Published in 2008, Otero Mesa contains the photographs of Stephen Strom and Stephen Capra and the words of
Gregory McNamee. Foreword by Bill Richardson. Otero Mesa was named a
Top Pick on the Southwest Books of the Year 2008
list from the Tucson-Pima Public Library.
"Preserving places like Otero Mesa will require the engagement of citizens who recognize the value of clean water, open spaces, and the beauty of nature to our own sustenance and that of our descendants."
Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico in the forward to Otero Mesa
"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
ÒOtero Mesa is a true national treasure. Native grassland, it is among the most rare ecosystems in the world. Fragile, it has still managed to support thriving herds of pronghorn antelope, countless migratory songbirds and raptors, along with independent ranchers who have been there for five generations. It also sits atop the only untapped aquifer in New Mexico, capable of supplying hundreds of thousands of people with drinking water for hundreds of years.
Public lands are given to each succeeding generation of Americans. With that gift comes the responsibility to pass these special places to our children and grandchildren.Ó
Nathan Small, Editorial appearing June 5, 2005 in the Asheville, North Carolina Citizen Times.
"It is the most restrictive plan of oil and gas development the BLM has ever issued," said Hans Stuart, spokesman for the agency's New Mexico office. "We are very confident that we have followed every procedure and every legal requirement to the letter. We are confident that it's a balanced plan that will protect the resources of Otero Mesa."
Excerpts from an Editorial appearing in the Los Angeles Times, April 23, 2005.
"Grasslands continue to disappear throughout the U.S. to the detriment of the ecosystems and habitats where they are an essential part of a healthy and self-sustaining environment. "Otero Mesa: Preserving America's Widest Grassland" focuses upon one specific grassland with an impressively informative text by Gregory McNamee, an enlightening foreword by Governor Bill Richardson, and impressive photographs by Stephen Strom and Stephen Capra. This seminal work of meticulous scholarship brings to light the vast beauty of Otero Mesa and its alarming present day reality. Otero Mesa is in danger of becoming a drilling haven to one hundred new oil wells which will pollute the environment, decimate and contaminate groundwater and endanger the wildlife. Presented in four compelling chapters: The View from an Aplomado; The View from a Missile; Oil and Otero Mesa; and the Fate of the Land, "Otero Mesa" is certain to enlighten the non-specialist general reader and environmental activist who recognizes the value of wide open spaces and the habitat that occupies it, and clean water so necessary to plant, animal, and human life. The fate of Otero Mesa is still unknown as the case fighting to preserve it rests in the federal courts awaiting a decision. A clarion call, "Otero Mesa" is urgently recommended for all personal, community, and academic library Environmental Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists."
Midwest Book Review
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.
Otero Mesa: Preserving America's Wildest Grassland was published by the University of New Mexico Press in 2008.
Book review at New West Books and Writers
Purchase Otero Mesa: Preserving America's Wildest Grassland.
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 was an Astronomer at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory in Tucson. Since 1978, Stephen has photographed extensively in the American Southwest. His work has appeared in more than 30 exhibitions throughout the U.S. Otero Mesa is his fourth book.
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.
