Point Reyes National Seashore has a long history as a working landscape, with dairy and beef ranching, fishing, and oyster farming; yet, since 1962 it has also been managed as a National Seashore. The Paradox of Preservation chronicles how national ideals about what a park “ought to be” have developed over time and what happens when these ideals are implemented by the National Park Service (NPS) in its efforts to preserve places that are also lived-in landscapes. Using the conflict surrounding the closure of the Drakes Bay Oyster Company, Laura Alice Watt examines how NPS management policies and processes for land use and protection do not always reflect the needs and values of local residents. Instead, the resulting landscapes produced by the NPS represent a series of compromises between use and protection—and between the area’s historic pastoral character and a newer vision of wilderness. A fascinating and deeply researched book, The Paradox of Preservation will appeal to those studying environmental history, conservation, public lands, and cultural landscape management, and to those looking to learn more about the history of this dynamic California coastal region.

"In the past 40 years an amazing amount of data has been accumulated and analyzed on all aspects of the natural history of Point Reyes. Jules Evens has taken the difficult job of tackling an almost impossibly complicated subject and has succeeded masterfully. Natural History of the Point Reyes Peninsula provides an overview of not just the peninsula, but also adjacent land and ocean habitats, as well as thoughtful insights gleaned from research. The overwhelming draw to this area is observing some part of its natural history, and this book provides an intelligent summary of past and present knowledge."—Bob Stewart, former Naturalist in Residence for the Point Reyes National Seashore and author of Butterflies of Arizona: A Photographic Guide

''The most beautiful volume ever done [on Marin] is Point Reyes Visions.''