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A fierce hunter and powerful swimmer, the polar bear is perfectly adapted to the harsh demands of its Arctic landscape.

But human consumption of fossil fuel is altering this fragile wilderness, weakening the ice at the edge of the polar sea and shortening the season when it is near to shore. During the summer, polar bears find themselves stranded either on land, where prey is difficult to find, or on ice miles out over deep sea.

Nine years ago, wildlife photographer Steven Kazlowski began photographing the polar bear in its changing habitat. Alongside essays by a range of noted authors and conservationists, The Last Polar Bear features his images of a unique and imperiled web of life—with the polar bear at its center. The plight of this land and its wild and human inhabitants is a wake-up call: we must act now to stem the tide of climate change before the balance tips irrevocably and the polar bear becomes the first to disappear.

Braided River partnered with Alaska Wilderness League and the Natural Resources Defense Council on the publication of the book. Alaska Wilderness League and the Sierra Club are both event sponsors. Founded in 1993 and based in Washington, DC, Alaska Wilderness League works to further the protection of Alaska’s public lands in the nation’s capital. The Natural Resources Defense Council is one of the nation’s most effective environmental action groups. Its mission is to safeguard the earth: its people, its plants and animals, and the natural systems on which all life depends. With a membership of 1.3 million, the Sierra Club is America’s oldest, largest, and most influential grassroots environmental organization.

For the latest on climate change, click here. For the latest on offshore lease sales and oil drilling in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, click here.

For more information on Steven Kazlowski, click here. For more information on the contributing essayists, click on their names above.