Essen - Endangered Edens: exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico

Endangered Edens

Exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico

Marty Essen

Copyright 2016 by Marty Essen

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author, except for inclusion of brief quotations in a review. Additionally, e-book versions of this publication are licensed for the purchasing reader only and may not be resold or given away to other people (unless additional copies are purchased for each recipient). Thank you for respecting the hard work the author put into creating this book.

Published by:

Encante Press, LLC

www.EncantePress.com

SAN: 850-4326

All interior and cover photographs by Marty Essen, except where noted.

Interior layout and cover design by Tugboat Design

Publishers Cataloging-in-Publication Data

(Provided by Quality Books, Inc.)

Essen, Marty.

Endangered Edens : exploring the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica, the Everglades, and Puerto Rico / Marty Essen.

pages cm

LCCN 2015908259

ISBN 978-0-9778599-9-3 (paperback)

ISBN 978-0-9778599-1-7 (e-book)

1. Endangered ecosystems. 2. Travel writing.

I. Title.

QH75.E787 2016333.9516

QBI15-600119

Some of the activities described in this book are dangerous and not intended for duplication. The author and the publisher accept no liability for any injury, loss, or inconvenience sustained by any reader or traveler as a result of the information or advice contained in this book.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

A magical, fun journey through some of the worlds hidden and not so hidden Edens, as seen through the eyes of a true wildlife aficionado and author whose writing makes the pages come alive and vibrate with the sound and pulse of nature. A book that once started is impossible to put down.

Dr. M. Sanjayan,

Senior Scientist at Conservation International and Television Host

I highly recommend that everyone join author Marty Essen and his wife, Deb, as they explore our planets Endangered Edens. After reading about these last great wild places, you will surely be tempted to visit them and more importantly protect them for future generations to enjoy.

Cindy Shogan,

Executive Director, Alaska Wilderness League

Marty Essens explorations of exotic and remote places gave me the feeling of traveling with him, sensing his measure of the wondrous natural world. His strident call for the preservation of Alaskas wilderness is timely, deserving the response of the American people.

Stewart Brandborg,

Retired Executive Director of The Wilderness Society

(A prominent voice behind the creation of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in 1960. Shepherded the Wilderness Act through Congress in 1964.)

Riverside Wren, Costa Rica

See the photos in color: Even though millions of people have fallen in love with e-books, e-readers are often small and/or display only in black and white. Because of that, many publishers shy away from producing photo-intensive books in this format. Encante Press, LLC is happy to offer Endangered Edens in an electronic format, but if your e-reader is small and/or black and white, we recommend that you read the books text on your e-reader and view the books photos on a computer screen. Since most online e-book retailers offer free computer-viewing software, dual-device viewing is easy.

Endangered Edens is also available as a deluxe paperback, with stunning full-color photographs.

Contents

Animals, Photos, and Thanks

Animals: I took liberties when determining the gender of some animals. If I knew their correct sex, I used it. If not, I took my best guess based on size, coloring, and behavior. Referring to animals I shared moments with as either him or her just seemed more appropriate than using a generic it.

Photos: I adjusted most of the photos in this book for brightness and contrast. I also cropped some photos and digitally removed a few minor imperfectionssuch as raindrops on a lens. I did not, however, remove the spots on the Prudhoe Bay oil field photos, as they were caused by dirty bus windows. In general, I kept digital editing to a minimum. My philosophy, as a photographer, has always been that if a photo needs more than five minutes of digital editing, its not good enough to use.

Thanks: As always, my first thanks goes to my wife, Deb. Not only is she my companion in travels and in life, but she is also my muse. Her suggestions and nudges (okay, shoves) were invaluable in creating this book.

Special thanks to Deborah Bradseth of Tugboat Design for her determination to make this book look great. Photo-intensive books like this one are challenging to lay outespecially when youre trying to create print and e-book versions that are equally appealing.

I also want to thank my beta readers for their proofing help, suggestions, and enthusiasm: Susan Bond, Barbara Cass, Lee Hall, Jacquie Helt, Tim Hill, Peggy Kohn, Patrice Loucks, Andrea Matson, Sue Rutford, Warren Spawn, and Linda Williams.

And finally, a big Thank You to Callie MaRae for lending her beautiful voice to my book trailer. I encourage readers to visit my website, check out the trailer, and share it with others. Also, keep an ear out for Callies first nationally released album.

Introduction

I dedicate this book to environmental heroes everywhere: you may not have holidays named in your honor, and strangers may not approach you in airports to thank you for your service, but the world is a better place because of your efforts.

F or a while, I thought I was going to be a one-book author. I put approximately twelve thousand hours into writing my first book, Cool Creatures, Hot Planet: Exploring the Seven Continents. After finishing that manuscript, I had difficulty rekindling the drive to write anything longer than a magazine article or a newspaper guest column.

Then, in December 2014, my wife, Deb, and I traveled to Costa Rica, where we had an amazing adventure. I came back from that trip rejuvenated and eager to write another book. Although I didnt return to the sixteen-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week writing marathons of my first book, I did put in long hours each day, trying not to waste a moment while the words were flowing easily. As I kept saying to Deb, Im in the zone!

Ultimately, I stayed in the zone for the entire time I was writing this book and even found myself smiling a lot during the writing process. Now that Ive finished, Im excited for you to read Endangered Edens. My hope is that youll laugh and learn something while reading the stories, linger over the photos, and, perhaps once or twice, grit your teeth at the short-sightedness of people who see no value in protecting wild places.