Trail Talks: The Accidental Ecosystem: People and Wildlife in American Cities with Peter Alagona

Since WW II, cities in North America, South America, Europe, Australia, and parts of East Asia have attracted unprecedented numbers of wild animals even as many wildlife populations have declined or been decimated in other "wilder" ecosystems. Most American cities, in particular, now have more wildlife in and around them than at any time in their history. How did this happen? And what does it mean for people, wildlife, cities, and even nature itself on our increasingly urban planet? In this talk, Peter Alagona will answer these questions in relation to his new book, The Accidental Ecosystem: People and Wildlife in American Cities, published in spring 2022 by the University of California Press.

Bio: Peter Alagona is a professor in the Environmental Studies Program at UCSB. Before arriving at UCSB, he studied at Northwestern, UCLA, Harvard, and Stanford. He is the author of around 5 dozen articles and 2 books on American environmental history and human relations with wildlife, including The Accidental Ecosystem: People and Wildlife in American Cities, published by UC Press in 2022. He is also the founder and facilitator of the California Grizzly Research Network, which conducts research on the past and potential future of brown bears in California.