An Island in Time:50 Years as Point Reyes National Seashore

On September 13, 2012, Point Reyes National Seashore near San Francisco turned fifty. Mixing wilderness, history, and agriculture, Point Reyes is a hybrid park unlike any other in America. An Island in Time traces the triumph of its creation, the rescue effort that saved it from early abandonment, and its frequent identity crises since. Sixty images by regional photographers make it clear why people care. Celebrating what has been accomplished in half a century at Point Reyes, Hart takes a clear-eyed look at the several (and ongoing) arguments about what this remarkable pieceo f land should ultimately be. The nationally noted debate about the fate of a historic oyster farm within the park takes its place as the latest in a series of struggles to define the terms. In 1962, Harold Gilliam's classic book Island in Time: The Point Reyes Peninsula helped complete the drive to create the National Seashore. In 2012, An Island in Time: 50 Years of Point Reyes National Seashore tells the rest of the story--and illuminates the choices now at hand.

John Hart is the author of 15 books and countless articles on the environment and has twice won the Commonwealth Club of California's Medal in Californiana. He has written extensively on the western water wars (Storm Over Mono: The Mono Lake Controversy and the California Water Future), on farmland preservation (Farming on the Edge: Saving Family Farms in Marin County, California) and on wilderness travel (Walking Softly in the Wilderness: The Sierra Club Guide to Backpacking, now in its fourth edition). Among his recognitions is the David Brower Award for Outstanding Service in the Field of Conservation (American Alpine Club). Hart is also a poet with a volume in the prestigious Pitt Poetry Series (The Climbers).