Island Press Staff Picks
By Admin, Jason Leppig / On September 6th, 2012
This week's pick, Saving a Million Species, is from our Marketing Assistant, Meghan Bartels:
Benefit of thinning forests for spotted owls is not so clear-cut
By Dominick A. DellaSala / On August 16th, 2012
The July 26 editorial "Logging for spotted owls" dismisses decades of scientific research by touting one new study that suggests "heavy thinning" (aka, clear-cut lite) of forests could benefit spotted owls. Based on a single computer simulation, the new study suggests that intensive logging will magically prevent "catastrophic fires" such as the Biscuit that "wiped out" owls and other wildlife. This is unfounded.
#ForewordFriday Trophic Cascades
By Admin / On August 3rd, 2012
Did you read Andrew Sullivan's piece on The Daily Beast on the place of sharks in the ocean? The idea of trophic cascades is starting to enter the mainstream.
The Wolverine and the Refrigerator
By Charles C. Chester / On July 30th, 2012
One of Marvel Comics' most popular characters, Wolverine, was born with the genetic mutation allowing him to recover rapidly from any injury. Combine that with the Canadian [sic] government's program to replace his skeleton with the indestructible metal adamantium, and you have one tough character. The character's eponymous creature is also one tough critter, one that thrives in frozen mountain habitats and has been reported to scare off grizzlies from their kills.
Conserving Our Wild Border
By Admin / On July 24th, 2012
From an important op-ed in the San Diego Union Tribune
The southern border region is one of the most bio-diverse areas in the United States and a crossroads for many carnivores. Today, the area is more widely known for the highly charged border politics involving people than for how those politics may affects the bears, jaguars, mountain lions and other wildlife that make the area home.
Ghost Trees
By Cristina Eisenberg / On July 10th, 2012
The standing dead trees were everywhere, their boles weathered silver where the bark had peeled. The carcasses of their fallen comrades littered the understory, with few aspen sprouting from the deadfall. The occasional mangled saplings we observed provided graphic evidence of heavy elk browsing.
#ForewordFriday Climate and Conservation
By Jason Leppig / On June 15th, 2012
This week's #forewordFriday pick is from the newly released book, Climate and Conservation.
Craig Groves, Director, Conservation Methods Team at The Nature Conservancy calls this book:
Rapid Biodiversity Loss Continues in Absence of Political Action and Accurate Assessments of Ecosystem Values
By Worldwatch Institute / On May 22nd, 2012
On World Biodiversity Day, Worldwatch Institute emphasizes that protecting biodiversity and ecosystem services is central to sustainable prosperity
Deja Vu in Kiwi-Ancient Forests
By Dominick A. DellaSala / On December 14th, 2011
To the untrained eye, New Zealand forests have a tropical feel somewhat out-of-character in a temperate world. Like Australia, these rainforests owe their existence to the ancient ark of Gondwana that broke away from Pangea at a time when dinosaurs were still flourishing. Some of the species like giant Kauri trees have lineages dating back 100 million years.
Temperate Rainforests Down Under Owe Existence to Ancient Ark
By Dominick A. DellaSala / On December 9th, 2011
Some 38-45 million years ago, Australia broke off from its parent super-continent, Gondwana, and began drifting northward. In its long and arduous journey, the ark rafted ancient species forced to cope with a cooling and drying climate. Some, like Antarctic beech (Nothofagus spp.), were forced into climatic refugia along the eastern edge of Australia where it remained moist enough to cradle the evolution of rainforest communities in changing times.