Running wild Dan Flores takes thrilling deep dive into ecologic history of North American

by Clint McKnight

Dan Flores’ beautifully written deep-dive into the conjoined histories of wildlife and humans in North America, “Wild New World,” is fascinating, heartbreaking and ultimately inspiring. It is easily my favorite book of the year so far. Flores, a retired Professor Emeritus of Western History at the University of Montana and distinguished historian, presents his sweeping account of evolution and anthropology as a captivating read that’s surprisingly hard to put down. It’s a wildlife story for the ages, an epic account of the interaction between animals and humans reaching back 30,000 years. It was a time when this primeval con tinent teemed with an ex traordinary variety of jaw-dropping Ice Age beasts such as woolly mammoths, sabertooth tigers, giant ground sloths and beavers the size of Volkswagens.

An engaging and passionate writer, at one point Flores, who now lives in Santa Fe, jogs down the steepening path of a Clovis-era buf falo jump, gaining speed and adrenaline as he imagines the experience of giant bison hurtling toward their doom.

Revelations and fascinating theories occur on every page, such as the proposition that indigenous coexistence attitudes toward wildlife may have formed out of ancestral trauma of people who watched the disappearance of so many animals essential to their survival. Contrast that with the attitudes of European colonists, whose astonishment at the abundance of American wildlife leads to 300 years of thoughtless slaughter. Here, readers must steel themselves as passenger pigeons are erased from the sky in a gluttony of gunfire, and the relentless poi- soning of wolves takes out a host of other creatures as well. Such tragedies, however, give rise to vision- aries such as John James Audubon, John Burroughs and George Bird Grinnell, who helped shift American perspectives on the limits of living public resources. In so doing, they also helped give birth to the bold concept of wildlife conservation.

I would suggest that the ultimate value of this exceptional book lies there, not just in the thrilling ecological history of North America’s original animal kingdom, but in its powerful motivation to appreciate and preserve what remains of that “Wild New World.”

When not being a legendary bookseller at Maria’s Bookshop, Clint McKnight writes book reviews on the side.

JusttheFacts

What: Book signing with Dan Flores, author of “Wild New World”

When: Wed., April 12, 6 – 8 p.m. Where: Maria’s Bookshop, 960 Main at noon. To submit an item,

Thursday30

Spring Fly Fishing Festival, events throughout the day, Duranglers Flies and Supplies, 923 Main Ave.

Get to Know CEO Robert Sarlls of Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, 8:30-9:30 a.m., FLC’s Center for Innovation, 835 Main Ave., Suite 225.

Heather Leavitt Martinez artist demo, 3-4 p.m., Smiley Building’s ArtRoom, 1309 E. 3rd Ave.

Return to Clay, webinar hosted by Crow Canyon Archaeological Center, 4 p.m. crowcanyon.org

28th annual Creativity Festivity opening reception, 4-6 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Avenue. Exhibit runs thru April 28.

Durango Green Drinks, 5 p.m., 11th St. Station.

Bingo Night, 5 p.m., Fenceline Cider, Mancos.

Live music, 6-9 p.m., The Office & Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave.

No Man’s Land Film Festival, a celebration of women through adventure and sport, 6 p.m., FLC’s Student Union, Vallecito Room.

Trivia Night, 6:30 p.m., Powerhouse Science Center, 1330 Camino del Rio.

Ecstatic Dance, 6:30-8:30 p.m., American Legion, 878 E. 2nd Ave.

Friday31

Southwestern Water Conservation District’s Water Seminar, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Sky Ute Casino, Ignacio.

Spring Fly Fishing Festival, events throughout the day, Duranglers Flies and Supplies, 923 Main Ave.

Gary Walker plays, 10 a.m.-12 noon, Jean-Pierre Bakery & Restaurant, 601 Main Ave.

Terry Rickard plays, 5 p.m., Mancos Brewing.

Larry Carver & Ben Gibson play, 5:30 p.m., Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave.

“Mission: Joy” film featuring the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, 6 p.m., Durango Dharma Center, 1800 E. 3rd Ave.

