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A complex look at California Native ecological practices as a model for environmental sustainability and conservation. John Muir was an early proponent of a view we still hold today—that much of California was pristine, untouched wilderness before the arrival of Europeans. But as this groundbreaking book demonstrates, what Muir was really seeing when he admired the grand vistas of Yosemite and the gold and purple flowers carpeting the Central Valley were the fertile gardens of the Sierra Miwok and Valley Yokuts Indians, modified and made productive by centuries of harvesting, tilling, sowing, pruning, and burning. Marvelously detailed and beautifully written, Tending the Wild is an unparalleled examination of Native American knowledge and uses of California's natural resources that reshapes our understanding of native cultures and shows how we might begin to use their knowledge in our own conservation efforts. M. Kat Anderson presents a wealth of information on native land management practices gleaned in part from interviews and correspondence with Native Americans who recall what their grandparents told them about how and when areas were burned, which plants were eaten and which were used for basketry, and how plants were tended. The complex picture that emerges from this and other historical source material dispels the hunter-gatherer stereotype long perpetuated in anthropological and historical literature. We come to see California's indigenous people as active agents of environmental change and stewardship. Tending the Wild persuasively argues that this traditional ecological knowledge is essential if we are to successfully meet the challenge of living sustainably.
Those of us who live in California know that it is an amazing place, and one of the reasons our state is so unique is the incredible diversity of life throughout its length and breadth. This atlas shows what the diversity of life in California is and where such resources are located.
The universal spread of civilization has encompassed the wildness of California. While some of the original ecosystems have been preserved, others have been reduced to tattered remnants. Rich and varied habitats, with their plants and animals, are gone forever, destroyed by the conversion of valley lands to agriculture, the damming of streams, the cutting of forests, the paving of meadows. Wild California makes a persuasive argument for identifying and protecting areas of unspoiled California before they disappear. This is a stunning photographic guide to the six major California regions--from the Sierra Nevada to the desert--and their wildlife. To A. Starker Leopold, conservationist, naturalist, wildlife biologist, and educator, the delicate balance between plants, animals, and humans in each community is precious and fragile. In a highly readable style that mingles authority and eloquence, Leopold reminds us of th aesthetic, educational, and scientific values of undeveloped land. Tupper Ansel Blake, naturalist and wildlife photographer, has contributed one hundred color images that marvelously convey the special beauties of this state. Fortunately, the rich legacy of early California can still be found, and Tupper Blake's images with Starker Leopold's words are powerful evidence that this wilderness is worth preserving for future generations.
This new memoir by renowned wildlife photographer, author, and naturalist Tom Walker shares his adventures living in Alaska for more than five decades. Wild Shots blends natural history with stories about Walker’s wide-ranging forays into the wilderness to photograph animals--beginning as a clueless "cheechako" (newcomer), but ultimately becoming a seasoned old-timer revered by many. Vivid, clear prose beautifully captures the landscape both around his home just outside of Denali National Park and wilderness destinations across the state. Following a loose chronology, Tom tracks his evolution as a novice wildlife watcher raised in the dusty hinterlands of Southern California to a more knowledgeable observer to homesteader and photographer to vocal conservationist. Collectively, the stories convey how, through all life’s travails, nature remains his source of inspiration, joy, and solace through visceral experience and his patient lens.
Describes the plants and animals found in the many regions of California, including those found in deserts, forests, and off the state's coast.