At the Glacier’s Edge

BETSY MCCULLY lives on Long Island with her husband. A former assistant professor of English at Kingsborough Community College, CUNY, she cofounded the Kingsborough Eco-Festival and has frequently written and lectured about New York’s environmental history. Her previous book was City at the Water’s Edge: A Natural History of New York (Rutgers University Press, 2007).  

Preface

1    Walking the Glacier’s Edge: Where the Past is Prologue

2    Shifting Sands and Walking Dunes: Our Living Shores

3    The Blue Surround: From the Shallows to the Deeps

4    Seas of Grass: Our Glorious Salt Marshes

5    Copious Waters and Multitudes of Fish

6    Grasslands at the Glacier’s Edge: Moors, Downs, and a Lost Prairie

7    Falling Trees: Our Diminishing Forests

Appendix: Common and Scientific Names of Species Mentioned

Acknowledgments

Notes

Index

Preface ix

1 Walking the Glacier’s Edge: Where the Past Is Prologue 1

2 Shifting Sands and Walking Dunes: Our Living Shores 13

3 The Blue Surround: From the Shallows to the Deeps 38

4 Seas of Grass: Our Glorious Salt Marshes 68

5 Copious Waters and Multitudes of Fish 92

6 Grasslands at the Glacier’s Edge: Moors, Downs, and a Lost Prairie 117

7 Falling Trees: Our Diminishing Forests 139

Appendix: Common and Scientific Names of Species Mentioned 159

Acknowledgments 167

Notes 169

Index 201