Book Description

If, like author Mary Blocksma, you wish you knew more about the Great Lakes woods and lake country you think of as God's country, this is the book for you. Upon her return from California to Michigan, Blocksma made a simple New Year's resolution: to take four or five walks a year, and each time identify ONE NEW THING. Before long, she was on familiar terms with most of what she saw.

In this book, Blocksma shares her discoveries in an evocative and inspiring journal, accompanied by excellent tips on how to tell her finds from similar species. This is a guide for the amateur who, until now, has found nature identification intimidating; the expert who knows wildflowers but not birds, or birds but not trees; and the armchair explorer yearning for a walk on the wild side.

GREAT LAKES NATURE offers a positive approach to environmental awareness: "Familiarity breeds intimacy, and intimacy, concern," writes Blocksma in her introduction. "Entering the woods was like moving into a neighborhood where I knew almost no one. Now I have befriended so many inhabitants that if any of them moved away, I would know and feel bereft." ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Engaging and informative.
This book is an engaging read, light, yet highly informative. It is instructive with a fresh perspective on nature. You'll learn about plants and animals that you have probably taken for granted for years. Mary has researched to the nth degree, but delivers with a childlike sense of discovery. It will be hard for you to put it down. ... Read more

Book Description

Fisheries issues have been attracting increasing media attention in the wake of contamination scares, controversies over new government regulations, and environmental concerns about coastal zone management--especially the loss of wetlands, coastal erosion, pollution, and overfishing.

Scrutinizing the people, policies, institutions, and issues tied to the shrimping industry in Mississippi, Paul Durrenberger provides this first examination ever of the complexities of an American fishing industry in a single geographical area. He presents an analysis of one elaborate system--from the toils and turmoils of the people who catch the shrimp to the quandaries facing the policymakers who try to regulate them.

The shrimping industry, he contends, occurs on a series of interrelated levels and dimensions and is influenced by the ideas and actions of shrimpers, processors, fisheries managers, bureaucrats, creditors, environmentalists, and scientists. It is also one segment of a wider social, political, economic, and environmental totality.

At a local level Durrenberger investigates the impact of competition from Vietnamese refugees, rivalry between bay and gulf fishermen, an escalating overpopulation of shrimpers in general, and wide-spread resistance to costly, federally mandated devices designed to save sea turtles. Exploring how the industry is increasingly bound to the global economy, he illuminates the threat to the livelihoods of independent shrimpers from ever increasing imports.

Durrenberger assesses the adequacy of folk models of shrimpers and policymakers alike. Decisions about the industry's future, he argues, must be based on valid data and realistic expectations. Too often policies are derived from untested folk models--concepts formulated by participants to justify or rationalize rather than explain what they do.

Based on detailed interviews, Gulf Coast Soundings will be a valuable resource for anthropologists, policymakers, public administrators, resource managers, sociologists, biologists, and anyone involved or interested in the economic and environmental future of the Gulf Coast, or more generally, in fisheries and coastal areas. ... Read more

Book Description

"A lake is the landscape’s most beautiful and expressive feature. It is the earth’s eye, looking into which we measure the depth of our own nature," wrote Thoreau. Generations of Americans have enjoyed, celebrated, and been rejuvenated by Maine’s lakes—our densely forested, lake-speckled state contains over 6,000 bodies of water larger than one acre, 2,800 of which are designated "great ponds."

With luminous color photographs, thoughtful essays, and a sprinkling of quotes, Maine Lakesinvites you to revisit your freshwater childhood memories, to appreciate the beauty and recreation our lakes offer, and to learn what’s being done to preserve this valuable and precious resource. Steeped in reflections of Barnes’s and Bright’s own personal experiences, Maine Lakes, in images and words, touches on what is universally remarkable about our human interaction with the landscape: it needs to be tenderly stewarded while, at the same time, it sustains and heals us. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

And What Great Lakes They Are
For anyone who enjoys the sparkle of sun on water, the haunting cry of a loon, or the reflection of fall colors and blue sky, this book is an outstanding reminder of the importance of healthy lakes to healthy human communities. Barnes and Bright invite us into their perspective of Maine's fresh water lakes with an intimacy that reveals the personal connections they both feel for these places. This book is filled with striking photographs and powerful imagery of the beautiful lure of Maine's lakes. An excellent book. ... Read more

Book Description

A comprehensive and fascinating guide to the wetlands of the world that covers important wetland wildlife in detail, with a special focus on birds.

The ecology of marshes, estuaries, floodplains, lagoons, swamps and bogs supports an exceptionally rich diversity of species. Many wetlands around the world are now open to the public as nature reserves that generate millions of visitors including birdwatchers and amateur ecologists.

Guide to Wetlands covers the many aspects of the study of wetlands in a single, portable volume. Using spectacular color photographs and clear explanatory illustrations alongside the author's concise text, it discusses: - What are wetlands - Wetland diversity - How wetlands work - The need for wetlands - Adapting to life in wetlands - Plant adaptation - Animal adaptation - People and wetlands - Loss of wetlands - Rural development and agriculture - Wetland conservation - Wetland wildlife.

The book includes a wetland atlas with maps identifying wetland environments around the world and describing topography and important features. Birdwatchers will find this book of particular interest.

