Books, Tamarisk, Condors

Books on
Books on the River

Fifty years ago Francis P. Farquhar compiled a list of the 125 most significant books on the Colorado River and Grand Canyon. Published in a limited edition in 1953, his bibliography became the classic reading and collecting list for those who wished to know the history of the Colorado. Now, half a century later, Mike Ford, a veteran Canyon fan and voracious reader, has compiled a sequel to Farquhar, giving us a list of the 225 most significant works on the Green and Colorado Rivers, the Colorado Plateau, and Grand Canyon. Like Farquhar, Ford gives a small review with each title, letting you know why he feels this book stands out of the field of thousands published since 1953.
In December, Five Quail Books and Fretwater Press are re-releasing Farquhar’s Books of the Colorado & the Grand Canyon: A Selective Bibliography with a revised index and endnotes. In conjunction with that, Fretwater Press is releasing Mike S. Ford’s The Books of the Grand Canyon, the Colorado River, the Green River, and the Colorado Plateau: a Selective Bibliography. Both will be available in limited hardbound editions and trade paperbacks. For those of you just starting to compile a river library, and for those who have become clinical biblioholics, these books will steer you to the cream of the crop.

Brad Dimock

A Baby Condor Hatches

Arizona’s only reintroduced wild-hatched condor has been closely watched since it was first observed last Spring. Arizona Game & Fish anticipates the fledging to take place in mid to late October 2003. The monitoring has taken place since confirming the chick’s presence. Given the monitoring effort, we know the chick has been fed about every other day. It is a very active chick and is around 18–20 weeks old (as of October 2003).
Also, two condors that were treated at the Phoenix Zoo for lead exposure were re-released and are doing well back in the wild.

Nikolle Brown

Thinking About Tamarisk

If you’ve noticed tamarisk removal in some of the tributaries in Grand Canyon it is because Grand Canyon Wildlands Council and Grand Canyon National Park are hard at work on a tributary restoration project. We will write a full article for the next issue of boatman’s quarterly review. For questions in the meantime, you can contact: Kelly Burke, Grand Canyon Wildlands Council, (928) 556-9306, kelly[at]grandcanyonwildlands.org and Lori Makarick, Grand Canyon National Park, (928) 226-0165, lori_makarick@nps.org.

Kelly Burke