Amc Field Guide To The New England Alpine Summits

Above timberline is an enchanting world unlike any other in New England - an alpine environment of extraordinary beauty. Here delicate plants, remarkable wildlife, and weather-worn geological formations exist in some of the world's harshest and most unpredictable weather conditions. And yet this rare and intriguing world is also readily accessible to hikers and other travelers who ascend New England's high peaks by the thousands every year. For those visitors to the alpine areas in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine the AMC Field Guide to the New England Alpine Summits is an essential guide. It's an ecologically oriented, profusely illustrated, full-color guide to dozens and dozens of beautiful alpine flowers and plants, birds, amphibians, insects, and other natural wonders. Authoritative text and over 170 color photos are presented in an easy-to-use format that offers a fast introductions - or a leisurely contemplation - of the natural communities of the alpine world. Author Dr. Nancy Slack is chairman of the biology department at Russell Sage College in Troy, NY. Specializing in species diversity and high-elevation ecology, she is a full-time professor, an ecological consultant to the New York State Natural Heritage Program, educational consultant to New York State Regents, and a trustree of The Nature Conservancy. Photographer Allison W. Bell is a designer and co-author with Dr. Slack of Eighty-Five Acres: A Field Guide to the Adirondack Alpine Summits. A longtime naturalist, she has led workshops in alpine ecology for many northeastern conservation groups. (4 1/2' x 8', 96 pages)


Back by popular demand, this practical field guide captures the splendor of the rare, yet accessible, alpine zone of northern New England. This fascinating ecosystem is an enchanting world of delicate flowers, hardy plants, and remarkable wildlife that survive in the harsh and unpredictable climate of New England's highest peaks from Vermont to Maine, including Mounts Mansfield, Lafayette, Washington, and Katahdin. Full-color photos and authoritative text offer quick answers to visitors' questions: What is that lovely little pink flower along the side of the trail? How do these plants survive through winter? Which birds am I likely to see above treeline? New to this edition is an appendix on the phenology of the alpine zone--the study of the effect of climate change on plant species. Nature enthusiasts will appreciate this detailed look at climate change and its impact over time on this rare and fragile environment. This new edition also highlights the environmental success story of the rescue of "Dwarf cinquefoil," an extremely rare alpine plant that was removed from the endangered species list in summer of 2002 due to decades long efforts by AMC and other conservation advocates in the region.
Special features include:
>A hiker's guide to the ecological zones that change with the elevation as mountain slopes rise to the summits
>The unique world above tree line: biological communities, geology, weather, and other phenomena
>More than 200 full-color, annotated photographs of alpine species: flowers, trees, shrubs, grasses, mosses and lichens, birds, mammals, insets, the local landscape, and more