O'Connor, Georganne and Karen Wieda. Northwest Arid Lands: An Introduction to the Columbia Basin Shrub-Steppe. Battelle Press. Columbus, OH. 2001. (reviewed by Laura Johnson)
Summary:
This book discusses the plants, animals and geology of the lower Columbia Basin, with a wide focus on increasing general understanding of the past and current natures of the area. It is easy to read with many tables, figures and photographs. The text covers a wide variety of topics, including natural history, descriptions of shrub-steppe habitats and species, the causes and effects of environmental change, the importance of the Hanford reach to preserving aquatic, riparian and upland habitats. It was also written for use as in education; the book contains short biographies of contributing scientists in the body of the text presumably to increase the reader's interest in the process of studying ecology.
Appendices include a photo guide of common animal and plant species, maps of native plant distribution, a comprehensive glossary and a travel log of geological areas of interest. Unfortunately, this book is not meant to be a comprehensive guide and was only intended to give the “essence” of the area. The authors describe the information within as having been “distilled” from research reports and journals by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory biologists, ecologists and geologists. However, very few of these are actually cited in the bibliography, as the authors instead chose to cite another condensed form of that information by passively recommending articles she wrote for a local newspaper.
The authors both work for companies associated with Battelle press. Georganne O'Connor is a nature writer and editor for Battelle's Ecology Group. She also ghostwrote monthly columns for Tri-City Herald on natural history of the Columbia Basin, and it is these columns which are cited in this book, seemingly in place of the research reports and journals used to write the original. Karen Wieda manages Partnership for Arid Lands Stewardship, project of Battelle and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and is a science education specialist. It appears that Battelle Press has interest in environmental publishing and chose the Columbia shrub-steppe region because of its connection to people within its ranks
Critique:
I took a chance on this book because I thought that it would give an in depth view of the ecology of Columbia Basin shrub-steppe, an area of direct importance to this course. I hoped that the natural history section would give enough information such that I could dive into the study of the native flora and fauna of the area. Unfortunately, while this source is easy to read and still in print, it lacks both technicality and focus. This makes it ideal for beginners but frustrating for anyone with a more academic interest. Also, the affiliation of both authors with the publishing company and its ecological pet projects makes me question the choice of subject and why a more opinionated or academic work was not produced instead.
The book contains informative details about many plant and animal species; however they do not cohere into anything beyond mere statements. Likewise, the text does not seem to have a direction or purpose of argument; it discusses the changes produced by human interference but refrains to pass judgment and therefore does not discuss solutions to obvious problems. For instance, it is good to know that non-native cheatgrass was accidentally introduced in the 1880's and that today it covers over 100 million acres. It is also intriguing that this plant dries and seeds early in the summer, thus increasing the chances of a fire to clear space for further invasion. Still, I would also have appreciated a section on various strategies being used to fight its spread. The authors want their book to facilitate understanding of the northwest's arid lands that will lead to better care and conservation of shrub-steppe region. However, the book fails to increase understanding because it does not analyze or judge current conditions.
Once again I'm stunned at how little I know about ecology, given that I usually find myself only able to understand beginner level texts. It is frustrating to want to read scholarly works but feel constrained by the technicality of search terms within a broad and open ended topic. Lastly, if you find yourself picking out this text 2 weeks ahead of time in anticipation of time constraints and travel, let it be because you are traveling to the lower Columbia Basin and not for a research report.
Robert D. Clark Honors College, University of Oregon
HC 441: Science Colloquium, Columbia River Ecology
Fall term, 2005
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