Lynda V. Mapes (Breaking Ground; Witness Tree) takes her readers on an arboreal exploration in The Trees Are Speaking: Dispatches from the Salmon Forest. It is a stunning and evocative search for the last remaining scraps of old-growth and ancient forest scattered across the North American continent. By doing so, she makes an impassioned case alongside researchers, conservationists, and Indigenous environmental stewards and activists for protecting these areas, not just for the sake of the trees but for the whole and holistic ecosystems that depend on them--humans included.
Mapes carefully educates readers on the importance of the interconnection between the overall health of forests and fish, including salmon, thereby emphasizing how the well-being of forests affects the health of waterways. She also paints an dynamic picture of the life encapsulated within forests that goes deeper than just the trees that people see at first glance. Importantly, she does not just highlight what has been lost to deforestation but also solutions in progress, such as the restoration work of the Penobscot Tribe in Maine. She also illustrates innovators who are considering more and more new ways to reconnect with forests, placing their focus on local, sustainable supply rather than having forestry practices driven by the demands of global markets.
As Mapes succinctly points out, "The resilience of nature, if allowed to function, is 100 percent reliable." She listens to the trees, and their many disparate protectors, custodians, and relations, and helps readers find a better way to hear what they are saying. --Michelle Anya Anjirbag, freelance reviewer