Perfect for those looking to expand the legacy of Aldo Leopold. Fantastic art, and thoughtful writing.

This book is inspirational in an ecology/environmental sort of way. Scott Freeman and his family have been able to purchase land in the Seattle bay area and have worked to restore to a more natural state. They have worked with a few local organizations to ensure proper restoration for the forest and the creek in hopes that salmon fish will once again spawn and thrive in their natural habitat.

I learned quite a bit about salmon and beaver, although not too much about the trees. It was interesting to read how they decided on which trees to plant considering conditions now and in the future years with the climate getting warmer.

The book did seem more geared towards college age people, or close to it, as there was an appeal to them specifically in a way to live their lives with four areas: Be engaged, be simple, be real, and be present. Yes, it did feel the book became a little preachy at some moments. Yet this book is a good entry level book to ecology and environmentalism.

The book closed with: If you are beginning your adult life, or mentoring a young person starting theirs, this book is a call; please, help us find a new way.

Also, the author could not stop himself from mentioning his wife's family often, she is descended from Aldo Leopold who wrote A Sand County Almanac that was an important book.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33590048-saving-tarboo-creek


Four and a half stars from me, owing to a couple of factual inaccuracies.
The extended family of Professor Carl Leopold, who wrote 'A Sand County Almanac' about restoring eroded, denuded and exploited land for his family and nature, feature in this book. Tarboo Creek is in Washington State and once supported salmon, which left the small waterway when some of it was culverted, a straight drain was created and trees were felled. Buying a partially timber-harvested strip along the stream, the author and his family have worked to restore nature. Their tale includes planting trees and planting again, with the help of school parties, protecting said whips and saplings from mice, deer and even beavers.

Not as simple is deciding which species to plant. The author explains that he is able to find records of original growth species, and find old stumps, and can order from nurseries or grow from collected local seeds. But climate change has already made the area warmer and drier, while forest fires are more frequent. Should he and his wife plant trees to survive in a warmer future, say trees from the California zone, which are not currently going to thrive? A very nice section explains the five factors found in old forest which make it so biodiverse, such as ancient trees and rotting logs.

I enjoyed particularly the section on recreating a natural stream. This was carefully planned and grant-aided, replacing the straight fast channel with meanders, ponds and logs. The slower flow means water has more chance to soak into both ground and wood, while returning, spawning salmon bring nutrients from the ocean in to land so the trees - and animals - benefit.

The author takes a few meanders himself, musing about the last mass extinction and the tendency of modern people to be depressed and to be fat (depression happened to young people long before the consumer mentality arose, I can assure him, while rich people, such as monarchs, always overate). But he means well, concluding that consumption on the rate now practiced by Americans is causing climate change, and population growth is going to continue destroying habitat.

The errors I noted relate to Ireland. We are told in the dedication that in "1941, the free world essentially consisted of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain and the United States. The government of every other country was a dictatatorship or fascist, with the exception of Sweden and Switzerland which remained neutral in the war against totalitarianism."
What about Ireland? The land which gained its freedom during the 1920s did not wish to throw in its lot with the late ruler, so remained neutral but interned any German pilots arriving, got bombed by Germany, sent fire crews to aid the UK part of the island - which is not included in the term Great Britain by the way - and sent many volunteer soldiers and workers to the Allies' aid. Is this author claiming we were a fascist nation? When we had free elections and journalism, produced the Kennedy ancestors, and gave safe haven to Jewish people fleeing the Nazis? Ireland had approaching twice the population of New Zealand in 1941.
The Irish Giant Deer is described as dying out with the aid of humans. Maybe it did in parts of the European continent, but mainly it was unsuited to changes at the end of the Ice Age, such as wet ground and tree growth, and it died out in Ireland thousands of years before humans arrived.
I don't blame the author for these slips, as we are not all going to be experts in everything, but I would think the publisher should have checked such details.

I enjoyed the constructive read, which is pessimistic about today yet hopeful for tomorrow. May your trees grow tall.
References are on pages 195 - 218 in my e-ARC. I am unable to say how many were were female names, as only initials were used.
I downloaded an ARC from Net Galley. This is an unbiased review.

This is an interesting and empowering book sharing information and stories about the Freeman family's goal to heal the once beautiful land which kept me interested and had me wanting to explore the world around me.

This is a short, informative book about one family's environmental legacy. The author seeks to provide knowledge and personal stories to educate readers about one slice of the country and then gives the bigger picture on how little changes can have large impact both positively and negatively. Saving Tarboo Creek wasn't riveting but was very interesting.