Description of the Book: Cheyenne Bottoms: Wetland in Jeopardy
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Our wetlands are endangered. Half the acreage in the United States has disappeared since European settlers arrived a century ago. Among the wetlands that remain, a few are outstanding for their size, location, and role in feeding and sheltering vast numbers of birds and other wildlife. Cheyenne Bottoms, way station for hundreds of thousands of migrating shorebirds, songbirds, and waterfowl, is one of the most important wetlands in North America. Located in central Kansas, on the main migration highway between wintering grounds in South America and breeding territory in Canada, the 41,000 acre marsh called Cheyenne Bottoms is a critical refueling stop for migrating birds. It hosts 90% of the populations of five species of shorebirds as well as most of the remaining population of the endangered Whooping Crane and several other threatened and endangered species. Because of its critical role, it has been designated by treaty as a Wetland of International Importance. Ecologist/ornithologist John Zimmerman provides an introduction to the Bottoms that is at once personal, impassioned, and technically accurate. Narrating the history of the Bottoms from its formation 100,000 years ago to the present, he describes the rich variety of birds, mammals, and reptiles that depend on it and the intricate web of interactions among them that preserves the Cheyenne Bottoms ecosystem. But recently, Zimmerman notes, the fate of Cheyenne Bottoms has been determined by human history, not natural history. He describes the impact humans have had on the Bottoms and the complex problems created by irrigation, water rights disputes, and politics. He also chronicles the grassroots effort to save the Bottoms--a campaign that brought together conservation groups, garden clubs, grade school and high school students, and the state government. The struggle to preserve Cheyenne Bottoms, according to Zimmerman, is part of a global environmental battle that must be fought in our lifetime. "It has become the arena of confrontation," he writes, " between our desires to exploit the earth for our own short-term benefit and the altruism that will be required if we are to maintain the diversity and life-support systems of our planet. Cheyenne Bottoms is a focal point, a bridge at Concord, in the environmental revolution."
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