This book was several years in the making, and it could not have been written without the help of many people. Indeed, one of the really great experiences for me during the past few years has been meeting so many extraordinary and dedicated scientists and conservationists. Between them they have accomplished so much, and I have been overwhelmed by their willingness to share their knowledge and to read, correct, and add to the accounts I had written about their projects. Such generosity. I cannot thank them enough.
While writing this book I learned about many wonderful projects from around the world. Unfortunately, when they were all written up, it was obvious that the manuscript was too long. Even when each story was cut, and cut again, the book was still too long. After much agonizing, it was decided that the only thing we could do was remove whole sections. I still feel devastated that this had to be done, mostly because the people whose projects I was writing about had spent so much time reading their chapters and ensuring that the information was correct—and they were so pleased that the material would be included in the book. I know they will be disappointed and I feel terrible about it.
Our Web Site: However, there is a silver lining. The publishers agreed to create a Web site which features all this material (janegoodallhopeforanimals.com). It also includes the original versions of some chapters that were shortened for the book, as well as many photographs we gathered. I encourage everyone to visit the Web site and learn about the wonderful projects described there. You will also find my complete acknowledgments that had to be condensed for this book.
As I said, without the help and ongoing cooperation of the people profiled in these pages, this book would never have been possible. You will find their names and heroic stories in the chapters to come. I would also like to thank the following people, who helped us tremendously but whose names you won’t find in the pages ahead: Mark Bain (short-nosed sturgeon), Ann M. Burke (whooping crane), Phil Bishop (Hamilton frog), Pat Bowles (Caspian horse), Jane Chandler (whooping crane), Glenn Fraser (woodhen), Rod Gritten (glutinous snail), Nancy Haley (short-nosed sturgeon), Kirk Hart (short-tailed albatross), Diane Hendry (red wolf), Dave Jarvis (pedder galaxias), Tom Koerner and Dan Miller (trumpeter swan), Bill Lautenbach (Sudbury, Ontario), Alfonso Aguirre Muñoz (Guadalupe Island), Mark Stanley Price (Arabian oryx), Ken Reininger (nene), Ruth Shea (trumpeter swan), Amy Sprunger (moapa dace), John Thorbjarnarson (Chinese alligator), Mike Wallace (California condor), Jake Wickerham (pedder galaxias), and Stephen S. Young (Cao Hai Nature Reserve).
I am really grateful to Don Merton. He has helped us with so many chapters in this book: The utterly fascinating story of the kakapo, New Zealand’s large flightless parrot, will appear on our Web site. And I thank Nicholas Carlile for his enormous help in reviewing several of the stories in this book. His contribution to rescuing the Gould’s petrel will also appear on our Web site.
The following people provided me with information about heroic efforts to save our endangered plant species: Peter Raven, Hugh Bollinger, Nick Johnson, Lourdes “Lulu” Rico Arce, Michael Park, Tim Rich, Bill Brumback, Jo Meyerkord, Kathryn Kennedy, and Robin Wall Kimmerer. You will find their stories and contributions on our Web site. In particular, Victoria Wilman and Robert Robichaux sent me so much helpful information, as did Paul Scannell and Andrew Pritchard, who also met with me in Australia.
Another whole section that we couldn’t fit into the book but will appear on our Web site is about how the general public and our youth are helping to save endangered species. It describes fabulous stories of how an endangered species can halt developments: Greg Ballmer told me about the Delhi Sands flower-loving fly, and I learned about the Salt Creek tiger beetle from Stephen Spomer, Leon Higley, Mitch Paine, and Jessa Huebing-Reitinger. Matt and Ann Magoffin are helping to save the Chirakua leopard frog, and Meredith Dreifus and her family are helping the red-cockaded woodpecker. Information for the Roots & Shoots section was provided by Chase Pickering, Tony Liu, and Dan Fulton. I was also helped by Susan and Alexandra Morris and Tim Coonan, who have worked for many years to protect the Channel Island fox.
Thane Maynard: I was extremely fortunate to meet with and interview a wide and fiercely bright cast of characters in the process of developing this book. Each of these scientists and conservationists has stood in the gap when it mattered most for these species. I would like to acknowledge the following people who helped me gather my Field Notes but whose stories and names do not appear in these pages. All of these people and stories will be featured on our Web site: Wangari Mathaai and her staff from the Greenbelt Movement; Kent Vliet (the American alligator); Pete Dunne (bald eagle); Rick McIntyre (gray wolf); Clay Degayner (Key Largo woodrat); Ron Austing (Kirtland’s warbler); Scott Eckert (leatherback sea turtle); Greg Neudecker (trumpeter swan); Geoff Hill (ivory-billed woodpecker); Roger Payne (Pacific gray whale); Greg Sherley (weta of New Zealand); and Michael Samways (South African dragonflies). Naturally I want to thank my wife, Kathleen, for all her help and support through the years I worked on this book. My thanks go as well to the remarkable staff at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, who earn their stripes inspiring every zoo visitor with wildlife every day.
