Resource Building - Approved Candidate Book List

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Approved book list for Candidate Earth Path Studies.

I live in the Big River Gorge (Columbia River), at the border of the Cascades and Willamette Valley Level III Ecoregions. Specifically, Clark County Washington, about 45 minutes from Portland, Oregon.

I’m about a third of the way through After the Ice Age and would highly recommend it as a starting point for understanding the natural history of the North American continent. It includes a wealth of technical info that explains how we know what we know about prehistoric landscapes.

Main list of 9 books:

After the Ice Age: The Return of Life to Glaciated North America by E. C. Pielou

Living with Thunder: Exploring the Geologic Past, Present, and Future of the Pacific Northwest by Ellen Morris Bishop

Indians, Fire, and the Land in the Pacific Northwest by Robert Boyd

Natural History of the Columbia River Gorge by Robert Hogfoss

Healing the Big River: Salmon Dreams and the Columbia River Treaty by Peter Marbach

The Hidden Forest: The Biography of an Ecosystem by Jon R. Luoma

Northwest Trees by Stephen F. Arno and Ramona P. Hammerly

Mammals of the Pacific Northwest: From the Coast to the High Cascades by Chris Maser

Boundary Layer: Exploring the Genius Between Worlds by Kem Luther

Bonus books: field guides

Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast: Washington, Oregon, British Columbia & Alaska by Jim Pojar & Andy MacKinnon

Roadside Geology of Washington by Marlu B. Miller & Darrel S. Cowan

National Audubon Society Field Guide to the Pacific Northwest

Cascadia Revealed: A Guide to the Plants, Animals, and Geology of the Pacific Northwest Mountains by Daniel Mathews

Natural Vegetation of Oregon and Washington by Jerry F. Franklin and C.T. Dyrness

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Hello, I’ve seen some posts for Maryland that focus on the bay region or the Appalachians, so here are some if you’re in MD and not by either of those. I’m in ecoregion 8.3.1, Northern Piedmont.

Approved books:

  1. Field Guide to the Piedmont, by Michael A. Godfrey
  2. Field Guide to Eastern Forests, by John C. Kricher
  3. Mushrooms of Northeastern North America by Alan Bessette, Arleen Bessette, and David W. Fischer
  4. Spring Wildflowers of the Northeast: A Natural History, by Carol Gracie and Eric Lamont
  5. The Bees in Your Backyard, by Joseph Wilson and Olivia Messinger Carril
  6. Wildlife of the Mid-Atlantic: A Complete Reference Manual, by John H. Rappole
  7. The American Crow and the Common Raven, by Joan Waltermire, illustrated by Lawrence Kilham
  8. What an Owl Knows: The New Science of the World’s Most Enigmatic Birds, by Jennifer Ackerman
  9. Maryland’s Geology, by Martin F. Schmidt
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I live just north of Binghamton. I am going to look at your book list.

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As a fair warning, The Finger Lakes Region: Its Origin and Nature is extremely dry and a bit hard to get through - I gave up after a few chapters. It’s mostly about the geology and rock formations, though, so if that interests you, you may like it more than I did.

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I have this book it’s an old textbook

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Textbooks are some of the best to read. Guides are another great source. Best sources are people though. I just wish more classes were offered around here.

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Ohh I know there aren’t so many Aussies here, but that also makes it trickier for folks who are, here’s mine (Perth, Western Australia: Swan Coastal Plain)

Dixon, K. (2011) Coastal Plants: A Guide to the Identification and Restoration of Plants of the Greater Perth Coast. CSIRO Publishing.

Entwisle, T. (2014) Sprinter and Sprummer: Australia’s Changing Seasons. CSIRO Publishing.

Gozzard, B. (2007) Geology and Landforms of the Perth Region. GSWA Publications.

Hansen, V. (2016) Noongar Bush Medicine: Medicinal Plants of the South-West of Western Australia. UWA Publishing.

Hansen, V. (2019) Noongar Bush Tucker: Bush Food Plants and Fungi of the South-West of Western Australia. UWA Publishing.

