In 1540 Francisco Vasquez de Coronado introduced the first domestic livestock to the American Southwest. Over the subsequent four centuries, cattle, horses, and sheep have created a massive ecological experiment on these arid grasslands, changing them in ways we can never know with certainty. The Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch in the high desert of southeastern Arizona is an 8,000-acre sanctuary where grazing has been banned since 1968. In this spirited account of thirty years of research at the ranch, Carl and Jane Bock summarize the results of their fieldwork, which was aimed at understanding the dynamics of grasslands in the absence of livestock. The View from Bald Hill provides an intimate look at the natural history of this unique site and illuminates many issues pertaining to the protection and restoration of our nation's grasslands.

The View from Bald Hill: Thirty Years in an Arizona Grassland (Organisms and Environments)

Science & Math

Bock, Carl E.

Bock, Jane H.

Biological Sciences

University of California Press

Far to the south of Arizona’s sprawling metropolises, a rolling savanna of grass, oak, and mesquite rises above the surrounding deserts. The Sonoita Plain is a basin of a thousand square miles bracketed by mountains, a land once the domain of cowboys that is now more and more the focus of exurban development. These southwestern grasslands are both typical of and distinct from those of the Great Plains—similarly shaped by drought, grazing, and fire, but with a different flora and fauna, and the product of a different human history. The Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch is a tract of 8,000 acres on the Sonoita Plain that was established in 1968 by the Appleton family and that is now part of the sanctuary system of the National Audubon Society. To all appearances, it is an ordinary piece of land, but for the last 35 years it has been treated in an extraordinary way—by leaving it alone. No grazing to influence grass production. No dam building to hold back flash floods. No pest control. No fire-fighting. By employing such non-action, might we gain a glimpse of what this land was like hundreds, even thousands, of years ago? Through essays and photographs focusing on the Sanctuary and surrounding area, this book reveals the complex ecology and unique aesthetics of its grasslands and savannas. Carl and Jane Bock and Stephen Strom share a passion for the remarkable beauty found here, and in their book they describe its environment, biodiversity, and human history. People have dominated the world’s grasslands and savannas for so long that today we have no clear idea what these lands might be like without us. By understanding the lessons of the Sonoita Plain, we might gain such insight—and, more important, discover approaches to protecting the very things that attract us to such lands in the first place.

Sonoita Plain: Views from a Southwestern Grassland

History

Strom, Stephen E.

Jane H. Bock

Americas

University of Arizona Press

CREDIT-GET IT! gives you essential credit, debt & money management facts & techniques not taught in schools. --Facts & techniques vital to your economic success & prosperity. Highlights include: first time credit, women & credit, college students & credit, selecting the best types of credit, re-establishing credit with a bad credit history. Credit repair rip-offs & scams are exposed. Entire do-it-yourself credit repair procedure is explained. Sample letters are shown as guides. Learn why you should check your credit report annually & before applying for new credit. Discover 29 danger signals of too much debt. Find sources of "hidden money for debt repayment. Powerful techniques for negotiating with creditors are revealed. Albert Einstein's "eighth wonder of the world" is explained. Enemies of your wealth are exposed. Revealed: 11 "secrets" of attaining wealth. Learn why Goals & Priorities are vital to your economic success. CREDIT-GET IT!, with its easy-to-use Financial Master Strategy Plan, is your guide through the maze of hidden credit, debt & money management snags & pitfalls. Join the ranks of the wealthy by using wealth-building secrets used by ALL successful people. It's your shortest road to prosperity.

Credit - Get It! How to Get the Credit You Deserve, Handle Debt Wisely and Build a Secure Financial Future: How to Get the Credit You Deserve, Handle Debt Wisely, and Build a Secure Financial Future

Business & Money

Personal Finance

Action Pub.

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Books by Bock, Carl E.