Bear Ridge: A Novel

In the summer of 1990, graduate student Kelly Jones is part of a three-member bear-study team in the mountains of Utah. She is determined to work her way up to field manager of the program but the obstinate team leader Rick Santini believes Kelly, or any woman, isn't capable of the hard work. The third member of the team, Adam Wainwright, has an easygoing personality, which adds balance to the group, but he is fraught with concerns about treatment of the bears. Through their hands-on work with live bears and their anguish over the few that die during the project, the team learns to put aside their personal conflicts and focus on the animals and the collection of scientific data. The students face the challenges of appeasing bear hunters, loggers, animal-rights activists, government agents, ranchers, and outdoor enthusiasts who have their own interests in the bears being studied by the team. Eventually Kelly is left to do a study alone on the mountain, and what she learns in the solitude--about the bears and her own beliefs and abilities--brings this book to its powerful conclusion.