More people live in closer proximity to more wild animals, birds and trees in the eastern United States today than anywhere on the planet at any time in history. Perhaps you are one of more than 4,000 drivers who will hit a deer today, your child's soccer field is carpeted with goose droppings, coyotes are killing your pets, or bears are looting your garbage cans. As conservationists transplanted isolated species to restored habitats and imposed regulations on hunters and trappers, and people moved across a landscape once occupied by family farms, an animal-lover's dream-come-true often turns into a sprawl-dweller's nightmare.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Part One. Forest people The spruce illusion An epidemic of trees Sprawl Part Two. Wild beasts The fifty pound rodent The elegant ungulate Lawn carp

Gobblers Teddies Part Three. The denatured life Doers to viewers Roadkill Feathered friends Feral felines Epilogue.