SAN ANTONIO - The Witte Museum is currently exhibiting the Smithsonian Institution's new display of border biodiversity. There has been no other collection of photos such as these taken by Tupper Ansel Blake which display the variety and beauty of this region. Or should I say regions? The political line that divides the U.S. and Mexico cuts through five distinct habitats, including conifer forests, grasslands as well as the familiar chaparrals and Sonoran Desert Scrub.
The University of California Press has issued a wonderful book from which the exhibition springs. Titled Two Eagles/Dos Aguilas: The Natural World of the United States-Mexico Borderlands, the book upstages the exhibit with crafted text by Peter Steinhart: "We drive south through the sorghum sea. On the horizon appears a dark green island of brush, and over it the darting shapes of white-winged doves... This patch of forest is one of the largest known roosts. It is a thick tangle of mesquite, ebony, brasil, guyacan, bisberenda, and other trees crowded around a radio monitoring facility... Each tree holds three of four nests. Maybe two million birds nest in this roost."
Steinhart reviews the threats to the biodiversity - overharvesting of native plants, water diversion to municipal and agricultural uses and public apathy. Two Eagles goes a long way in showcasing what should be considered global treasures. Hopefully, more efforts will be made to protect this region under the stress of poverty.
The book is available from Amazon.com or from the University of California Press for $58 ($61 for overseas orders) - including shipping and handling charges. Call 1-800-777-4726 or Fax 1-800-999-1958.
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