New Book: Longleaf, Far as the Eye Can See

University of North Carolina Press has released just in time for the holiday season, the perfect book for the nature lover -Longleaf, Far as the Eye Can See. 

Here is a description of the book from the UNC Press.

Longleaf forests once covered 92 million acres from Texas to Maryland to Florida. These grand old-growth pines were the “alpha tree” of the largest forest ecosystem in North America and have come to define the southern forest. But logging, suppression of fire, destruction by landowners, and a complex web of other factors reduced those forests so that longleaf is now found only on 3 million acres. Fortunately, the stately tree is enjoying a resurgence of interest, and longleaf forests are once again spreading across the South. Blending a compelling narrative by writers Bill Finch, Rhett Johnson, and John C. Hall with Beth Maynor Young’s breathtaking photography, Longleaf, Far as the Eye Can See invites readers to experience the astounding beauty and significance of the majestic longleaf ecosystem.

The authors explore the interactions of longleaf with other species, the development of longleaf forests prior to human contact, and the influence of the longleaf on southern culture, as well as ongoing efforts to restore these forests. Part natural history, part conservation advocacy, and part cultural exploration, this book highlights the special nature of longleaf forests and proposes ways to conserve and expand them.

About the Author

Bill Finch is senior fellow at the Ocean Foundation and executive director of the Mobile Botanical Gardens. Beth Maynor Young is a conservation photographer and a conservation realtor. Rhett Johnson is cofounder and president of the Longleaf Alliance, Inc. John C. Hall is curator of the Black Belt Museum at the University of West Alabama. Young and Hall are coauthors of Headwaters: A Journey on Alabama Rivers.

You can order the Longleaf book on Beth Maynor Young’s website.

Enjoy this taste of Beth Maynor Young’s “longleaf photography.”

by Pat Byington

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From LONGLEAF, FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEE: A NEW VISION OF NORTH AMERICA’S RICHEST FOREST by Bill Finch, Beth Maynor Young, Rhett Johnson, and John C. Hall. Copyright © 2012 by the University of North Carolina Press. Photographs © 2012 by Beth Maynor Young. Used by permission of the publisher. www.uncpress.unc.edu