Peregrine Falcon Populations: Their Biology and Decline (association copy)

Madison: Wisconsin UP, 1969. First edition. Hardcover. Near fine/Very good. A significant association copy, inscribed at length in the year of publication on the first blank by Hickey, the editor, in a tidy script: "For Durward L. Allen, The mighty atom from Indiana. He picked up a Wisconsin education (via Leopold) without even going there. Thought up the Leopold Medal and then--as Joe Wuduska  [sp?] would put [it] -- won it 'fair and square.' Tackled the job of educating the American Public and is making some progress, which you can recognize whenever you hear someone use words like 'biopolitics.' I could go on, but he's already saying 'aw schute!' Affectionately, Joe Hickey. Sept. 10, '69." Also signed by Hickey on the title page. With Allen's ownerships signature on the front free endpaper, as well, along with an inscription, in a separate pen and hand,  that reads, "Gift from the Library of the Welder Wildlife Foundation, Texas - 4.93."  On the rear free endpaper is stamped "Ron Sauey Memorial Library, International Crane Foundation, Baraboo, Wisconsin, USA." 

In addition to his central role in the conservation of peregrine falcons, Hickey is known for his first book A Guide to Birdwatching (1943), "the first American book to describe the modern art of bird watching," which helped popularize the pastime. He finished that book as his master thesis under the supervision of Aldo Leopold at the University of Wisconsin, where he later returned as a professor. Leopold hired him and then died tragically that same year, and Hickey took the reins of the department and, importantly, lead the charge in the posthumous publication of A Sand County Almanac. Hickey grew up birding with Roger Tory Peterson and was encouraged to pursue biology by Ernst Mayr. See his profile in the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame with useful links to additional resources. 

Durward L. Allen was a luminary of wildlife biology and the  author of four books, including the landmark Our Wildlife Legacy (1954; and in which he introduced the term "biopolitics" that Hickey references). He worked for government agencies for twenty years and became the director of research for the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Subsequently he became a professor of ecology at Purdue University, a post he held for 22 years. In addition to his four books, he is famous in particular for his study of the wolves of Island Royale (a National Park) in Lake Superior, now the longest continuous study of a predator-prey system in the world. Wolves are thought to have come to the island on an ice bridge in 1948, and Allen started his study in 1958. He found over time that their numbers oscillate with moose much as in the famous example of lynx and hare, with wolf numbers catching up to and then overshooting moose numbers in an oscillating pattern (scroll down for graph). These findings stood in contrast to the then-prevailing ecological thinking and established that "rich, dynamic variation, not 'balance of nature' seems to be the force that guides nature." As Allen put it, "in [this study] we have the key to why both moose and wolf are what they are, and indeed to the character of wilderness." See his article "The Worth of Wilderness: With Interpretations from a Study of Wolves and Moose on Isle Royale" and his book Wolves of Minong for more. He was on the board of the Audubon Society and president of the Wilderness Society, and was awarded the Audubon Medal and Aldo Leopold Memorial Award by those organizations respectively. His papers are held at the Denver Public Library.

As the jacket of Peregrine Falcon Populations says, "This book describes a contemporary ecological disaster and the search to explain it. Its extensive analysis offers, on the one hand, an unusual landmark in population biology and, on the other, perhaps the requiem of a species." It consists in part of the proceedings of a national conference on peregrines sponsored by the University of Wisconsin in 1965; along with Hickey and a number of others, Roger Tory Peterson served as a conference chairman. As the University of Wisconsin reflects, "that conference, a highlight of Hickey's career, helped establish the peregrine falcon as a symbol of how synthetic chlorinated hydrocarbons like the pesticide DDT had become a ubiquitous threat to wildlife worldwide. It set in motion events, led by Hickey, that led to a ban of DDT in Wisconsin in 1970, and then later throughout the U.S., allowing for the eventual recovery of the peregrine falcon." Roger Tory Peterson has a chapter in the book along with other peregrine falcon biology stars like Clayton White and Tom Cade (who we recognize offhand among the contributors). Hickey is the author or co-author of multiples chapters as well as the intro and conclusion.

Mustard cloth board, roughly 600 pages in total. A very near fine book with light bumping to upper corners; in a very good jacket with rubbing and a few short closed tears to upper edge, as well as library shelfmark number taped to lower spine. A centerpiece association between influential American wildlife biologists of the 20th century.