We recently published a new book. Noted ornithologist Paul A. Johnsgard has written a comprehensive book on Audubon’s Rowe Sanctuary. The sanctuary sits strategically along the central Platte River near Gibbon, Nebraska, located at the nexus of the migration routes for up to 600,000 sandhill cranes each spring. Visitors to the sanctuary—as well as those who have not yet experienced it—now have a new way to understand Rowe Sanctuary and its biological, environmental, and conservation significance through Johnsgard’s book.
“This book will allow us to reach people well beyond Nebraska and our regular visitors to give them the opportunity to understand the wonder and importance of Rowe Sanctuary,” says Bill Taddicken, director at Rowe Sanctuary. “This outreach is especially important now as we deal with the novel coronavirus crisis.”
The book includes
- Species lists for the area’s birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians, as well as butterflies, flowering forbs, and grasses;
- The ecology and biology of local mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians;
- Descriptions of 20 public access suggested bird-viewing areas in Kearney and southern Buffalo counties;
- Illustrations by the author, maps and citations.
Books will be available at the sanctuary’s visitors center, currently closed through April 15. Books also may be ordered through the online gift shop at https://store.rowesanctuary.org/ or by emailing rowesanctuary@audubon.org.
Paul A. Johnsgard is Foundation Professor of Biological Sciences Emeritus at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He has authored approximately 100 mostly nonfiction books, plus more than 200 technical papers and popular articles. He has illustrated many of them with nearly 1,000 of his own drawings and photographs, and his artwork and bird sculptures are in the permanent collections of three Nebraska museums. He has received over a dozen awards and honors from regional and national organizations, including the Ralph Schreiber Conservation Award from the American Ornithologist’s Society and the Charles H. Callison Award from the National Audubon Society for his contributions to ornithology and environmental education. In 2016, Rowe Audubon Sanctuary awarded him their first Platte River Keeper Award for his conservation work on the Platte River and its wildlife.
