Harvey Weil Sportsman Conservationist of the Year!

The outdoor tents at Welder Wildlife Refuge were packed Saturday night with people there to honor Texas A&M Press advancement board member Dick Bartlett as the Harvey Weil Sportsman Conservationist of the Year and, as the Professional Conservationist of the Year, Wes Tunnell, the long-time general editor of two press book series on the Gulf of Mexico (here with his wife, Kathy). Also honored, in memoriam, was friend of the press Dick Conolly, whose wife, Norma, is shown here with Dick Bartlett. It was a sensational evening of tribute to these internationally known conservationists.

Remembering Tom Hargrove

There were four guys from Fisher County who came to Aggieland (and Spider-D) in two-year staggered classes—Jim Lanning ’64, Tom Hargrove ’66, Lee Lanning ’68, and Raford Hargrove ’70. Their friendship embodied the best of the Aggie bonding. When Tom and Lee were both serving in Vietnam in 1969, their wives, Susan Hargrove and Linda Lanning, shared an apartment in San Francisco. TAMU Press published Linda’s moving account of their experience as waiting wives, Waiting: One Wife’s Year of the Vietnam War, in 2009. When Tom was kidnapped in Colombia, the Lannings were at the head of the list of friends who supported Susan in seeking his release, through ransom money, negotiating privately with the guerillas, and surviving the emotional rollercoaster.

It did not take knowing Tom long to understand how he generated that kind of loyalty and commitment. He was a leader in the Green Revolution of finding rice strains that would support Third World agriculture, a man of principle and courage, an agricultural journalist and international development worker. His mind was sharp, and his heart was as big as the West Texas that never left his accent or his perspective.

If you didn’t know Tom in person, you can know him through his books, which offer a unique account of and reflection on two dramatic episodes in America’s twentieth-century history: our involvement in Vietnam and our vulnerability to international drug runners. Even now, after his too-early death this week, Tom is worth getting to know; he will enlarge your heart and your experience.

Tom’s books: Long March to Freedom: The True Story of a Colombian Kidnapping
American History (TAMU Press edition 2007); A Dragon Lives Forever: War and Rice in Vietnam's Mekong Delta (TAMU Press edition 2008).

Authors Tell the True Story of Lawmen "Warts and All"

"Most of these lawmen memorial volumes have exploded since 9-11. And most of them sing the praises of the brave heroic officer who, with guns blazing, goes down in a hail of lead from Evil Roy Slade, blah, blah, blah. What we've done is tell the stories of the bad guys as well as the good guys. And sometimes it's hard to tell the difference because all of these officers weren't saints."--Richard F. Selcer to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Richard F. Selcer and Kevin S. Foster, co-authors of Written in Blood: The History of Fort Worth’s Fallen Lawmen, Volume 1, 1861-1909 talk to the Star-Telegram/Associated Press about their efforts to chronicle the lives and deaths of 13 early lawmen: police officers, sheriffs, constables and even a police commissioner. Read more here.

Find TAMU Press Consortium Authors at Texas Book Festival

The Texas Book Festival has just announced authors who will be present at the free event, happening Oct. 16-17 at the State Capitol Building.

TAMU Press Consortium authors include:

Birkelbach, Alan (Smurglets Are Everywhere)

Bush, David (Hill Country Deco: Modernistic Architecture of Central Texas)

Crimm, Carolina Castillo (Tejano Leadership in Mexican and Revolutionary Texas)

de la Teja, Jesus F. (editor, Tejano Leadership in Mexican and Revolutionary Texas)

Hardin, Stephen (contributor, Tejano Leadership in Mexican and Revolutionary Texas)

* Hobby, Bill (How Things Really Work: Lessons From a Life in Politics)

Kruvand, Charles (The Living Waters of Texas)

Monroe, Debra (On the Outskirts of Normal: Forging a Family Against the Grain)

Parsons, Jim (Hill Country Deco: Modernistic Architecture of Central Texas)

Ramos, Raul (Tejano Leadership in Mexican and Revolutionary Texas)

Tijerina, Andres (Tejano Leadership in Mexican and Revolutionary Texas)

Todd, David (The Texas Legacy Project: Stories of Courage and Conservation)

Winningham, Geoff (Traveling the Shore of the Spanish Sea)

Wood, Jane Roberts (Out the Summerhill Road)

Zamora, Emilio (Claiming Rights and Righting Wrongs in Texas: Mexican Workers and Job Politics during World War II)

For a full list, see the Austin American Statesman Reader.

Stop by the TAMU Press Consortium tent!

A&M System and Harte Research play instrumental role in response to the oil spill

Released earlier this week, Governor Perry named the Texas A&M System a participant in the Gulf Project, a coalition of energy and environmental scientists, policy experts, academic researchers, private sector research scientists and state officials.

Consultants for the Project include Dr. Larry McKinney, executive director of the Harte Research Institute at Texas A&M - Corpus Christi. The Harte Research Institute has proved instrumental in providing data and research for information on the Gulf of Mexico and the oil spill. McKinney has also authored a foreword to the forthcoming book Glory of the Silver King edited by Brandon Shuler.

Texas A&M University Press authors Sylvia Earle and Wes Tunnell are both active at HRI, providing articles, interviews and access to research for greater understanding of the Gulf of Mexico and the effects of the recent oil spill.

Human Origins and Human Evolution: "The Human Edge. Without it, we might just be up a tree."

NPR recently released an article by Christopher Joyce about the about the station's latest radio addition. NPR will be investigating 500 million years of human evolutionary history to determine the development cycles and "how we ended up the way we are." This will all be examined in "The Human Edge" radio show. The summer special will feature radio and web series.

