A photographic documentation of the most outstanding natural habitats in Ohio“We hope this book never becomes an epitaph for what once was. Ohio is incredibly rich in biodiversity, possibly more so than any other midwestern state. . . . We encourage you to visit these places and view the greatest natural resources that Ohio has to offer.”—from the PrefaceWhile Ohio has lost much of its presettlement landscape, many nearly pristine habitats remain. These rel...

Ohio was once covered by a thick forest and populated by a great variety of animals, but the first blows of settlers’ axes heralded cataclysmic changes. By 1900 only about 15 percent of the state remained tree-covered. The effects of settlement upon native animal species varied widely, and the fortunes of many have risen and fallen more than once.Large predators such as wolves, panthers, and bears disappeared early, as did big herbivores such as bison and elk. Hunters and trappers ...

Ohio’s original heavily forested landscape included glacial lakes, large rivers, and streams that teemed with an abundant variety of fish, most of which remain resident today. Native Fishes of Ohio documents the more than 130 species originally found in the state and describes how their aquatic habitats have evolved as a result of agriculture and industrial development.Naturalist Dan Rice and photographer Gary Meszaros draw upon more than 40 years of fieldwork and recent h...

This latest collaboration of Carolyn V. Platt and Gary Meszaros is a beautifully photographed book that explores Lake Erie and its effects on the birds that make this region their home.Birds of the Lake Erie Region observes a year of weather changes and avian migrations—from the wintertime convergence of ducks and other waterbirds on the lake’s last ice-free areas to the excitement of the raptor and shorebird migrations in the fall.Expert or novice, birders and nat...

As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowledge together to take us on “a journey that is every bit as mythic as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, as clever as it is wise” (Elizabeth Gilbert).Drawing on her life as ...

In this fascinating book, wildlife expert and enthusiast Warner Shedd refutes popular animal myths like squirrels remembering where they bury nuts, wolves howling at the moon, and oppossums "playing dead."Have you ever seen a flying squirrel flapping through the air, watched a beaver carrying a load of mud on its tail, or ducked when a porcupine started throwing its quills? Probably not, says Shedd, former regional executive for the National Wildlife Federation. Of...

Anyone eager to master survival skills for outdoor vacations, or simply to find a fun new family activity for a Saturday afternoon, will be educated and inspired by the practical advice presented here by archaeologists, anthropologists, primitive practitioners, craftsmen, and artisans. These experts help modern readers rediscover the skills that have served humanity for millennia: fire-making, camp cooking, basket weaving, pottery making, animal tracking, and much more. You can even learn ...

Beginning in the late 1980s, a series of improbable bark beetle outbreaks unsettled iconic forests and communities across western North America. An insect the size of a rice kernel eventually killed more than 30 billion pine and spruce trees from Alaska to New Mexico. Often appearing in masses larger than schools of killer whales, the beetles engineered one of the world's greatest forest die-offs since the deforestation of Europe by peasants between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries.

From flying squirrels to grizzly bears, and from torpid turtles to insects with antifreeze, the animal kingdom relies on some staggering evolutionary innovations to survive winter. Unlike their human counterparts, who must alter the environment to accommodate physical limitations, animals are adaptable to an amazing range of conditions.Examining everything from food sources in the extremely barren winter land-scape to the chemical composition that allows certain creatures to surviv...

Ina book destined to become a classic, biologist and acclaimed nature writer Bernd Heinrich takes readers on an eye-opening journey through the hidden life of a forest.

Easy-to-follow, step-by-step demonstrations in acrylic, watercolor and oilInside, you'll learn how to create realistic wildlife paintings, step by step, mastering dozens of specific wildlife textures, including:• Fur of a bobcat, American bison, snow leopard cub and wolf• Feathers of a wood duck, white-throated sparrow and northern shoveler• Scales of a trout and sunfish• Ears of a cottontail rabbit, white-tailed deer and red fox...

Thorough, detailed, and scientifically up-to-date, Prairies: A Natural History provides a comprehensive nontechnical guide to the biology and ecology of the prairies, or the Great Plains grasslands of North America, offering a view of the past, a vision for the future, and a clear focus on the present. With a total area of more than 3.5 million square kilometers (500,000 in Canada and the remainder in the United States), the prairies occupy the heartland of the co...