Gail Hudson: Many thanks to my agent, Mary Ann Naples of the Creative Culture, for her outstanding support and guidance. And I am especially grateful to my husband, Hal, daughter, Gabrielle, and son, Tennessee, who always support my work in the world.
Photography: All the photographs that you see in this book and on our Web site were donated to us by the photographers. We are deeply grateful to all of them for their generosity and support. You will find their names in the photo credits, alongside their photographs. In many cases the heroes we profiled assisted us in finding photographs, but we also want to thank and acknowledge the following people who helped us acquire photos: Shalese Murray, Andrew Bennet, JoGayle Howard, Gary Fry, Fr. Ed Udovic, C.M., James Popham, Ann Burke, Christina Anderson, Douglas W. Smith, Antonio Rivas, Christina Simmons, Caron Glover, Penny Haworth, Vanessa Dinning, Stephen Monet, Jesse Grantham, Liz Condie, David van Berkel, and Rob Robichaux.
JGI and Worldwide Helpers: Throughout the writing of this book, and our search for information and photographs, the following staff members from our different JGI offices around the world were extraordinarily helpful: Federico Bogdanowicz, Ferran Guallar, David Lefrance, Jeroen Haijtink, Polly Cevallos, Kelly Kok, Walter Inmann, Gudrun Schindler, Melissa Tauber, Claire Quarendon, Anthony Collins, Grace Gobbo, Jane Lawton, Sophie Muset, Erika Helms, Zhang Zh, Michael Crook, and Greg MacIsaac.
I wish there was space to thank every one of our JGI staff members on the TACARE restoration program around the Gombe National Park. But I must mention Emmanuel Mtiti, Mary Mavanza, Aristedes Kashula, and Amani Kingu, who helped us with the material that appears here and on our Web site.
In the early stages of the book JGI volunteer Joy Hotchkiss helped with research and preliminary interviews, and Sally Eddows developed products featuring endangered species that will help to promote the book. We are extremely grateful to Mary Paris, who edited all the photos that appear in the book and on our Web site. And Meredith Bailey, editorial assistant to Gail, helped us with the “What You Can Do” section, as did Claire Jones of JGI.
I am filled with gratitude to the staff of the Global Office of the Founder (GOOF). In particular, Rob Sassor contacted a great many people during the first few years of the book, interviewing them and providing me with information; he was really enthused by this project, and his help was invaluable. Stephen Ham, who stepped into Rob’s position, also helped to contact scientists and organize meetings. Susana Name, who helps to manage my hectic schedule, somehow arranged to fit in meetings with scientists involved in rescuing some of the species discussed in this book.
There is absolutely no way that the photographs for this book could have been gathered from farflung corners of the globe, organized, and evaluated without the dedicated, detailed, and persistent efforts of Christin Jones. She never gave up on getting an image. She was terrific to work with. And she was indefatigable—even major surgery could not, for long, keep her from putting the last photos in order. What a hero!
Grand Central: We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the staff at Grand Central, people who were supportive and understanding throughout the years of making this book. Editor Natalie Kaire stayed in close contact with us and went through the original long version of the book a few times, helping us make tough decisions about what should be cut, from both text and photographs. Managing editor Robert Castillo took good care of the copyediting while respecting my voice. In particular, I am grateful to executive vice president and publisher Jamie Raab for creating a Web site for the book and allowing us to use far more photographs than originally planned. She has been by my side through several books and been a real support and friend.
Friends and Family: As I travel around the world I am supported—and often nurtured—by wonderful friends. I cannot thank them all—there are too many. But I have special words of gratitude for Michael Neugebauer and Tom Mangelsen. Tom has not only provided magnificent photographs but also introduced me to Ernie Kuyt and to the team that saved the black-footed ferret from extinction. I truly value the hours Tom and I have spent discussing endangered species and conservation, and enjoying the beauty of the wild places. You can see his amazing photography at www.mangelsen.com.
I could never have gotten through the months and years of writing this book without Mary Lewis, staunch companion of the road. Mary was the master coordinator of my crazy schedule, working miracles to ensure I got to fly with the cranes, spend the night with the ferrets, and meet the countless heroes described in Hope for Animals and Their World. And then, of course, there is her sense of humor. What a friend she is. It is sad she is not here as I type the last words of this marathon, but recovering from hip replacement surgery in the UK.
My crazy schedule and the need to spend all free moments wedded to the book has meant that I had less time than usual for my son and grandchildren. I thank them for their understanding. And a very special thank-you to my very special sister, Judy. If she wasn’t there in the Birches I would have had no bolt hole in which to hide and to write, between trips around the globe. Judy, with her quiet common sense and strong support, was my anchor in the storm.