Best of
Conservation

2006

The Scavenger's Guide to Haute Cuisine


Steven Rinella - 2006
    Describes one man's efforts to live on the land while attempting to re-create the recipes from Escoffier's 1903 magnum opus 'Le Guide Culinaire' and search for the frequently esoteric ingredients called for in the various dishes.

Voyage of the Turtle: In Pursuit of the Earth's Last Dinosaur


Carl Safina - 2006
    The distressing decline of sea turtles in Pacific waters and their surprising recovery in the Atlantic illuminate what can go both wrong and right from our interventions, and teach us the lessons that can be applied to restore health to the world's oceans and its creatures. As Carl Safina's compelling natural history adventure makes clear, the fate of the astonishing leatherback turtle, whose ancestry can be traced back 125 million years, is in our hands.Writing with verve and color, Safina describes how he and his colleagues track giant pelagic turtles across the world's oceans and onto remote beaches of every continent. As scientists apply lessons learned in the Atlantic and Caribbean to other endangered seas, Safina follows leatherback migrations, including a thrilling journey from Monterey, California, to nesting grounds on the most remote beaches of Papua, New Guinea. The only surviving species of its genus, family, and suborder, the leatherback is an evolutionary marvel: a "reptile" that behaves like a warm-blooded dinosaur, an ocean animal able to withstand colder water than most fishes and dive deeper than any whale.In his peerless prose, Safina captures the delicate interaction between these gentle giants and the humans who are finally playing a significant role in their survival.

Return of the Condor: The Race to Save Our Largest Bird from Extinction


John Moir - 2006
    A gripping account of the dramatic race to preserve one of America's most imperiled birds.

The Birdman


Veronika Martenova Charles - 2006
    His three children, snatched from him in a cruel accident, were everything he worked for and loved. But one day, he enters a crowded market and sees a bird, caged and frightened and sick. With very little money in his pocket, he waits until the vendor is closing up. Quickly, Noor Nobi bargains and, happy to get anything for the sickly thing, the vendor accepts his offer. For some reason Noor Nobi cannot explain, it is important for him to nurse the bird back to health. When it is finally able to fly, Noor Nobi takes his bird to a big Banyan tree and releases it. Only then is he able to weep and fully grieve for his children.Before Noor Nobi knows it, he is back at work and taking his weekly earnings to the market where he continues to buy, heal, and free as many birds as he can. Crowds gather; some laugh and say he is crazy, some stand reverently, some don’t know what to think. But Noor Nobi’s kindness saves a growing number of birds, and the birds, in turn, give him new purpose. Author Veronika Martenova Charles read a short newspaper article about the “Birdman” of Calcutta and her imagination took flight. She traveled to India, found Noor Nobi, and witnessed the freeing of the birds for herself. The Birdman is a touching, true story, tenderly illustrated by Annouchka Gravel Galouchko and Stéphan Daigle. It is accompanied by an afterword, diary entries, and photographs of the author’s experience.

Lost Mountain: A Year in the Vanishing Wilderness Radical Strip Mining and the Devastation of Appalachia


Erik Reece - 2006
    In this powerful call to arms, Erik Reece chronicles the year he spent witnessing the systematic decimation of a single mountain and offers a landmark defense of a national treasure threatened with extinction.

Landscape Architectural Graphic Standards


Leonard J. Hopper - 2006
    Based on the 70-year success of Architectural Graphic Standards, this new book is destined to become the bible for the landscape field. Edited by an educator and former president of the American Society of Landscape Architects, it provides immediate access to rules-of-thumb and standards used throughout the planning, design, construction and management of landscapes. View sample pages from Landscape Architectural Graphic Standards.

Whales' Angels: A Husband and Wife Battle Whalers in a Seagoing Adventure of International Intrigue and Murder


Paul J. Mila - 2006
    But a chance encounter with a female diver from Holland leads them on a globetrotting adventure. While diving with humpback whales in the Dominican Republic, they learn a rogue sea captain is illegally hunting whales and killing activists attempting to stop the hunt. But far more dangerous for the whales is a conspiracy led by Japan, Iceland, Finland and Norway, to overturn the International Whaling Commission's whaling ban at the Commission's upcoming meeting in Iceland. Terry and Joe travel to Iceland offering their assistance to save the whales and solve a cover-up reaching the highest levels of government. Their involvement entangles them in a dangerous world of international politics, intrigue, and murder, where fate has a surprise in store for them. Reviews for Whales' Angels: "In this sequel to Dangerous Waters, Paul Mila has crafted another exciting adventure-mystery featuring Terry Hunter and Joe Manetta. Like Tony Hillerman, Mila skillfully combines an intricate mystery plot with engaging characters and insights from a different culture, allowing his readers to experience the world from a novel perspective: that of the whales and dolphins who inhabit three-quarters of our planet. Don't miss this one!" Judith Hemenway, author of The Universe Next Door. Whales' Angels "A solid plot, intriguing characters and a realistic depiction of scuba diving and marine creatures are the hallmarks of Paul Mila's second novel featuring Terry Hunter and Joe Manetta. This time out, Joe and Terry get involved with activists ("Angels") attempting to prevent a rogue seacaptain from harpooning of whales in the chilly waters off Iceland. Trying to save a whale, one of the Angels ends up dead - but was it really an accident? The resolution of the mystery will keep readers -divers and non divers alike - on the edge of their seats." Bonnie J. Cardone, former editor of Skin Diver Magazine, author of Shipwrecks of Southern California and Fireside Diver, and member of the Women Divers' Hall of Fame.

