Trees in Trouble: Wildfires, Infestations, and Climate Change
Description
A troubling story of the devastating and compounding effects of climate change in the Western and Rocky Mountain states, told through in-depth reportage and conversations with ecologists, professional forest managers, park service scientists, burn boss, activists, and more.
Climate change manifests in many ways across North America, but few as dramatic as the attacks on our western pine forests. In Trees in Trouble, Daniel Mathews tells the urgent story of this loss, accompanying burn crews and forest ecologists as they study the myriad risk factors and refine techniques for saving this important, limited resource.
Mathews transports the reader from the exquisitely aromatic haze of ponderosa and Jeffrey pine groves to the fantastic gnarls and whorls of five-thousand-year-old bristlecone pines, from genetic test nurseries where white pine seedlings are deliberately infected with their mortal enemy to the hottest megafire sites and neighborhoods leveled by fire tornadoes or ember blizzards.
Scrupulously researched, Trees in Trouble not only explores the devastating ripple effects of climate change, but also introduces us to the people devoting their lives to saving our forests. Mathews also offers hope: a new approach to managing western pine forests is underway. Trees in Trouble explores how we might succeed in sustaining our forests through the challenging transition to a new environment.
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About the Author
Reviews
Longlisted for the 2021 AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books
Chicago Review of Books, 1 of 10 Must-Read Books for This Month
"Trees in Trouble is a well done & professional piece, with a great sense for the diversity of the conifer country. This dense and graceful book is about what can and should be done. There's no excess, this text simply tells what should be done. Reason enough to do it, and some of these great old trees will live it through. May some of our own children still be with them." --Gary Snyder
"Mathews writes in a chatty style, sharing many thoughtful insights." --Barbara Lloyd McMichael, Coast Weekend
"Trees in Trouble dives into the forces that threaten the forests of the West, from invasive species to climate change, with a focus on major fires . . . It is full of interesting potential solutions to said threats, and there's lots of lovely writing about the region's incredible diversity of trees to help you remember why all this is worth thinking about." --Outside magazine
"Lays out challenges facing today's pine forests that inspire new respect for their strength and resilience--and for the dilemma they're in." --Amy Wang, The Oregonian
"The appeal of Mathews' evaluation of these valuable conifer forests may skew slightly to the more scientifically minded reader, yet his deeply personal connection to the land and its majestic trees makes this equally suitable for any tree lover and everyone concerned about the state of the planet." --Booklist
"A walk in the woods with an environmental journalist and natural-history writer reveals that the forested world is in grave danger . . . His book sounds a timely warning to pay more heed to the health of the woodlands. Thoughtful environmental reportage suggesting that the fate of trees is the fate of all life." --Kirkus Reviews
"Trees in Trouble is crucial reading for anyone who cares about the Mountain West." --John Daniel, author of The Trail Home and Rogue River Journal
"Natural historian Mathews vividly relates the complex environmental situation facing America's western pine forests in this fascinating account . . . Eco-conscious readers, even those unversed in this seemingly niche subject, will be intrigued and enlightened by Mathews's thoughtful work." --Publishers Weekly
"Mathews takes us on a journey through the challenged and treasured forests of the American West, exploring the natural and unnatural forces of fire, destruction, and regrowth. In a careful blend of complex science in welcoming prose and urgent reportage, Trees in Trouble unveils the fraught future of our forests in a warming world and the suite of actions required to chart a different course." --Lauren E. Oakes, author of In Search of the Canary Tree
"After the catastrophic conflagrations of Summer and Fall, 2020, it is not hyperbole to say that I can't think of another book more vital to the American West at this time than Trees in Trouble. Daniel Mathews' deftly written, brilliantly researched and reasoned foray into climate woe and super-fires does everything in its power to set us on the best possible path to steward what's left of our absolutely vital forests." --David James Duncan, author of The Brothers K and the forthcoming Sun House
