Islands of Hope

August 2, 1999
The author of several books on nature walks (Afoot in the South, etc.), Manning now describes his visits to 10 wildlife sanctuaries in four countries. He draws upon research and interviews with ecologists to flesh out his lucid descriptions of each preserve's landscape with information on its history and current problems. At Bonaire Marine Park in the Netherlands Antilles, stringent regulations protect the delicate coral reefs, but the park managers worry that rises in ocean levels (caused by melting polar caps) could "drown" the coral's algae. At El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Preserve in Mexico, which was founded as the result of some handy detective work by a Canadian entomologist, the brilliant orange insects are threatened by the logging practices of a resentful local population. At Cape May National Wildlife refuge in New Jersey, Manning looks at the relationship between shorebirds and horseshoe crabs. At the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Oklahoma, he describes the efforts to restore a pristine landscape complete with bison. He examines wild geese in Wisconsin; puffins on Mathias Seal Island, Canada; hummingbirds in Alabama; storks at Corkscrew Swamp in Florida; wild swans in North Carolina. All in all, he gives an optimistic picture of preservation in the U.S. and Canada. Manning aims to find out what methods make a preserve, and in each chapter he highlights a sound principle (far-sighted planning; protection of the surrounding area). Nonetheless, the thrust of his book is descriptive. Long passages detail the beauty of each refuge's ecosystem and recount colorful anecdotes. This is a work that will please nature readers and inspire many vacations, but will probably disappoint ecologists looking for more thorough analysis. Illustrations.