Otero Mesa: Preserving America's Wildest Grassland

Jan 2008 · UNM Press

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Full-color images by renowned photographers Stephen Strom and Stephen Capra unite with text by prizewinning nature and geography writer Gregory McNamee to document the subtle landscape of 1.2 million acres of remote Chihuahuan Desert grassland in southern New Mexico. Home to many species of wildlife and native plants, Otero Mesa is a place of extraordinary beauty and ecological significance faced with the increasing threat of oil and gas development that has plagued the Rocky Mountain West.

"It is a strange and empty place, a place whose contours suggest that those who do not know it are best to leave it alone, as those who do know it will do in all events. And, as with all strange and empty places in this increasingly crowded, increasingly monocultural world, Otero Mesa is an important island in our geography of hope, a place that warrants concern and protection. Rightly, for it is very much under threat."--Gregory McNamee in Otero Mesa

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Gregory McNamee is a widely published author, editor, and photographer who lives in Tucson, Arizona. His many books include Moveable Feasts: The History, Science, and Lore of Food. Stephen Strom has spent nearly forty years as a research astronomer, most recently serving on the staff of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory in Tucson. His photographs have been widely exhibited, and he has collaborated on several books, including Tseyi (Deep in the Rock): Reflections on Canyon de Chelly, coauthored with Navajo poet Laura Tohe. Following a career in private industry and journalism, Stephen Capra has worked for wilderness conservation since 1988. He has been executive director of the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance since 2004.