Far to the south of Arizona’s sprawling metropolises, a rolling savanna of grass, oak, and mesquite rises above the surrounding deserts. The Sonoita Plain is a basin of a thousand square miles bracketed by mountains, a land once the domain of cowboys that is now more and more the focus of exurban development. These southwestern grasslands are both typical of and distinct from those of the Great Plains—similarly shaped by drought, grazing, and fire, but with a different flora and fauna, and the product of a different human history. The Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch is a tract of 8,000 acres on the Sonoita Plain that was established in 1968 by the Appleton family and that is now part of the sanctuary system of the National Audubon Society. To all appearances, it is an ordinary piece of land, but for the last 35 years it has been treated in an extraordinary way—by leaving it alone. No grazing to influence grass production. No dam building to hold back flash floods. No pest control. No fire-fighting. By employing such non-action, might we gain a glimpse of what this land was like hundreds, even thousands, of years ago? Through essays and photographs focusing on the Sanctuary and surrounding area, this book reveals the complex ecology and unique aesthetics of its grasslands and savannas. Carl and Jane Bock and Stephen Strom share a passion for the remarkable beauty found here, and in their book they describe its environment, biodiversity, and human history. People have dominated the world’s grasslands and savannas for so long that today we have no clear idea what these lands might be like without us. By understanding the lessons of the Sonoita Plain, we might gain such insight—and, more important, discover approaches to protecting the very things that attract us to such lands in the first place.
| |||||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"A passionate portrait of one of the world's most unique scenes." —Tucson Citizen "Highly recommended reading." —Midwest Book Review “Strom’s color photos capture the sweet beauty of these rolling grasslands, punctuated by the round canopies of deep-green trees.” —Tucson Weekly
From the Inside Flap
Far to the south of Arizona's sprawling metropolises, a rolling savanna of grass, oak, and mesquite rises above the surrounding deserts. The Sonoita Plain is a basin of a thousand square miles bracketed by mountains, a land once the domain of cowboys that is now more and more the focus of ex-urban development. These southwestern grasslands are both typical of and distinct from those of the Great Plains--similarly shaped by drought, grazing, and fire, but with a different flora and fauna, and the product of a different human history. The Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch is a tract of 8,000 acres on the Sonoita Plain that was established in 1968 by the Appleton family and is now part of the sanctuary system of the National Audubon Society. To all appearances it is an ordinary piece of land, but for the last 35 years it has been treated in an extraordinary way--by leaving it alone. No grazing to influence grass production. No dam building to hold back flash floods. No pest control. No fire-fighting. By employing such nonaction, might we gain a glimpse of what this land was like hundreds, even thousands, of years ago? Through essays and photographs focusing on the Research Ranch Sanctuary and surrounding area, this book reveals the complex ecology and unique aesthetics of its grasslands and savannas. Carl and Jane Bock and Stephen Strom share a passion for the remarkable beauty found here, and in their book they describe its environment, biodiversity, and human history. The book first considers the environmental forces that have shaped the ecosystems of the Sonoita Valley in general and the Research Ranch in particular. It then presents a selection of stories about the diverse life forms found here: century plants punctuating the landscape; the Botteri's Sparrow, whose habitat preference echoes the distant past; the fleet-footed Mexican pronghorn, now more common following a large and intense wildfire. A final section considers the humans who have come to the valley--from Clovis big game hunters to modern restaurant-goers and border-crossers--and the environmental changes they have wrought. People have dominated the world's grasslands and savannas for so long that today we have no clear idea what these lands might be like without us. By understanding the lessons of the Sonoita Plain, we might gain such insight--and, more important, discover approaches to protecting the very things that attract us to such lands in the first place.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Showcases & highlights the ecosystems of the Sonoita Valley,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Sonoita Plain: Views from a Southwestern Grassland (Paperback)
Established in 1968 by the Appleton family and now part of the National Audubon Society's sanctuary system, the Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch is a tract of 8,000 acres on the Sonoita Plain of southeastern Arizona. This is land that has been left alone for the past 35 years. There has been no dam building, fire fighting, grazing, pest control, and no commercial or agricultural development of any kind. Co-authored by Carl and Jane Bock, Sonoita Plain: Views From A Southwestern Grassland showcases and highlights the ecosystems of the Sonoita Valley and the Research Ranch. Enhanced with the superb color photography of Stephen Strom, readers are informed with respect to the diverse life forms which range from towering century plants to tiny Botteri's Sparrow, the elegant Mexican pronghorn, and the humans of diverse eras and purposes that were associated with this region from ancient Clovis big-game hunters to border crossers seeking entrance into the U.S., to nature loving tourists come to see and experience what the Sonoita Valley has to offer. Highly recommended reading, especially for environmental activists and academicians, Sonoita Plain would well serve as a template or model for similar books on other natural environment restoration landscape projects elsewhere in the country.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
2 book blurbs that didn't make the back cover,
By
This review is from: Sonoita Plain: Views from a Southwestern Grassland (Paperback)
From Joy Harjo - Mvskoke poet, musician, writer
"Any full portrait of a society -- and the Sonoita Plain is a society: of lands, plants, skies, creatures (including humans) -- must be artful, lyrical, factual, historical, mythical, insightful and inspiring.This is a tremendous order -- and it's all here in this beautiful marriage of text and photographs." From John W. Donaldson - Rancher & recipient of the 2003 Western Heritage Award, National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum "Carl and Jane Bock's book Sonoita Plain is a superb comprehensive and informative piece of work. Anyone who is interested in the environmental intricacies of Southern Arizona's grasslands would do well to read this book and keep it close by for future reference."
3.0 out of 5 stars
Small Photos,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Sonoita Plain: Views from a Southwestern Grassland (Paperback)
I am a serious collector of photography. Having recently acquired a Stephen Strom photograph, the book was purchased to see more of his work. Amazon description says the book is 10.1 x 9.9 inches, which it is. Problem is that all of the images reproduced in the book are very tiny (think trading card size), surrounded by huge borders (or in the middle of text, which is okay). Pictures are beautiful, but why the editors decided to make them so small is a real mystery.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
