Rescuing Biodiversity: The Protection and Restoration of a North Louisiana Ecosystem - Paperback

by Johnny Armstrong (Author)

Restoration ecology is a vital tool to mitigate the crisis caused by the global destruction of biodiversity, one of the most powerful existential threats to future generations. Johnny Armstrong's Rescuing Biodiversity tells the story of one man's attempts to preserve a vanishing Louisiana ecosystem and restore the animal and plant species that once lived there.

As a grandfather and perpetual student, Armstrong witnessed the speed at which the timber industry pillaged local landscapes, and he resolved to protect and revitalize the old-growth forest of Wafer Creek Ranch in north central Louisiana. This fascinating tale recounts his efforts to reclaim the shortleaf pine-oak-hickory woodland ecosystem, once dominant across a wide stretch of land spanning at least four southern states but now virtually extinct. Accessibly written, Rescuing Biodiversity acts as a field guide to the historic upland ecology of the region, with descriptions and photographs of its overstory, salient upland grasses, and brilliant wildflowers. Armstrong takes the reader on a journey through this fragile environment and demonstrates what science-based restoration looks like on what is now recognized as perhaps the best example of this native plant community type in Louisiana.

Author Biography

Author, conservationist, and retired medical doctor Johnny Armstrong lives with his wife, Karen, in an old-growth forest and woodland protected by the Nature Conservancy outside of Ruston, Louisiana.

Kelby Ouchley is a former U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service biologist. He is the author of several books concerning natural history, including Bayou-Diversity: Nature and People in the Louisiana Bayou Country.