Wayne H. McAlister's Books

Matagorda Island

A Naturalist's Guide

By: Wayne H. McAlister,Martha K. McAlister

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Matagorda Island

A Naturalist's Guide

By: Wayne H. McAlister,Martha K. McAlister

Once, all barrier islands were natural places where sand dunes and sea grasses, waterbirds and beach creatures flourished, undisturbed by human development. Matagorda Island still is. Part of a chain of five major barrier islands that shelter the Texas coastline from the Gulf of Mexico, Matagorda Island is the only one completely under public ownership-- the only one with a fate entirely in the hands of the people. This guide to the island seeks to acquaint first-time visitors and seasoned naturalists alike with the natural wealth and ecological fragility of Matagorda. In chapters on geology, history, ecology, vegetation, mammals, birds, herptiles, fish, and invertebrates, the authors show how the island is a living ecosystem, where every plant, animal, and sand dune has a role to play in maintaining the balance of nature. They also discuss the human history of Matagorda--the Karankawa Indians, European explorers, Civil War-era settlers, lighthouse keepers, and the U.S. Air Force, which used Matagorda for a bombing range during the 1940s and 1950s. Useful appendices on plants, wildflowers, and birds; maps; and line drawings amplify the text. This unique combination of human and natural history gives a full sense of what the island's past has been and what its future can be. It offers hope that on this one island, at least, humans can learn to enjoy a natural environment nondestructively, respecting the intricate web of relationships that connects the land and all living creatures.

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Page Count

388

Publisher

University of Texas Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

029278631X

ISBN 13

9780292786318

Life on Matagorda Island

By: Wayne H. McAlister

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Life on Matagorda Island

By: Wayne H. McAlister

When Wayne and Martha McAlister moved to Matagorda Island, a wildlife refuge off the central Texas coast, they anticipated staying perhaps five years. But sent to take up duties with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wayne McAlister fell under the island's spell the moment he stepped out of his aging house trailer and met his first Matagorda rattlesnake. Seven years later, the McAlisters were still observing the flora and fauna of Matagorda. Except for the road and some occasional fence posts, the island appears untouched by humans. In Life on Matagorda Island, Wayne McAlister shows what life was like amid such isolation."--Jacket

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Page Count

266

Publisher

Texas A&M University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1603446419

ISBN 13

9781603446419

Life on Matagorda Island

By: Wayne H. McAlister

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Life on Matagorda Island

By: Wayne H. McAlister

From most people’s point of view, a barrier beach is a paradox: appealing to visit but appalling to live on. An enjoyable day’s excursion requires shade, dark glasses, sunblock, drinking water, food, and, of course, a shower afterward. Take all those amenities away and consider existing alone on the island fulltime, even during hurricanes. When Wayne and Martha McAlister moved to Matagorda Island, a wildlife refuge off the central Texas coast, they anticipated staying perhaps five years. But sent to take up duties with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Wayne McAlister fell under the island’s spell the moment he stepped out of his aging house trailer and met his first Matagorda rattlesnake. Seven years later, the McAlisters were still observing the flora and fauna of Matagorda. Except for the road and some occasional fence posts, the island appears untouched by humans. In Life on Matagorda Island, Wayne McAlister shows what life was like amid such isolation. McAlister revels in the ghostly twinkles of nights on the beach, as luminescent comb jellies, sea walnuts, and glow worms light up every crest of wave. He watches hungry whooping cranes snatch striped mullet trapped in tidal pools; hunts for Hurter’s spadefoots, reclusive amphibians that surface during warm deluges; and sinks to his knees in the sand, flashlight in hand, to catch a glimpse of a whip eel’s sharp snout. Not all observations are limited to the psammobionts—the creatures of the sand. McAlister recounts petting a fatbellied coyote pup and handing out kitchen scraps to wild turkeys. Badgers make their home on Matagorda Island, as do alligators, raccoons, and hundreds of varieties of insects, including the aggravating salt marsh mosquito. But McAlister doesn’t merely observe: he tells why and how. Why oysters spit, why pistol shrimp snap, or how debris from offshore boats affects the beach environment. He also relates the more sinister aspects of living on a barrier island, such as finding himself ankledeep in quicksand. But it’s all in a day’s work—or play—to the McAlisters, as they balance their lifestyle with the will of the island and its nonhuman inhabitants. “We try to stay in the background, enthralled observers,” McAlister writes. “We do not belong, can never truly belong, but we can coexist and commingle. Close enough.”

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Page Count

268

Publisher

Texas A&M University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1585443387

ISBN 13

9781585443383

Paddling the Guadalupe

By: Wayne H. McAlister

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Paddling the Guadalupe

By: Wayne H. McAlister

For more than forty years, Wayne H. McAlister has canoed the Guadalupe River, sometimes called the “top recreational river in Texas.” In Paddling the Guadalupe, he guides readers down this 400-mile river whose waters spring from the limestone of the Hill Country in Kerr County, meander across the broad Coastal Plain, and finally empty into the Gulf of Mexico at San Antonio Bay. With the expertise of a life and career immersed in nature, he introduces readers to the places, people, plants, and animals—large and small, aquatic and terrestrial—that depend on the Guadalupe for either their livelihoods or their existence. With affection and humor (and sometimes aggravation), he wryly comments on the development and human activity along the river’s course, from the headwaters west of Kerrville to its mouth near Tivoli, just east of Refugio. For the traveler, either on the river or along its course, McAlister’s knowledge of the grists, sawmills, dams, bridges, swimming holes, and reservoirs bring the history of familiar towns—Comfort, Canyon Lake, New Braunfels, Seguin, Gonzales, Cuero, and Victoria among them—to life. His love of the natural world, which shares the river’s bounty, will inspire and enhance anyone’s experience of the Guadalupe, from the serious canoer to the family vacationer. Photographs taken over many years provide an intimate perspective, and sixteen maps help orient those interested in getting to know the river on a more personal basis. To learn more about The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, sponsors of this book's series, please click here.

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Page Count

384

Publisher

Texas A&M University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1603440216

ISBN 13

9781603440219

Book's by Wayne H. McAlister

Matagorda Island

Matagorda Island

Life on Matagorda Island

Life on Matagorda Island

Life on Matagorda Island

Life on Matagorda Island

Paddling the Guadalupe

Paddling the Guadalupe

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