Defending Nature: How the US Military Protects Threatened and Endangered Species

This photodocumentary focuses on conservation at Florida’s Eglin Air Force Base, where the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker lives. In 1989, a planned munitions test was halted because it threatened the bird. The Department of Defense then began working with civilian scientists and others to safeguard its habitat. The book recounts that collaboration and notes that Department of Defense lands contain more threatened and endangered species than the National Parks System. It also briefly introduces other Defense Department conservation projects and includes an author’s note, glossary, source notes, and further-reading suggestions.