Whispers in the Pines: A Naturalist in the Northeast

by Joanna Burger

Overview

In this book, naturalist Joanna Burger takes us on a series of delightful trips through the Pine Barrens. From the Albany Pine Bush, the Long Island Barrens, and the New Jersey Pine Barrens in the Northeast, to the pinelands of South Carolina and Florida, Burger describes in lively detail how these habitats have come to harbor such a unique assemblage of species.

She introduces us to amphibians and reptiles, neotropical migrants and other birds, and a range of common and unusual mammals. Burger also traces the regions’ historic and geologic backgrounds, and the impact of human occupation from the time of the paleo-Indians to the present.  She revisits the tension between development and preservation, reminding us that a healthy pine barren region requires uninterrupted land and rejuvenating fires, both of which are increasingly jeopardized.

Whispers in the Pines is essential reading for everyone concerned with the history and preservation of these unique landscapes and their wildlife.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813537948
Publisher:	Rutgers University Press
Publication date:	03/20/2006
Series:	Rivergate Book Series
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Joanna Burger is Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences at Rutgers University.  Her seventeen books include A Naturalist along the Jersey Shore, 25 Nature Spectacles in New Jersey, and The Parrot Who Owns Me.

Editorial Reviews

"Joanna Burger has artfully integrated her experiences as a naturalist of pineland ecosystems within the context of several sciences, most notably biology. She writes of the science of creatures and plants and sand and water within these important environments. This is a science told in a uniquely personal way through her eyes and those of her family and friends."

New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation - Bernadette Castro

"Here's a special book about a special place. Joanna Burger may well be an accomplished biologist and naturalist, but as you read these pages you'll discover that the little girl who was wowed by nature, the scientist to be, is very much on the same page."

Director of Natural History Information, New Jersey Audubon Society - Pete Dunne

"A welcome addition to the literature on those unique ecosystems along our Atlantic seaboard that we refer to as the pine barrens."

author of A Pine Barrens Odyssey - Howard P. Boyd

For most of us, the words "pine barrens" conjures up forbidding images of swamps and mutant fiends. For naturalist Dr. Joanna Burger, pine barrens are unique ecosystems, sanctuaries for frogs and toads; fence lizards and cottonmouths; gopher tortoises, red squirrels, scrub jays, and warblers. In Whispers in the Pines, Burger leads us readers on a fascinating guided tour of these dense forested areas, describing its diverse spectrum of plant and animal life. The Rutgers University biology professor also explains how modern development and fire prevention have combined to endanger the existence of these natural preserves.