Customer Reviews

America's National Wildlife Refuges: A Complete Guide

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This is essentially a pure "textbook". A few color photos in the center seem to be a rather random selection of nice pictures but without true information value to the book. It would be much preferred to have a) regional maps showing the distribution of the refuges over the country. And b) each refuge would deserve a basic map showing its actual location and shape, including some indication of scale. The contents of the text is fine, it often includes information on the history of the refuge. However, if one attempts to get some kind of overview, this book is too cumbersome. Some parts should have been summarized better, maybe using symbols, abbreviations and/or tables. Texts could often have been shortened. As an example from page 109, Marin Island. "As described by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the vegetation of the two islands is very different." The first half of this sentence is pure ballast for the reader, the source of such statements could be marked by a little index, if at all necessary. At more than 700 pages, this is a rather hefty paperback book, one reason those maps might be missing. But with some compacting, room would be available without undue enlargement. The list of "Support Organizations" could easily have been printed on half of the alloted pages. There are four idices, the smallest one, "Wildlife Management Areas", containing only nine entries. Combining them all into one index would have been much more "reader-friendly".

This is the best book that I have found for exploring NWRs. This book lists infomation all the NWRs up to the date is was published. Detailed instructions on how to get there, what the refuge has to offer, the nearest supplies or places to stay, and contact info. If you are going to visit the NWRs this reference book is a must.