Customer Reviews

A Field Guide to the Plants and Animals of the Middle Rio Grande Bosque

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I should admit from the start that I know or have met most of the authors of "A Field Guide to the Plants and Animals of the Middle Rio Grande Bosque," have published with one (Lightfoot) and am in the process of publishing with another (Brantley). I am also a biologist who has some knowledge of the Rio Grande and its various ecosystems.

That said this is a most impressive guide for anyone who would like to get acquainted with a damaged, but still diverse, area of our planet. One thing this guide shows graphically is that there are few areas of the planet that are lacking in interest. For years many general field guides have focused more often than not on the eastern half of the country, although this tendency is slowly being corrected. This guide, worked up primarily by the curators at the Museum of Southwestern Biology at the University of New Mexico, demonstrates that the biota of the Middle Rio Grande Bosque (river forest) is well worth a close examination. It is a indication of the real diversity of the Bosque that only a fraction of some groups has been covered in a fairly lengthy book. Still it does include representatives of many obscure taxa (like lichens and pseudoscorpions for example) and the more common members of the more well know taxa- vascular plants, insects, reptiles, birds and mammals.

Most of the photographs are very good (although a few could be improved). My only real gripe is that they could have been a bit larger. The discussions are well done and I have so far found few mistakes.

The river bosques and other riparian habitats of the Southwest have had virtually no good references and this is a great start. Anyone visiting the Middle Rio Grande Bosque, or any part of the Rio Grande in New Mexico should have this book.

This is a wonderful addition to our collection of SW and western field guides. Handy to have one book with plants & animals likely to be found in the bosque.

I grew up in the Middle Rio Grande Bosque area and have lived here for years. It is very refreshing to have a book that is specific to this area. I would recommend it to newcomers, visitors, and long time residents as an excellent resource for the area. I enjoyed looking at a variety of things in the book and saying to myself - "oh, that's what that is!"