Guide to Wetlands is an essential reference on a crucial aspect of the global environment that will appeal to naturalists, birdwatchers, ecologists and travelers. ... Read more

Book Description

This volume brings together some of the foremost leaders in thefield of aquatic ecology. Chapter topics include research onmanagement of wetlands, hydrochemical determinism, biomonitoring andbioindicators in aquatic ecosystems, and environmental impacts of damprojects. This volume is essential reading for professionals andresearchers in the fields of ecology, hydrology, limnology, andwatershed management, to name a few. ... Read more

Book Description

This photo-essay takes you to one of Earth's richest underwater habitats and describes its geological origins, unique plant life, and sea creatures. ... Read more

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Great book for people interested in scuba diving
This book has some of the nicest pictures I've seen of the waters below the surface in and near Puget Sound, and up into British Colombia. ... Read more

Book Description

The Natural History of Lakes provides a fully illustrated and clearly written introduction to the fascinating world of lakes, which are shown to be not only the beautiful scenic attractions that we know, but also thriving natural communities. Despite their distinct shorelines, lakes and their many subtle variations have profound effects on the immense variety of wildlife they support. The Natural History of Lakes explains these relationships and describes the formation of lakes and their dramatic seasonal patterns, the properties of lake water, and the plants and animals that lakes support. The remarkable variety of the world's lakes is then described, from the frozen lakes of Antarctica, to dramatic high-altitude lakes such as Titicaca. Having provided a picture of lakes as dynamic but delicate habitats, the authors finally discuss the crucial questions of conservation. This attractive book is richly illustrated with photographs, drawings and diagrams. The authors' extensive travels and research give a unique combination of clear detail and broad coverage. It will appeal to anyone interested in natural history, to anglers, ornithologists and conservationists, as well as to the traveller, the tourist and the student. ... Read more

Book Description

Historical survey. PHotographs by Ellen Siddons. Maps drawn by Mary Pat Spaulding. Cover painting by Barbara Ellis. Foreword by John M. Midgley. Introduction by the author. Recollections of streams and ponds flooded along the Swift River watershed in central Massachusetts to create the Quabbin Reservoir. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A well done regional history and guide.
This really is a terrific book - part fishing guide, part local history, all charm. Concerning the Upper Quabbin Valley of central Massachusetts, this is a well written and beautifully illustrated work with nicely rendered maps, photographs, and artwork. A great read. ... Read more

Book Description

The Great Lakes of North America are one of the world’s most important natural resources. The source of vast quantities of fish, shipping lanes, hydroelectric energy, and usable water, they are also increasingly the site of severe environmental degradation and resource contamination. This study analyzes how well governments and other stakeholders are addressing this critical problem.

Using original findings from surveys, interviews, and other documents, Mark Sproule-Jones looks at how various levels of government are attempting to restore the environment in the Great Lakes. He examines successes and failures and identifies the kinds of institutions that promote sound decision making, concluding that bureaucracies charged with constructing these institutions often overlook key design principles.

This analysis, which clearly demonstrates the need for new rules and institutions to address environmental pollution in the Great Lakes, should be required reading for practitioners, politicians, businesspeople, and environmentalists. ... Read more

Book Description

During the last 10 years, there has been a `revolution' in ecosystem modelling. The generality and predictive power of our models have increased in a way that was inconceivable 10 years ago. This book describes a new generation of practically useful models that predict as well as one can measure -- if one measures well. And yet, they are driven by readily available driving variables and have a general structure that applies to most types of pollutants in aquatic systems. The major reason for this development is, in fact, the Chernobyl accident. Large quantities of radiocesium were released in April/May 1986 as a pulse. To follow the pulse of radiocesium through ecosystem pathways has meant that important fluxes and mechanisms, i.e., ecosystem structures, have been revealed. It is important to stress that many of these new structures and equations are valid not just for radiocesium, but for most types of contaminants, e.g. for metals, nutrients and organics. This means that the models, methods (of building and testing models) and equations described in this book for lakes and coastal areas should be of great interest also to other ecosystem modellers.This book will be of considerable interest to: students in radioecology, geosciences and biology; environmental engineers; consultants; administrators and scientists interested in the spread, biouptake and ecosystem effects of chemical pollutants in aquatic ecosystems. ... Read more

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A Superior Book!
A truly wonderful book! This coffee table format book by Canadian couple Gary and Joanie McGuffin tells the story of their 2,000 mile circumnavigation of Lake Superior - the largest expanse of fresh water in the world. The book contains approx 140 wonderful photographs, many of them breathtaking. Gary McGuffin is a very talented photographer who has created many unique photos of this great, beautiful lake. He has made use of unusual lighting on many occassions to produce stunning photos. I particularly liked some of the winter shots - I could feel the chill looking at the photos of the ice-lined caves. The personal narrative of the couple's trip was written by Joanie and is an interesting read however could have been made better by inclusion of maps. Also the layout makes reading difficult at times with the type sometimes extending across the full width of the page. The book is superbly produced - printed in Canada - with excellent photo reproductions on high quality paper. At 28 bucks this book is excellent value...well worth buying for the photos alone. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Charming
After attending a luncheon with both Roscoe and DeMott, I found their memories and visions to be quite insightful. They both have charming personalities, and I definitely recommend that anyone with ties to the Midwest should read this book. ... Read more