In this tribute to the Texas coast, conservationist and lawyer Jim
Blackburn has teamed with photographer Jim Olive to give us the most
intimate portrait yet of Texas bays and of those who work for their
wise use and preservation. While giving life and sustenance to plants,
animals, and people, the bays and estuaries of Texas have other 
stories to tell—about freshwater inflows, deep port construction, 
disappearing oyster beds, beach resorts, industrial pollution, and more. 
Each story brings opposing forces into the courtroom for vigorous 
debates on the future of some of our most valuable and irreplaceable 
resources.

    The Book of Texas Bays is a personal account of legal battles won
and lost, but it is also a work of natural history by someone with a
deep spiritual connection to the Texas coast and all it has to offer. Jim
Olive's photographs present us with a dramatic perspective of our
relationship with the Gulf and remind us of both the grandness and the
fragility of our coastal treasures.

_________________________________________________________

JIM BLACKBURN, an attorney specializing in environmental law at
Blackburn Carter Law Firm in Houston, Texas, is adjunct professor
and lecturer at Rice University, where he teaches environmental law.
He has received the National Wildlife Federation's National Conservation
Achievement Award and the Bob Eckhardt Lifetime Achievement Award
from the General Land Office of the State of Texas.


Number Six: Gulf Coast Studies, sponsored by Texas A&M University
Corpus Christi


What people are saying about this book

". . . a masterpiece on Texas bays and those dedicated to preserving 
them."—Texas Aggie

". . . . a must-read for engineers, scientists, policymakers, scholars, 
and students, regardless of their political or environmental persuasion."
—Davis L. Ford, Consulting Environmental Engineer and Adjunct 
Professor, University of Texas at Austin

"This book is superb. Jim Blackburn is a splendid writer who writes
charmingly about the uncharming assaults on the Texas Gulf coast.
He has fought in all the major battles of that war, for which Texans
owe him a huge debt of gratitude."—Edward H. Harte, founder, Harte
Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies and former chairman of
the board, National Audubon Society