Sky Islands
Encountering A Landlocked Archipelago
Dan L. Fischer
$62, Hard Bound
320 pages, 899 images
Publication Date : January 2019
Order from:
Eco Books, Rodeo NM
Praise for
Sky Islands: Encountering a Landlocked Archipelago
“Dan L. Fischer — also the author of the acclaimed Early Southwest Naturalists, 1528-1900 — richly details the natural history of this fascinating and transitional region, both in its early condition (pre-1850) and its alteration over nearly two centuries. He also meticulously depicts the naturalists who gradually revealed its secrets, over the shadowed timeline of history”
– Jon L. Dunn, Editor of the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America
“Sky Islands stirs in the reader a deep sense of wonder for the majestic mountains rising in the desert of southeastern Arizona and the boot heel of New Mexico. Author Dan Fischer, historian and naturalist, combines superb photographs and contemporary wildlife art, with his own personal experiences and depth of knowledge to produce a remarkable book. He fills the void between factual natural history and the human historical perspective, highlighting the travails of determined explorers who, years ago, discovered and described new birds, other wildlife, and plants, often under extreme conditions.”
– Dr. Stephen M. Russell, author of The Birds of Sonora and Professor Emeritus at the University of Arizona
Dan Fischer’s masterwork…
Sky Islands is the culmination of a life’s work of exploring and photo-documenting the rich and distinctive wildlife and stunning land forms of the American Southwest’s Sky Island region. As a serious student of history, Dan Fischer is the perfect guide, weaving historical facts with an understanding of the biota of the Sky Islands, thus encouraging each reader’s understanding of the region’s richness to become more deeply rooted in its history.
Dan Fischer’s close association with the Borderland region began in 1937, when he arrived in Yuma, Arizona, with is parents. Although his professional career was that of an engineer in industry, his passion has clearly been natural history, with a strong emphasis on birds.
For over 60 years, Fischer has traveled the Sky Island region, pursuing and photographing birds, while retracing the journeys of many early explorers and naturalists. As he explored the Sky Islands, Dan became a serious student of the region’s history.
Long a champion of conservation, Fischer has helped to shape the conservation policies of nonprofit organizations like the Tucson Audubon Society, and has advised agencies like the Bureau of Land Management as they protected the Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness, the Gila Box Riparian National Conservation Area, the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, Las Cienegas National Conservation Area, and other gems of the Sky Island region.
When he moved from the Chiricahua Mountains, Dan donated his property to the adjacent Chiricahua National Monument, adding a valuable extension to the public lands of the monument.
Over the years, Dan’s outstanding photographs have illustrated many a book and magazine articles.
Richly illustrated and meticulously researched, Sky Islands is an eminently worthy addition to the literature on this fascinating region.
