The Quiet World_ Saving Alaska's Wilderness Kingdom, 1879-1960 - Douglas Brinkley [289]
A special appreciation is in order to Braided River, a Seattle nonprofit organization working in partnership with Mountaineers Books, for bringing together the photographers who contributed color images for both the Arctic Refuge and Tongass National Forest. Braided River’s executive director, Helen Cherullo, did an amazing job acquiring photo rights. Her love of the Arctic NWR and the Tongass is palpable.
During the course of writing The Quiet World I gave a number of public lectures in Alaska. Special thanks to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW) and the University of Alaska–Anchorage for sponsoring them. The mayor of Homer—Jim Hornaday (a direct descendant of William Temple Hornaday, who is profiled in this book)—is the best small-city politician I know. My profile of Charles Sheldon was improved by Ken Kastens, Tom Walker, and Rose Speranza (of the University of Alaska, Polar Regions Collection at the Elmer R. Rasmuson Library). Lori McKean of Grey Towers National Historic Site answered questions about Gifford Pinchot. At the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, the wonderful archivist Michael Wurtz aided me in going through the John Muir papers.
Nobody knows the Arctic NWR quite like Roger Kaye of Fairbanks. His classic narrative, Last Great Wilderness, proved invaluable. Roger is an incredible scholar, bush pilot, and conservationist. Likewise, Cindy Shogan of the Alaska Wilderness League allowed me to use her fine library as my operational base when I was in Washington, D.C. Cindy has devoted her life to grassroots activism on behalf of the Arctic NWR. Three members of the National Audubon Society—John Flicker, Thomas O’Handley, and David Seideman—helped me get my birds right. What a valuable service the Audubon Society provides to the world!
A number of characters in The Quiet World were able to tell me firsthand stories about the Alaskan wilderness movement. Special thanks to the poets Gary Snyder, Ed Sanders, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and Michael McClure—all literary legends. Huge thanks to the fine scholar John Suiter, who carefully proofread my chapter on the beats. I can’t wait for his full-length biography of Gary Snyder to be published. Then there is Peter Matthiessen of Long Island. Without his help I couldn’t have written accurately about his first nonfiction book, Wildlife in America. He gladly proofread a couple of chapters. The author and photographer Dorothy Jones—wife of “Sea Otter” Jones—provided insights about her husband’s career at USFW. Getting to spend an afternoon in Fairbanks with Virginia Wood, a pioneering Alaskan conservationist, was a thrill. John Suiter shared with me his unparalleled wisdom about the beat movement and ecology. Cathy Stone, the last wife of Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, a supporter of the Arctic NWR since 1960, kindly told me stories about her legendary husband.
During the summer of 2010 the Brinkleys lived in Homer, Alaska, above the Jars of Clay gallery on Main Street. My entire family was with me. From our balcony we had a superb view of Kachemak Bay. The owner of the gallery, Ruby Haigh, and her husband, Tim, a home builder, adopted us. Ruby makes exquisite pottery; she sees the beauty in all objects. All the Brinkleys fell in love with the Haighs. While in Homer, I used the Pratt