Nature's Allies Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Jaime Jennings, 202-232-7933x44 jjennings@islandpress.org Katharine Sucher, 202-232-7933x43 ksucher@islandpress.org

PRESS RELEASE

Nature’s Allies Eight Conservationists Who Changed Our World

By Larry A. Nielsen

Washington, DC (February 2, 2017)—Given election results that have further empowered political leaders who deny climate change, it’s easy to feel powerless in the face of environmental challenges like massive deforestation, biodiversity loss, and dying oceans. At a time when it seems like we are moving backwards and progress is stalled by partisanship and bureaucracy, conservation success stories provide the inspiration and courage needed to move forward. Larry A. Nielsen supplies that inspiration with Nature’s Allies (Publication Date: February 2, 2017), which tells the stories of eight great conservationists who overcame great odds to bring about astonishing change. Some famous and some little known, their diverse stories are a model for affecting positive, lasting change for the environment.

The subjects of Nielsen’s profiles—John Muir, Ding Darling, Aldo Leopold, Rachel Carson, Chico Mendes, Billy Frank Jr., Wangari Maathai, and Gro Harlem Brundtland—are a refreshing move beyond the mainstream of American conservation. These engaging narratives represent a fuller diversity of contributions, including stories from Africa, South America, and Europe. Nielsen’s biographies also go deeper than the most notable accomplishments of each conservationist. Expertly researched and beautifully written, Nature’s Allies brings each person—their highs and lows, their admirable traits and human weaknesses, their triumphs and failures—to life.

Beyond the value of their accomplishments, these individuals may seem to have little in common. One was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize for her commitment to Kenya’s ISLAND PRESS | PRESS RELEASE | 1

forests; one was murdered for his work protecting Brazil’s forests. One walked thousands of miles on a journey of self-discovery; one seldom left her suburban Maryland home. One directed our attention to the natural rhythms of a small Wisconsin farm; one asked us to consider the entire globe as our backyard. Some took to the streets, others to the airwaves.

But despite their varied personalities, methods, and causes, the conservationists of Nature’s Allies share one powerful thing in common—they all hail from modest backgrounds, and are a testament to the power of one person to bring about extraordinary change. Their stories are not just for environmentalists, scientists, or students. Nature’s Allies is a powerful, engaging read for anyone who wants to be inspired to make a difference—even in the face of today’s political opposition.

Larry A. Nielsen is Professor of Natural Resources at North Carolina State University. He has worked in land grant universities—including earlier tenures Virginia Tech and Penn State—for forty years, as a faculty member and administrator, eventually becoming provost of North Carolina State University before returning to teaching and writing in 2009. He is a Fellow and Past President of the American Fisheries Society. He is author, coauthor, or coeditor of six books, including Ecosystem Management, published by Island Press, and Provost, a memoir and an analysis of university administration. Among many professional service roles, he served on the board of directors of the National Council for Science and the Environment for more than a decade. With Sharon, his wife of forty-seven years, he lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Nature’s Allies Island Press Hardcover Publication Date: February 2, 2017 272 pages | 6x9 | Price: $28.00 (P)/$27.99 (E) ISBN: 9781610917957 (C)/ 9781610917971 (E) Book page: https://islandpress.org/book/natures-allies Founded in 1984, Island Press works to stimulate, shape, and communicate the information that is essential for solving environmental problems. Today, with more than 1,000 titles in print and some 30 new releases each year, it is the nation’s leading publisher of books on environmental issues. Island Press is driving change by moving ideas from the printed page to public discourse and practice.

Island Press’s emphasis is, and will continue to be, on transforming objective information into understanding and action. For more information and further updates be sure to visit www.islandpress.org. ###

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT

Jaime Jennings, 202-232-7933x44 jjennings@islandpress.org Katharine Sucher, 202-232-7933x43 ksucher@islandpress.org

Nine Surprising Facts about the Conservationists of Nature’s Allies 1. John Muir is the father of American conservation, but he never thought of himself as American—he believed he owed his loyalty to the Earth. He even “skedaddled” to Canada to dodge the draft during the Civil War. 2. Muir was an obsessive inventor. As a young man, he designed and built a mechanical bed that tilted up and tossed him on the floor when it was time to start the day.

3. Ding Darling drew the first federal duck stamp on the back of a shirt cardboard. Pressed for ideas and without drawing supplies, Darling slipped the cardboard from a freshly laundered shirt and sketched a pair of Mallard ducks landing in a marsh. The rest is history!

4. A Sand County Almanac was repeatedly rejected by publishers before Aldo Leopold’s son finally negotiated an agreement and it was published in 1949. Even then, it was largely ignored until a paperback was re-issued in the 1970s.

5. When Silent Spring became a best-seller, Rachel Carson avoided almost all interviews and publicity. Yet it was her eventual appearance on CBS Reports that convinced America she was right—and heralded a new environmental era.

6. When Chico Mendes was invited to the U.S. to campaign for protecting Brazil’s forests, he had nothing to wear. A home-town charity provided the solution—a crumpled gray suit that more-or-less matched his rotund figure. Nonetheless, his charisma won the day.

7. Despite being arrested more than fifty times, Billy Frank Jr. made friends with everyone he met, whether a local game warden, a corporate CEO, or the President of the United States.

8. When Wangari Maathai’s husband divorced her because she wasn’t a good Kenyan wife— too independent and willful—she couldn’t keep her married name, Mathai, and didn’t want to revert to her maiden name. So she added another “a” to the spelling and became the Wangari Maathai we know today.

9. Gro Harlem Brundtland, known as the godmother of sustainability, angered environmentalists by reinstating commercial whaling as Norway’s prime minister. Her actions were consistent, she argued, because whales are renewable natural resources and Norway managed them sustainably.

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