All the Way to the Ocean


Joel Harper - 2006
    It is sure to inspire both young and adult readers alike and teach a timeless life lesson--If we all do our part, a cleaner, safer environment is indeed within our reach.

A Voice in the Wilderness: Conversations with Terry Tempest Williams


Terry Tempest Williams - 2006
    With her distinctive, impassioned voice and familiar felicity of language, Terry Tempest Williams talks about wilderness and wildlife, place and eroticism, art and literature, democracy and politics, family and heritage, Mormonism and religion, writing and creativity, and other subjects that engage her agile mind—in a set of interviews gathered and introduced by Michael Austin to represent the span of her career as a naturalist, author, and activist.

Sailing with Noah: Stories from the World of Zoos


Jeffrey P. Bonner - 2006
    Jeffrey P. Bonner, who was trained as an anthropologist and came to the zoo world quite by accident, shares some of the most compelling stories ever told about contemporary zoos. The stories jump between zoos in different cities and between countries on different continents. Some are fun and funny. Others are sad, even tragic. Pete Hoskins, the director of the Philadelphia Zoo, is in bed, sound asleep, when his phone rings. . . . “There’s been a fire in the World of Primates,” he is told. “You’ve got to get over here.” Whatever he has been dreaming, it is nothing like the nightmare he will find now that he is awake. . . . “They’re all gone. They’re all gone.” All of the animals in the building—the gorillas, the lemurs, the orangutans, and the gibbons—all twenty-three of them are dead.Written in a lively, accessible style, Sailing with Noah explores the role of zoos in today’s society and their future as institutions of education, conservation, and research. Along the way, Bonner relates a variety of true stories about animals and those who care for them (or abuse them), offering his perspective on heavily publicized incidents and describing less-well-known events with compassion and humor in turn. By bringing the stories of the animals’ lives before us, Bonner gives them a voice. He strongly believes that zoos must act for living things, and he argues that conservation is a shared responsibility of all mankind. This book helps us to understand why biodiversity is important and what it means to be a steward of life on earth.            From the day-to-day aspects of caring for some of the world’s most exotic creatures to the role of zoos as field conservation organizations, saving wild things in wild places, this book takes the reader on an incredible journey—a journey that begins within the zoo and continues around the globe.  Everyone—from zoo visitors to animal lovers to professional conservationists, the young and old alike—will be fascinated by this extraordinary book.

101 Ways to Help Birds


Laura Erickson - 2006
    It also explains exactly how these actions can make a difference--what wrongs they help correct and what improvements they can bring about. Bird-friendly (and environment-friendly) practices are described in detail: things anyone can do around the home and garden, at work, at the store, in their community, in the outdoors, and on the road. Anyone who appreciates wild birds knows that the animals need our help. This timely guide shows bird-lovers what they can do.

Making Burros Fly: Cleveland Amory, Animal Rescue Pioneer


Julie Hoffman Marshall - 2006
    By creating The Fund for Animals, Cleveland Amory assured his place in the history of animal crusaders, as depicted in "Making Burros Fly" by Julie Marshall.

Losing It All to Sprawl: How Progress Ate My Cracker Landscape


Bill Belleville - 2006
    Belleville’s narrative is eloquent, informed, and impassioned, a saga in which tractors and backhoes trample through the woods next to his home in order to build the backbone of Florida sprawl—the mall.As heavy machinery encircles Belleville and his community--the noise growing louder and closer, displacing everything Belleville has called home for the past fifteen years--he tells a story that is much older, 10,000 years older. The story stretches back to the Timucua and the Mayaca living in harmony with Florida’s environment; the conquistadors who expected much from, but also feared, this “land of flowers”; the turn-of-the-century tourists “modernizing” and “climatizing” the state; the original Cracker families who lived in Belleville’s farmhouse. In stark contrast to this millennia-long transformation is the whiplash of unbridled growth and development that threatens the nearby wilderness of the Wekiva River system, consuming Belleville’s home and, ultimately, his very sense of place.In Florida, one of the nation’s fastest growing states (and where local and state governments encourage growth), balancing use with preservation is an uphill battle. Sprawl spreads into the countryside, consuming not just natural lands but Old Florida neighborhoods and their unique history. In Losing It All to Sprawl, Belleville accounts for the impacts—social, political, natural, personal—that a community in the crosshairs of unsustainable growth ultimately must bear, but he also offers Floridians, and anyone facing the blight of urban confusion, the hope that can be found in the rediscovery and appreciation of the natural landscape.

Who Lives in an Alligator Hole?


Anne Rockwell - 2006
    Without the alligator, many animals dependent on the gator would become extinct. Read and find out about how alligators are much more than big jaws and sharp teeth! This Stage 2 LRFO will give interesting information about American alligators while highlighting how they became an endangered species and what is being done to preserve them and their habitat. This nonfiction picture book is an excellent choice to share during homeschooling, in particular for children ages 5 to 7. It’s a fun way to learn to read and as a supplement for activity books for children.This is a Level 2 Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science title, which means the book explores more challenging concepts for children in the primary grades and supports the Common Core Learning Standards, Next Generation Science Standards, and the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) standards. Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out is the winner of the American Association for the Advancement of Science/Subaru Science Books & Films Prize for Outstanding Science Series.