A Naturalist's Guide to the Santa Barbara Region (Local Author)

by Joan Easton Lentz, 2013. Paperback, 528 pages.

The Santa Barbara region is at the cusp of Northern and Southern California, where animals and plants from both areas mingle and create ecosystems of great diversity. In the first-ever comprehensive nature guide to the area, accomplished author, teacher, and Santa Barbara native Joan Easton Lentz shares her lifelong knowledge of this region renowned for its unique natural resources and legendary scenery. Taking readers on a journey from tidepools to mountain peaks and pinyon-juniper woodlands, Lentz combines lucid and evocative nature writing, including on-the-scene journal entries, with a rich array of photos and illustrations, creating a highly personal and scientific handbook. A Naturalist's Guide to the Santa Barbara Region at once deepens our understanding of the land and its array of inhabitants and inspires us to head outside.

Joan Easton Lentz was an author, teacher, and research associate at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. For nearly forty-five years, until her death in 2023, she was a serious student of the natural history of the Santa Barbara region, concentrating on its bird life. A dear friend of ForestWatch, Joan will be missed, but her legacy lives on as the pages of this book--and the wonders of nature--unfold.