Otero Mesa: Preserving America's Wildest Grassland [Paperback]

Gregory McNamee (Author), Stephen Strom (Photographer), Stephen Capra (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 16, 2008

Full-color images by renowned photographers Stephen Strom and Stephen Capra unite with text by prizewinning nature and geography writer Gregory McNamee to document the subtle landscape of 1.2 million acres of remote Chihuahuan Desert grassland in southern New Mexico. Home to many species of wildlife and native plants, Otero Mesa is a place of extraordinary beauty and ecological significance faced with the increasing threat of oil and gas development that has plagued the Rocky Mountain West.

"It is a strange and empty place, a place whose contours suggest that those who do not know it are best to leave it alone, as those who do know it will do in all events. And, as with all strange and empty places in this increasingly crowded, increasingly monocultural world, Otero Mesa is an important island in our geography of hope, a place that warrants concern and protection. Rightly, for it is very much under threat."--Gregory McNamee in Otero Mesa

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Otero Mesa, in the heart of New Mexico, is one of the few pristine native grasslands remaining in the U.S. Unfortunately, this accidentally-preserved part of the Trans-Pecos is bisected from north to south by the New Mexico Rift, a series of sedimentary basins which are now the object of oil and gas development. Otero Mesa has already been designated as a Global 2000 Ecoregion by the World Wildlife Fund because of its remarkable species diversity, and Gov. Bill Richardson (who wrote the foreword) attempted in 2004 to designate it a National Conservation Area, a matter now being disputed in the courts. McNamee's lyrical text tells the story of the region, introduces the ecosystem's plants and animals, and recounts the efforts of old ranching families to fight industry development. The area's beauty and boundless skies are captured in brilliant photos by Strom and Capra, including dramatic images of mountains, storm clouds, open horizon and leaking storage tanks. Nature writing and photography that's both artistic and evocative, this is a rare armchair journey and a compelling appeal to action.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From the Inside Flap

A powerful defense in words and photos of this unique grassland under increasing threat of oil and gas exploitation.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 104 pages
• Publisher: University of New Mexico Press (November 16, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 082634397X
• ISBN-13: 978-0826343970
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,726,757 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gregory McNamee is a writer, journalist, editor, photographer, and consultant in publishing, film, and other media. He is the author or title-page editor of thirty books, including Careers in Renewable Energy: Get a Green Energy Job; Moveable Feasts: The History, Science, and Lore of Food; and Otero Mesa: Preserving America's Wildest Grassland; and of more than three thousand periodical pieces. He is a consultant, contributor, and contributing editor to the Encyclopaedia Britannica and its blog. He is also a regular reviewer for Kirkus Reviews and a contributing editor to The Bloomsbury Review.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Recommended for all personal, community, and academic library Environmental Studies reference collections, November 10, 2008

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Otero Mesa: Preserving America's Wildest Grassland (Paperback)

Grasslands continue to disappear throughout the U.S. to the determine of the ecosystems and habitats where they are an essential part of a healthy and self-sustaining environment. "Otero Mesa: Preserving America's Widest Grassland" focuses upon one specific grassland with an impressively informative text by Gregory McNamee, an enlightening foreword by Governor Bill Richardson, and impressive photographs by Stephen Strom and Stephen Capra. This seminal work of meticulous scholarship brings to light the vast beauty of Otero Mesa and its alarming present day reality. Otero Mesa is in danger of becoming a drilling haven to one hundred new oil wells which will pollute the environment, decimate and contaminate groundwater and endanger the wildlife. Presented in four compelling chapters: The View from an Aplomado; The View from a Missile; Oil and Otero Mesa; and the Fate of the Land, "Otero Mesa" is certain to enlighten the non-specialist general reader and environmental activist who recognizes the value of wide open spaces and the habitat that occupies it, and clean water so necessary to plant, animal, and human life. The fate of Otero Mesa is still unknown as the case fighting to preserve it rests in the federal courts awaiting a decision. A clarion call, "Otero Mesa" is urgently recommended for all personal, community, and academic library Environmental Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

3.0 out of 5 stars Dissapointing, June 27, 2009

By 

Charles E. Gell "Charlie" (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Otero Mesa: Preserving America's Wildest Grassland (Paperback)

I had high hopes for Otero Mesa but found the author essay quickly digressed into childish rhetoric. The type of language found in the following passage discredits the entire premise of the essay, which is unfortunate because there are important points to be made and conclusions to be drawn.

"..Powerful interest are arrayed against Otero Mesa and the rest of the earth, aided and abetted by an administration founded on oil and a millenarian vision that promises heaven for those who destroy the ground beneath them. Let us call these people for what they are. They are devourers who talk benignly of consumption as they use up much, much more than their share. They are gluttons, if gluttons who work out daily at the gym to disguise the evidence of their appetites. They are men and women who deny themselves absolutely nothing, no matter what the expense, an expense that is always borne by other people and by the earth itself. They are killers of places and landscapes and the people and animals and plants that inhabit them, whose existence is a nuisance. They talk of patriotism while destroying the ground on which America was built. They are thieves who rob the future, for which they have no regard for in any event, in order to nurse the past."

Important environmental issues need mature, educated, and thoughtful spokespeople if the cause it to be taken seriously. The author has exhibited none of these qualities in this work.

Charlie Gell
[e-mail]

4.0 out of 5 stars Otero Mesa: Preserving America's Wildest Grassland, April 14, 2009

By 

Kate - See all my reviews

This review is from: Otero Mesa: Preserving America's Wildest Grassland (Paperback)

Well written book with beautiful photos about saving and protecting the areas of New Mexico that we love. Great read!