"In Human Origins, by Rob DeSalle and Ian Tattersall, two of the world's foremost scientists show how research into the human genome confirms what fossil bones have told us about human origins. Human Origins serves as a companion volume to the American Museum of Natural History's permanent exhibit as well as an overview of recent insights into what it means to be human."

The information available on this topic is extensive. NPR's radio show will cover topics such as why feet ache, what is the cause of backache and the evolutionary developments that led to modern women having complexes about their hip size. In addition to these physical changes, "The Human Edge" will explore the mental complications of self doubt, the blues and delusions of grandeur, to name a few. Joyce comments that there's a reason "chimps don't need shrinks or Viagra."

Q&A with Gay Gomez, author of The Louisiana Coast: Guide to an American Wetland

Gay Gomez is associate professor of geography at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Gomez, a professional nature guide and longtime activist and champion for the state's wetlands, has served on the board of directors for the Coalistion to Restore Coastal Louisiana and the Louisiana Ornithological Society. She is actively involved in many other organizations and is the author of The Louisiana Coast: Guide to an American Wetland.

1. What is a wetland environment? And, why should we preserve them?

"Wetlands are transition environments between dry land and open water. They are places where standing water is present for all or part of the year, and, because of this, they support vegetation that is adapted to saturated soil conditions. In the Gulf Coast region, swamps and marshes predominate. Swamps are forested wetlands, while marshes feature many species of grasses, sedges, rushes, and submerged aquatic vegetation. 'Water brings life,' and these wetland habitats are high in both plant and animal diversity. Humans also are part of these ecosystems; we impact them by managing water and wildlife and use them for a variety of commercial and recreational activities, from bird watching to seafood harvesting. Without coastal wetlands, valuable fish and shellfish like brown shrimp, white shrimp, redfish (red drum) speckled trout (spotted sea trout), gulf menhaden, blue crabs, and American oysters would not have a place to grow to adulthood. Without these wetlands, many species of waterfowl and other wildlife would not have a refuge in winter, or a place to breed in summer, or a spot to rest and feed during migration."


Photo by Gay Gomez at the Cameron East Jetty Park and Pier, Camero, LA

2. In your book, The Louisiana Coast: Guide to an American Wetland, you describe the coast as a "place of interaction among land, people, and ideas." Can you tell us more about this connection between the land and local people? Why is this connection unique to the Louisiana coast?

"People are an integral part of the Louisiana coastal environment. Generations of families of many ethnicities have adapted to the opportunities and challenges of the region, which include a long growing season, bountiful fishery, and location along the Mississippi and central flyways, as well as threats from hurricanes, storm surges, flooding and insects. Louisiana coastal culture reflects these adaptations in its architecture, food ways, wetland and wildlife management, commercial and recreational activities and attitude toward life. According to 2007 U.S. Census estimates, approximately 47% of Louisiana’s population lives in the state’s coastal parishes. There is a strong emotional attachment and sense of identity associated with living in or near the coast and using its resources. People here feel we are part of the coast, and it is part of us."

3. Over many years, hurricane damage, erosion, human land development, and the byproducts of oil exploration have taken their toll on the coast. What are the specific, long-term implications of the recent BP oil spill with which you are most concerned?

"I’m concerned about the presence and effects of both oil and toxic dispersants in our wetlands, on our beaches, and in our marine environment. All these habitats are interconnected; foul one habitat and the others will also be affected. I fear the contaminants will have long-lasting effects on our fisheries and of course on the entire food web. I’m also wondering how the presence of oil will affect water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico. If the presence of oil results in higher water temperature, this could cause hurricanes to intensify as they pass over the warmer area. I recall how rapidly Hurricane Katrina strengthened to a category 5 storm as it passed over a warm water eddy west of Florida in 2005. On the subject of hurricanes, I’m concerned that a hurricane and storm surge crossing oil-impacted wetlands will both convey oil further into fragile wetland areas and cause land loss where wetland plants have already succumbed to the suffocating effects of the oil."

Photo courtesy of Gay Gomez. Shrimp boat and the Gulf of Mexico shoreline at Holly Beach, LA.

4. You also discuss coastal restoration at length, in your book. The environmental devastation associated with this spill seems to be massive and widespread, with broad implications. What can individuals do now to aid both in recovery from the spill and long-term restoration?

"Individuals can stay informed about the spill and can learn about its impacts on coastal wetlands by exploring sites like the coalition to restore coastal Louisiana, http://www.crcl.org/, and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/. Becoming informed about and supporting coastal restoration, and urging your U.S. congressmen and senators to do likewise, will also help. One way you can support the gulf coast seafood harvesters and businesses is by refusing to buy imported shrimp, crabs and oysters; don’t let the spill be an opportunity for foreign competitors to steal the market from domestic producers and suppliers. In addition, people might want to help by coming to the gulf coast and directly patronizing businesses impacted by the spill. There is much to see and do, even if fishing and swimming are currently unavailable in some areas."

5. Tourism will, no doubt, be affected by the spill. Will it be safe for families to visit the coast this summer? If so, what are some of your favorite, must-see spots?

"I believe tourism is still a possibility, especially eco-tourism. It is still possible to visit many wildlife refuges and coastal communities. Some of my favorite spots in Louisiana are the Creole Nature Trail in Cameron Parish, Grand Isle in Jefferson Parish, and the Louisiana Great Gulf Coast Birding Trail, which stretches across the state’s entire coast region. My book, The Louisiana Coast: Guide to an American Wetland, has information on these and other locations.