The Highlands: Critical Resources, Treasured Landscapes (Rivergate Books (Hardcover)) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0813551331 ISBN 13: 9780813551333

Publisher: Rivergate Books, 2011

Synopsis

Think of the Highlands as the “backyard” and “backstop” of the Philadelphia–New York–Hartford metroplex. A backyard that spans over three million acres across Pennsylvania, New York, and Connecticut, the Highlands serves as recreational open space for the metroplex’s burgeoning human population. As backstop, Highlands’ watersheds provide a ready source of high-quality drinking water for over fifteen million people.

The Highlands is the first book to examine the natural and cultural landscape of this four-state region, showing how it’s distinctive and why its conservation is vital. Each chapter is written by a different leading researcher and specialist in that field, and introduces readers to another aspect of the Highlands: its geological foundations, its aquifers and watersheds, its forest ecology, its past iron industry.

In the 1800s, the Highlands were mined, cutover, and then largely abandoned. Given time, the forests regenerated, the land healed, and the waters cleared. Increasingly, however, the Highlands are under assault again—polluted runoff contaminating lakes and streams, invasive species choking out the local flora and fauna, exurban sprawl blighting the rural landscape, and climate change threatening the integrity of its ecosystems.

The Highlands makes a compelling case for land use planning and resource management strategies that could help ensure a sustainable future for the region, strategies that could in turn be applied to other landscapes threatened by urbanization across the country. The Highlands are a valuable resource. And now, so is The Highlands.

About this title

About the Author:

RICHARD G. LATHROP Jr. is a professor in the department of ecology, evolution, and natural resources and director of the Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis at Rutgers University. He has been actively involved in Highlands environmental policy and research for many years.

Review:

"The Highlands is a valuable resource for those interested in the geology, hydrology, plant and animal life, and land use of this fourstate area. Environmental historians will be interested in the ways the collection brings together quantifiable scientific data with human histories. The collection clearly lays out how natural resources and ecosystem functions are invaluable to local and regional populations and offers readers a persuasive argument for responsible land use. After reading a selection or all of these chapters, readers will have a clear conception of the composition of the nature of the Highlands."
(Environmental History)

"The Highlands exemplifies why protection of New Jersey's Highlands is so important for the future of the state.  It is an essential read on the multiple resources of the region." (Julia Somers Executive Director, New Jersey Highlands Coalition)

"The Highlands is a thorough, comprehensive and significant study of a beloved region.  It describes treasured landscapes, critical water resources and centuries of land use and convinces the reader that its future is our responsibility." (Eileen Swan Executive Director NJ Highlands Council)

"The Highlands is an encyclopedic study of a cultural landscape. It is a comprehensive resource and a valuable reference for those interested in the Highlands region."
(Ecology)

"The Highlands makes a compelling case for land-use planning and resource management strategies that could help ensure a sustainable future for the region, strategies that could in turn be applied to other landscapes threatened by urbanization across the country."
(Northeastern Naturalist)

"This book should be useful to anyone interested in this 'backyard' region so close to the Philadelphia-New York-Hartford metroplex. Recommended."
(Choice)

About this edition

• Publisher: Rivergate Books
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0813551331
• ISBN 13: 9780813551333
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 400
• Editor: Lathrop Jr. Professor Richard G.