The Bookshop

Balancing Water, Restoring the Klamath Basin

Klamath Basin is a land of teeming wildlife, expansive marshes, blue-ribbon trout streams, tremendous stretches of forests, and large ranches in southern Oregon and northern California. Its marshlands are a mecca for birds along the Pacific Flyway. This gorgeously illustrated book is a paean to the beauty of the Klamath Basin and at the same time a sophisticated environmental case study of an endangered region whose story parallels that of watershed development throughout the western United States.

A collaboration between photographers Tupper Ansel Blake and Madeleine Graham Blake and writer William Kittredge, Balancing Water, Restoring the Klamath Basin tells the story in words and pictures of the complex relationship between the human and natural history of this region. Spectacular images by the Blakes depict resident wildlife species of the area, migratory birds, dramatic landscapes, and portraits of local residents, while archival photographs document the history of the area.

Kittredge's essay on the conjunction of conflicting interests in this wildlands paradise is by turns lyrically personal and brimming with historical and scientific facts. He traces the water flowing through the Klamath Basin, the human history of the watershed, and the land-use conflicts, all of which touch on the availability of water. Ranchers, loggers, town settlers, Native Americans, tourists, and environmentalists are all represented in the narrative, and their diverse perspectives form a complicated web like that of interactions among organisms in the basin ecosystem.

Kittredge finds hope in the endangered Klamath Basin, both in successful restoration projects begun there and in the community involvement he sees as necessary for watershed restoration and biodiversity preservation. He emphasizes that we must take care of both human economies and the natural environment and shows how the two are ultimately interconnected.

Hardcover, 10 x 12.5, 76 color photographs, 49 black-and-white photographs, 2 maps, US$39.95. Purchase or order through your local bookstore or in the United States call (800) 822-6657.

Labs Afield

Labs Afield, the much-anticipated follow-up to last summer's bestseller The Life of a Lab, features the work of award-winning photographer Denver Bryan and celebrated author E. Donnall Thomas, Jr., who team up once again to explore this fascinating breed. This time the focus is on Labs doing what they love best: hunting and retrieving waterfowl and upland birds.

Photographed all over Canada and the United States hunting a variety of ducks and geese, pheasants and grouse, and other upland game, the Labs in this book are clearly in their element, doing not only what they were born to do but what they live for. These wonderful dogs are captured vividly on film, so fully alive and animated with the joy and desire and heart that endear them to dog lovers around the world.

Bryan and Thomas both own and hunt with Labs, and their love for the breed comes through on every page. So do their insights - in picture after picture, word after word.

Labs Afield can be purchased directly from the publisher by calling 1-800-45-DUCKS or by visiting www.ducks.org. Hardcover, 10x8, 160 pages, 190 color photographs. US$29.50, includes shipping.

Threatened Birds of the World

Which birds are threatened? What do they look like? Where are they found? Why are they threatened? What needs to be done? Threatened Birds of the World provides all this information and more.

According to this new book, a shocking 1,186 bird species risk becoming extinct in the next 100 years. Even worse, 182 of these are critically endangered and could be extinct in just 10 years. Threatened Birds of the World provides full species accounts for the 1,186 birds, each of which has been evaluated against a comprehensive set of global criteria.

The book provides 1,186 maps that show locations and distribution ranges of each species; the most up-to-date knowledge on population size, range, and trend; specific notes on habitat, diet, and breeding ecology; main threats; and present and past conservation efforts. All species are illustrated in color by some of the world's best bird artists. Notes on identification include plumage variations and calls and tips on how to distinguish similar species.

The book is produced in full color and technical information is provided in a visual and understandable format. Analyses show territories with the highest numbers, principal habitats, key issues to tackle, and conservation targets.

This resource will be useful to anyone involved in species protection, biodiversity conservation, environmental planning, survey work, policy formulation, and expeditions—and also to people who just love birds.

Threatened Birds of the World is available from Lynx Edicions, Passeig de Gracia 12, 08007 Barcelona, Spain, lynx@hbw.com. Hardback, 8.5 X 12.5, 852 pages. Special launch price US$95.00, includes shipping.

The White-winged Dove in Northeast Mexico

The bilingual document The White Wing Dove in Northeast Mexico/La Paloma de Alas Blancas en el Noreste de México gives the results of a study on the status of this ecologically important migratory species of the United States and Mexico. The eastern and western subspecies of white-winged dove spend much of their life cycle within the warm coastal zone habitat shared by the states of Texas and Tamaulipas. These populations migrate from this border area to as far south as Costa Rica and back and are increasingly vulnerable throughout their journey to such threats as habitat loss/degradation, harvest by humans for food, or capture by humans to be sold elsewhere as pets.

The study was conducted by Dr. Eric Gustafson of the U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Conservation Mexico, Inc., and Habitat and Doves of Northeast Mexico, Inc. It includes a biological description of the white-winged dove life cycle and associated habitat needs, an explanation of the legal frameworks within which this species is managed for harvest and conservation, information on the various agencies and organizations involved in its protection, and more.

Soft cover, 8.5 x 11, 56 pages, color photographs, maps, and black-and-white illustrations, US$9.99 or MX$95.00 includes shipping. In the United States, order from Conservation Mexico, A.C., c/o U.S.-Mexico Chamber, Ronald Reagan Building/International Trade Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 270, Washington, D.C., USA 20004-3021, or call (202) 371-8680 or 888-USMCOC-1. In Mexico, order from the Camara de Comercio Mexico-E.U., Av. Fundidora #501-Cintermex PB-114, Col. Obrera, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico 64010, or call 528-369-6477.