Bentley Monk plays, 6 p.m., Fenceline Cider, Mancos.

Live music, 6-9 p.m., The Office, 699 Main Ave.

Ru Paul’s Drag Race Watch Party, 6 p.m., Father’s Daughters Pizza, 640 Main Ave.

Reefer Madness, The Musical, 7:30 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

The Doo Wop Project plays, 7:30 p.m., FLC’s Community Concert Hall.

Drag Show, 8:30 p.m., Father’s Daughters Pizza, 640 Main Ave.

Saturday01

Spring Fly Fishing Festival, events throughout the day, Duranglers Flies and Supplies, 923 Main Ave.

9 Health Fair, 8-11 a.m., La Plata County Fairgrounds, 2500 Main Ave. onlinereg.365health.org

Bitcoin Meet-Up, 10 a.m., 81301 Coffee Roasters, 3101 Main Ave. bitcoinstudygroup@protonmail.com

Children’s Musical Storytime w/Melanie Milburn, 10 a.m., Maria’s Bookshop, 960 Main Ave.

The Metropolitan Opera Live in HD – Verdi’s “Falstaff,” 10 a.m., FLC’s Student Union, Vallecito Room.

Warsaw plays, 5 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St.

IF4 International Fly Fishing Film Tour, showings at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., DoubleTree Hotel, 501 Camino del Rio.

RC Hall & Friends play, 5 p.m., Mancos Brewing.

Art Silent Auction & Creativity Seminar, fundraiser for Silverton Powerhouse, 6 p.m., at the Powerhouse, 1250 CR2. silvertonpowerhouse.com

Live music, 6-9 p.m., The Office & Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave.

Community Yoga, 6-7 p.m., Yoga Durango, 1485 Florida Rd. Donations accepted.

Metal Night, 7:30 p.m., The Hive, 1150 Main Ave.

“Reefer Madness, The Musical,” 7:30 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

Silent Disco w/DJ Spark Madden, 9-11:30 p.m., 11th St. Station.

Sunday02

Veterans Benefit Breakfast, 9 a.m. VFW Post 4031, 1550 Main Ave.

Feed the People! free mutual aid meal & winter gear drive for homeless community members, every Sunday, 2 p.m., Buckley Park.

Handel’s “Messiah,” 3 p.m., FLC’s Community Concert Hall.

“Reefer Madness, The Musical,” 5 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

Live music, 6-9 p.m., The Office & Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave.

Sunday Funday, 6 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

Monday03

Happy Hour Yoga, 5:30 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St.

Meditation and Dharma Talk with Chris Benitez, 5:30 p.m., Durango Dharma Center, 1800 E. 3rd Ave, Suite 109.

Live music, 6-9 p.m., The Office & Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave.

Open Mic, 6 p.m., Weminuche Woodfire Grill, Vallecito.

Comedy Showcase, 7:30 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

Tuesday04

Coffee Connections with Manna Soup Kitchen, 8-9 a.m., Manna Soup Kitchen, 1100 Avenida del Sol.

Community Yoga, 4:30-5:30 p.m., Yoga Durango, 1485 Florida Rd. Donations accepted.

Trivia Tuesday, first Tuesday of the month, 7-9 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave.

Jason Thies plays, 5:30 p.m., Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave.

Live music, 6-9 p.m., The Office, 699 Main Ave.

Man 2 Man Prostate Cancer Support Group, 6:30-7:30 p.m., via Zoom. Contact prostategroupdro@gmail.com for details.

Open Mic Night, 7 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

Wednesday05

“As Seeds, We Grow” closing celebration, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Center of Southwest Studies Lyceum, Fort Lewis College.

Live music, 6-9 p.m., The Office & Diamond Belle, 699 Main Ave.

Birds of Play play, 7 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

Geeks Who Drink Trivia, 8 p.m., The Roost, 128 E. College Dr.

Karaoke Roulette, 8 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

Ongoing

Rosie the Riveter Day, pop-up exhibit, Animas Museum, 3065 W. 2nd Ave.