Guardians of the Wild: A History of the Warden Service of Canada's National Parks (Parks and heritage series) Book

Bears & bureaucrats, timber & telephone lines, poaching & predators, fires & families - all these play a part in this fascinating & long-overdue study of Canada's National Park wardens. The Warden Service has been integral to Canada's National Parks from their earliest days. First established in Rocky Mountains in 1909, the position of Fire & Game Guardian was the precursor of today's National Park Warden, whose duties now include resource management, law enforcement & public safety. Robert Burns traces the growth of the warden service from here, its formative years, & goes on to show how the role changed & developed according to the expanding park system, altered societal expectations, & technological change. This is a study of real people & their trials, triumphs & tragedies. This book creates a complete history where before there existed only sketchy accounts of single individuals & incidents. The need for such an account is undeniable. Well-known historian Simon Evans describes this story as 'one which deserves to be heard.' Both a tribute to the enormous devotion to duty & dedicated labours of the park wardens, & a well-researched factual account of how our National Parks evolved, this is a singular study of the historical evolution of protection & management inside Canada's National Parks.