The Trees Are Speaking
Dispatches from the Salmon Forests
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A call to rethink our relationship with forests
Ancient and carbon-rich, old-growth forests play an irreplaceable role in the environment. Their complex ecosystems clean the air, purify the water, cool the planet, and teem with life. In a time of climate catastrophe, old-growth and other natural forests face existential threats caused by humans--and their survival is crucial to ours.
In a bicoastal journey, environmental journalist Lynda V. Mapes connects the present and future of Pacific Northwest forests to the hard-logged legacy forests of the northeastern United States. Beginning in Oregon and Washington, where old growth supports, and is supported by, the region's salmon, we meet Jerry Franklin, who led scientists in recognizing and studying the distinctiveness of these majestic spaces. From there, we journey to Vancouver Island, where Indigenous activists and scientists strive to preserve the health of Nuu-chah-nulth traditional homelands amid continued clearcutting. On the East Coast, we see the corduroy patterns of lands that have been logged for generations, leaving industrial carnage along formerly life-filled waterways. Mapes interviews Penobscot elders and scientists whose new practices are restoring the fish runs, as well as loggers using new technologies to harvest more sustainably.
With vibrant storytelling supported by science and traditional ecological knowledge, Mapes invites readers to understand the world where trees are kin, not commodities. The Trees Are Speaking is essential reading for those with a deep interest in environmental stewardship, Indigenous land rights, and the urgent challenges posed by climate change.
About this Author
Lynda V. Mapes covers environmental and Indigenous issues for the Seattle Times. She is author of six books, including most recently Orca: Shared Waters, Shared Home, winner of the 2021 National Outdoor Book Award and the 2021 Washington State Book Award for nonfiction. Her journalism has earned numerous prestigious awards, including the international 2019 and 2012 Kavli gold award for science journalism from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She is also an associate of the Harvard Forest of Harvard University, in Petersham, MA.
Reviews
"The enlightening ecological discussions highlight the delicate balancing acts that undergird thriving forests, and the profiles provide reason for optimism. Nature lovers will be galvanized to stand up for more robust forest protections."
"The balance of beauty and science found in Mapes' writing is certain to leave readers with a desire to act."
"The prose is crisp and engrossing, and the book includes dozens of photographs of forests and the people working to protect them. . . . The Trees Are Speaking is a timely survey of old-growth forests that are essential to North America's heritage and key to survival."
"[A] stunning and evocative search for the last remaining scraps of old-growth and ancient forest scattered across the North American continent."
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