Neville, S. (2018) Guide to the Wildlife of Perth and the South West. Woodslane.

Robin, L. et al (2009) Boom & Bust: Bird Stories for a Dry Country. CSIRO Publishing.

Webb, E.K. (1997) Windows on Meteorology: Australian Perspective. CSIRO Publishing.

Webb, M. (2013) Australian Native Plants: The Kings Park Experience. CSIRO Publishing.

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Thank you for this list! I’m in the process of gathering books. I’m in Satellite Beach, so I feel like these will be appropriate for my area.

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Oh yeah! Totally! You are just about an hour north. Everything should be pretty similar though maybe you also want to look into more coastal stuff :slight_smile:

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Thanks for these MD recs! Here are some I read for this region.

1. Days afield : exploring wetlands in the Chesapeake Bay region, by William Sipple
2. A year across Maryland : a week-by-week guide to discovering nature in the Chesapeake region
3. Eastern Trees: Peterson Field Guides
4. Roadside Geology mid Atlantic region
5. Common Butterflies of the Mid Atlantic, by Rick Cech 
6. Sibley’s Birds of the Mid-Atlantic 
7. Wildflowers of the Mid-Atlantic States
8. Trees of the Mid-Atlantic States
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Hi I’m brand new and wondering if this ever got launched - I came to the forum looking for this exact thing as I’m working on my candidacy curriculum.

I went to the website, but am not finding an approved book list, but I see folks below have posted for my region which is great!

Thanks so much!

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I’m also in Chicago, so this is amazing for me!

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For Mississippi and Central Mississippi:
(Yay! Just got these approved!)

  1. Rocks and Fossils Found in Mississippi’s Gravel Deposits by Dockery, Starnes, Thompson, and Beiser (2008) [https://www.mdeq.ms.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Circular-7.pdf]
  2. Mississippi Trees by Hodges, Evans, and Garnett (2016) https://www.mfc.ms.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Mississippi-Trees-Book-Final-12.14.16-compressed3.pdf
  3. Soil Survey of Madison County, Mississippi by USDA National Cooperative Soil Survey (1984 updated 2023) https://archive.org/details/madisonMS1984/mode/2up
  4. Plants of Mississippi: A List of Flowering Plants and Ferns by Ephraim N. Lowe (2023) https://www.amazon.com/Plants-Mississippi-List-Flowering-Ferns/dp/1022703005
  5. Mississippi Weather and Climate by Sherman-Morris, Wax and Brown (2012) https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/M/Mississippi-Weather-and-Climate
  6. Wildflowers of the Natchez Trace by Timme and Timme (2000) https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/W/Wildflowers-of-the-Natchez-Trace
  7. Birds of Mississippi by Turcotte and Watts (1999) https://www.upress.state.ms.us/Books/B/Birds-of-Mississippi
  8. Establishing Native Habitats for Mississippi’s Native Pollinators by Surrette, Rodrigue, and Allison (2009) https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/plantmaterials/mspmctn9081.pdf
  9. Inland Fishes of Mississippi by Stephen T. Ross (2001) https://aquila.usm.edu/faculty_books/16/

I got all nine approved now, since I’m coordinating field trips/activities related to each book.

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I live in Tidewater Virginia on the Chesapeake. Here are the 9 books I got approved:

  1. The Living Chesapeake by Schubel, J. R.
  2. Chesapeake almanac: following the Bay through the seasons by Williams, John Page
  3. The Physiography and Geology of the Coastal Plain Province of Virginia by Thomas Watson, Edward Berry, and Henry Miller
  4. Life in the Chesapeake Bay by Alice and Robert Lippson
  5. Plants of the Chesapeake Bay: a guide to wildflowers, grasses, aquatic vegetation, trees, shrubs, and other flora by Musselman, Lytton John
  6. Chesapeake Bay Nature of the Estuary: A Field Guide by Christopher White
  7. America’s Wetland: An Environmental and Cultural History of Tidewater Virginia and North Carolina by John Sawyer
  8. The Atlantic Coast: A Natural History by Harry Thurston
  9. Amphibians And Reptiles Of The Carolinas And Virginia by Jeffrey Beane, Alvin Braswell, Joseph Mitchell and William Palmer
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Hello all!

