The Thunder Tree: Lessons from an Urban Wildland

The High Line Canal was part of a late 19th-century plan to bring water to eastern Colorado. But the canal on the outskirts of Denver was abandoned by the 1950s when the author discovered it. Pyle ( Evergreen ) has written an engrossing story of at least two levels: a charming memoir of his youth on the canal and a sobering account of uncontrolled development and loss of habitat. The canal had a profound effect on young Pyle, providing sanctuary, recreation and an intense interest in the world of nature. When his family moved to a new suburb (Aurora), they were at the edge of country; wasteland, vacant lots and abandoned farms abounded. Pyle saw the community grow from 20,000 to 200,000; high-rise buildings and shopping centers took over the countryside, and some species of wildlife became extinct. By the 1970s, 60 miles of the canal right-of-way became a public pathway and later, part of the National Trail System. (May)