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Islands of Hope John F. Blair, Publisher 1999 Winner of National Outdoor Book Award in Nature and Environment Category North American wildlife is under siege. First came the hunters, who spread across the continent killing animals for food and clothing and because they were dangerous. Then came the developers, who continue to chip away at our wilderness at a rate of over a million acres per year. It wasn't until 1903 that the first North American sanctuary specifically aimed at protecting animals was established. Today, the continent is peppered with thousands of public and private refuges—green islands of hope for wildlife. These sanctuaries have saved species like whooping cranes and trumpeter swans from extinction and allowed others like American bison and Canada geese to recover in number. Islands of Hope visits ten preserves in four North American countries. At Cape May National Wildlife Refuge, Phillip Manning examines the dependence of one of nature's farthest-traveled animals—the red knot—on one of its oldest—the horseshoe crab. At El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Preserve, he tells of the impossible migration of a creature that weighs one-fiftieth of an ounce—and the equally captivating story of the human effort that tracked the eastern monarch to its wintering ground in Mexico. At the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, he describes the effort to bring back not only North America's largest land animal—the American bison—but also an entire landscape as it existed hundreds of years ago. At Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge, he tells of the pronghorn antelope and its stalker, the coyote, and the dilemma faced by those humans who would manage—or not manage—relations between the two. Behind Manning's fascinating account lies the purpose of learning what makes these ten preserves successful. Islands of Hope investigates the animals and ecosystems that the sanctuaries protect; it talks with people who run the preserves to discover how they use conservation laws and the sciences of ecology in their work; it examines how refuges are created; and it explores the threats still facing North America's sanctuaries. Contents A Perfect Park, Bonaire Marine Park, Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles
Reviews “Sparkling, insightful account of wildlife preserves at the center of new conservation strategies.” “The author of several books on nature walks (Afoot in the South, etc.), Manning now describes his visits to 10 wildlife sanctuaries in four countries. He draws upon research and interviews with ecologists to flesh out his lucid descriptions of each preserve's landscape with information on its history and current problems. At Bonaire Marine Park in the Netherlands Antilles, stringent regulations protect the delicate coral reefs, but the park managers worry that rises in ocean levels (caused by melting polar caps) could ‘drown’ the coral's algae. At El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Preserve in Mexico, which was founded as the result of some handy detective work by a Canadian entomologist, the brilliant orange insects are threatened by the logging practices of a resentful local population. At Cape May National Wildlife refuge in New Jersey, Manning looks at the relationship between shorebirds and horseshoe crabs. At the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Oklahoma, he describes the efforts to restore a pristine landscape complete with bison. He examines wild geese in Wisconsin; puffins on Mathias Seal Island, Canada; hummingbirds in Alabama; storks at Corkscrew Swamp in Florida; wild swans in North Carolina. All in all, he gives an optimistic picture of preservation in the U.S. and Canada. Manning aims to find out what methods make a preserve, and in each chapter he highlights a sound principle (far-sighted planning; protection of the surrounding area). Nonetheless, the thrust of his book is descriptive. Long passages detail the beauty of each refuge's ecosystem and recount colorful anecdotes. This is a work that will please nature readers and inspire many vacations. . . .” “When in 1903 Teddy Roosevelt heard about private yacht passengers frequently blasting away for amusement at a huge breeding colony of pelicans on an island in Florida's Indian River, he ordered Pelican Island reserved as a breeding ground for birds, thus establishing North America's first wildlife refuge and setting the stage for thousands of these "oases of green" to be protected. Outdoors and travel writer Manning (Orange Blossom Trails: Walks in the Natural Areas of Florida) chooses ten sanctuaries—ranging from a Caribbean marine park to a tall-grass prairie preserve in Oklahoma—to illustrate how wildlife refuges have contributed to the protection of North America's animals. He describes the history of each preserve, the animals and ecosystems it protects, the staff who work there, and the ever-present threats looming. Although this is clearly a book for the lay reader, Manning weaves into the narrative relevant scientific principles.” “This is the rare book about preserving open space and wildlife habitat that doesn't leave you feeling like the world is at an end. The Mannings' perspective encourages us to continue to fight for Mother Nature, each in our own way, however small it might seem in the total picture.”
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