Lagoon Time: A Guide to Grey Whales and the Natural History of San Ignacio Lagoon

Lagoon Time is an extraordinary first-hand account of the experiences and discoveries made by Dr. Steven Swartz and his colleagues in San Ignacio Lagoon, Baja California Sur, Mexico, that provides visitors a look into the human and natural history of Laguna San Ignacio. It is also a field guide to gray whale behavior and the diverse botanical and avian wildlife in the area. All of the net proceeds will support the Laguna San Ignacio Ecosystem Science Program, a project of The Ocean Foundation.

Along with his wife and research partner, Mary Lou Jones, Steven conducted the first systematic studies of gray whales in Laguna San Ignacio from 1977 to 1982. He earned his Ph.D. in marine science in 1986 from the University of California at Santa Cruz. He has researched and published widely on gray whales and their breeding lagoons in Baja California throughout his career. Steven edited and contributed to the classic Academic Press treatise “The Gray Whale” with Mary Lou Jones and J. Stephen Leatherwood. He has been active in the Society for Marine Mammalogy as a Charter Member and elected officer. Steven has served as a consultant to the Mexican government’s Ministry for the Environment, Natural Resources, and Fisheries (SEMARNAP), and worked for the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission and the National Marine Fisheries Service. He continues to work with non-government organizations (NGOs) on various marine protected area conservation projects. With his colleague, Jorge Urban R., they established and co-directs the Laguna San Ignacio Ecosystem Science Program in Baja California, Sur, Mexico, to ensure that science-based information continues to be available to those responsible for conserving these unique marine protected areas, and to train future generations of marine wildlife scientists.