American Studies Commons^™

Review Of Sandhill And Whooping Cranes: Ancient Voices Over America's Wetlands. By Paul A. Johnsgard., Janice M. Hughes

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

This charming, informative book has clearly been written by someone who truly understands and appreciates the magnificence of cranes. Indeed, Sandhill and Whooping Cranes: Ancient Voices over America's Wetlands is Paul Johnsgard's fourth book on the subject. The knowledge he imparts, presented from the heart, culminates almost five decades of personal observations and research on cranes. Moreover, the book features many attractive illustrations and detailed maps sketched by the author himself.

Sandhill and Whooping Cranes is a scholarly work with a much-welcomed personal touch. Whether its reader is contemplating a pilgrimage to observe these wonderful birds in the wild, or …

Review Of Rare: Portraits Of America's Endangered Species. By Joel Sartore., Jim Mason

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

Short of being in the presence of a creature, a really good photograph of one can also make a lasting impression. That is something RARE does compellingly, with exquisite portrait photos of 68 North American species that are dwindling dangerously in numbers or have recently recovered from the brink of extinction. Included are such Great Plains natives as the lesser prairie chicken, the interior least tern, and the black-footed ferret. All creatures were photographed with either a pure white or black background, but unconventional poses surprise the reader with each turn of the page, while creative framing and layout engage …

Historic And Contemporary Trends Of The Conservation Reserve Program And Ring-Necked Pheasants In South Dakota, Christopher R. Laingen

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

Over the past century, the interactions between agricultural land use and government cropland retirement programs have affected pheasant population change. Two government land retirement programs that returned croplands to grasslands, Soil Bank in the 1960s and the current Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), help to illustrate these connections. From 2007 to 2010, South Dakota lost 41% of its CRP lands and experienced an 18% decline in pheasants per mile. However, because of where CRP expirations have occurred and where pheasant populations are found, some regional variability is seen. Western South Dakota (Region 1) had an 80% increase in pheasants per mile …

Review Of Raptors Of New Mexico. Edited By Jean-Luc E. Cartron., Brian Millsap

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

As a raptor specialist, I eagerly look forward to the publication of state and regional books on birds of prey, typically rich with hard-to-find locally flavored information on distribution and biology. With the publication of Raptors of New Mexico, my home state has joined the ranks of the handful of states blessed with such volumes, and in fine form. This is an impressive work both in size and content, but the first thing anyone will notice are the photographs-hundreds, most top-notch, many capturing moods, scenes, and places unique to New Mexican raptors. In many ways the book is a showcase …

Review Of Whooping Crane: Images From The Wild. By Klaus Nigge., Paul Johnsgard

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences

When asked to review this book I hadn't yet heard of it or its author, a wildlife photographer well known in his native Germany and the author of four photographic books published there, so I was eager to read it. The book is visually impressive, measuring 11" x 12", making it a true coffee-table production. Inside is a well-written 2S-page "primer" on whooping cranes by Krista Schlyer dealing with cranes in myth and legend, crane vocalizations and displays, and breeding biology. She also provides a brief survey of the whooping crane's population history, its near brush with extinction, and the …