I recently transitioned from candidate to apprentice. I wanted to stop back here for two reasons. First, thanks to all that shared their lists. I found several books that I was able to use from some of you in nearby areas.

Second, having completed this task, there was one thing I learned that would have made my approach to this very different. This would have influenced how I selected books and the sequence I read them in.

My first focus area would have been about the googology of my area.

My second focus area would have been about the climate of my area.

My third focus area would have been about the trees and plant life in the area.

My fourth and final focus area would have been about the animals that live in this area.

Now, taking a step back I want to highlight how these points fit together. The geology determines what plants can even grow here and this was millions of years in the making. The local climate highlights can focus more on the activities of the last 300 years. These two factors together shaped the land for what native trees, plants, and grasses I have. Once that has been determined, the herbivores that eat those trees, plants, and grasses can be introduced. Then, the raptors and other predictors that eat those animals can be better understood.

This sequence really made the ‘grand economy’ with all the many inputs and outputs in my local area fit together for me.

I hope this helps some one out there putting their list together. Good luck! /|\

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Thank you. I’m from Colorado and this list was very helpful in submitting my form.

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Thank you. I’m from Colorado (in Erie) and this list was very helpful in submitting my form.

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Hello everyone!

I am from Houston, TX, USA. I technically live in the Western Gulf Coastal Plain ecoregion, though I live about a 15 minute drive away from the South Central Plains boundary aka Piney Woods. Here are my 8 books so far:

  1. Aquatic & Wetland Plants of the Western Gulf Coast. By Charles D. Stutzenbaker

  2. Wild Houston: Explore The Amazing Nature In And Around The Bayou City (Wild Series). By Suzanne Simpson and John Williams

  3. Mushrooms of the Gulf Coast States: A Field Guide to Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. By Alan E. Bessette, Arleen R. Bessette, and David P. Lewis

  4. The Formation and Future of the Upper Texas Coast. A Geologist Answers Questions about Sand, Storms, and Living by the Sea. By John B. Anderson

  5. Birdlife of Houston, Galveston and the Upper Texas Coast. By Ted L. Eubanks Jr., Robert A Behrstock and Ron J. Weeks

  6. Houston Atlas of Biodiversity. By Houston Wilderness

  7. The Book of Texas Bays. By James B. Blackburn

  8. Plants of the Pineywoods of East Texas & West Louisiana. By James Van Kley.

I am still thinking about what my 9th book would be, so if anybody has any ideas, I would love to hear them. Thanks!

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Approved books for western North Carolina / Southern Appalachians / Blue Ridge: :evergreen_tree::mountain::deciduous_tree:

Hollows, Peepers, and Highlanders: An Appalachian Mountain Ecology, by George Constantz

Where There Are Mountains: An Environmental History of the Southern Appalachians, by Donald Edward Davis

Mount Mitchell and the Black Mountains: An Environmental History of the Highest Peaks in Eastern America, by Timothy Silver

Mountains of the Heart: A Natural History of the Appalachians, by Scott Weidensaul

Mountain Nature: A Seasonal Natural History of the Southern Appalachians, by Jennifer Frick-Rupert

Through the Mountains: The French Broad River and Time, by John E. Ross

Wildflowers and Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont, by Timothy Silver

Eastern Forests, by John Kricher and Gordon Morrison

The Book of Forest and Thicket, by John Eastman

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Hey,
I’m also from Kansas.

I’m almost done with my reading list that oceans of Kansas is a bit difficult to get through for me but I’m on the last chapter and for my final book I’m reading one by Rex Buchanan called Kansas geology.

Really cool your in law enforcement, I’m in EMS and a perpetual student as well
.

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