{"title":"Tom Wessels","description":"Tom Wessels is a terrestrial ecologist and professor emeritus at Antioch University New England where he founded the master's degree program in Conservation Biology. With interests in forest, desert, arctic, and alpine ecosystems, plus geomorphology, evolutionary ecology, complex systems science, and the interface of landscape and culture, Tom considers himself a generalist. He has conducted workshops on ecology and sustainability throughout the country for over three decades.","products":[{"product_id":"new-englands-roadside-ecology-explore-30-of-the-regions-unique-natural-areas-paperback","title":"New England's Roadside Ecology: Explore 30 of the Region's Unique Natural Areas - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eStep Out of Your Car and Right into Nature!\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew England's Roadside Ecology \u003c\/i\u003eguides you through 30 spectacular natural sites, all within an easy walk from the road. The sites include the forests, wetlands, alpines, dunes, and geologic ecosystems that make up New England. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Author Tom Wessels is the perfect guide. Each entry starts with the brief description of the hike's level of difficulty--all are gentle to moderate and cover no more than two miles. Entries also include turn-by-turn directions and clear descriptions of the flora, fauna, and fungi you are likely to encounter along the way. \u003ci\u003eNew England's Roadside Ecology\u003c\/i\u003e is a must-have guide for outdoor enthusiasts, hikers, and tourists in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51376903946463,"sku":"9781643260099","price":24.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/1RxEdAnUvn9781643260099.webp?v=1789228914"},{"product_id":"reading-the-forested-landscape-a-natural-history-of-new-england-paperback","title":"Reading the Forested Landscape: A Natural History of New England - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn intrepid sleuth and articulate tutor, Wessels teaches us to read a landscape the way we might solve a mystery. What exactly is the meaning of all those stone walls in the middle of the forest? Why do beech and birch trees have smooth bark when the bark of all other northern species is rough? How do you tell the age of a beaver pond and determine if beavers still live there? Why are pine trees dominant in one patch of forest and maples in another? What happened to the American chestnut? Turn to this book for the answers, and no walk in the woods will ever be the same.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFront Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA full and wholly original portrait of New England's forests, tracing their evolution from pre-colonial days to the present through a study of the patterns we see today. Read this book, is many fans have said, and no walk in the woods will ever be the same. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMost books and courses on natural history focus on the identification of one small aspect of the complex world outside our doors. We may know how to identify our neighborhood trees but not know why pine are dominant in one place and maple in another; we may notice fungus growing on a beech trunk but not know the devastating impact of blights on our forests over the centuries. Tom Wessels, who has spent more than twenty years interpreting New England's landscape and teaching others to see \"the forest for the trees,\" argues that by coming to a fuller understanding of our home ground, we achieve a greater sense of place.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn intrepid sleuth and articulate tutor, Wessels teaches us to read a landscape the way we might solve a mystery. Each chapter addresses a form of forest disturbance common in New England--fire, logging, and blight are examples--and depicts it in an extraordinary, full-page etching. Studying Wessels's descriptions of forest scenes in conjunction with Cohen's visual portraits teaches us to identify disturbance patterns and, in turn, to take our discoveries outside and read the history written in the character of the land.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51376931438815,"sku":"9780881504200","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/k2uOAnPaEP9780881504200.webp?v=1789228989"},{"product_id":"forest-forensics-a-field-guide-to-reading-the-forested-landscape-paperback","title":"Forest Forensics: A Field Guide to Reading the Forested Landscape - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThousands of readers have had their experience of being in a forest changed forever by reading Tom Wessels's \u003cem\u003eReading the Forested Landscape\u003c\/em\u003e. Was this forest once farmland? Was it logged in the past? Was there ever a major catastrophe like a fire or a wind storm that brought trees down?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNow Wessels takes that wonderful ability to discern much of the history of the forest from visual clues and boils it all down to a manageable field guide that you can take out to the woods and use to start playing forest detective yourself. Wessels has created a key--a fascinating series of either\/or questions--to guide you through the process of analyzing what you see. You'll feel like a woodland Sherlock Holmes. No walk in the woods will ever be the same.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51376931995871,"sku":"9780881509182","price":14.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0813\/8958\/4607\/files\/6GbSK6iNFI9780881509182.webp?v=1789228991"}],"url":"https:\/\/blackandbarhe.com\/collections\/tom-wessels.oembed","provider":"Black \u0026 Barhe Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}