personality of a wolf and they loved her. They thought it
was great,” said biologist Douglas Smith in December on a NPR
program. Smith was mourning the death of the famous female alpha
wolf 832F of the Lamar Canyon pack that had been legally killed
by a hunter outside of the park. I, too, was thrilled when I got
to watch members of that particular wolf pack wandering the
landscape of Lamar Valley. Smith’s claim that people “crave
something real” gets at the heart of PERC’s recent Lone Mountain
Forum, “Reconciling Economics and Ecology.” Smith is asserting
that wolves wandering the landscape of Yellowstone Park are more
real than… what exactly? When it comes to nature and landscapes,
what is real and what is fake? And what is the “real nature”
that Smith believes people are craving? Nature as a Social
Construct The Oxford