Sneed B. Collard III—Defending Nature: How the Military Protects Threatened and Endangered Species

Advance copy: Backstories on books by NASW members

Defending Nature

DEFENDING NATURE:
HOW THE US MILITARY PROTECTS
THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES
Sneed Collard, III
Millbrook Press, September 4, 2024, $34.65 (library binding)
ISBN-13: 978-1-7284-9374-9
For readers ages 9-14, Grades 4-6

Collard reports:

Perhaps because I’m a birder, I always keep an eye out for unrecognized patches of habitat that support native species. These may be abandoned railroad rights of way, drainage ditches, or vacant lots, but whenever I find one I take satisfaction in the discovery. It’s no surprise that I got super-excited when I recognized our nation’s largest overlooked wildlife habitats: military bases.

US military bases encompass approximately 25 million acres of some of the most vital ecosystems this country has. The bases’ purpose, of course, was never to protect biodiversity, but as cities began crowding out habitat surrounding the bases, they became oases for a huge variety of plants and animals. I pondered doing a book about them not only to publicize their importance, but also to satisfy my own curiosity.

Sneed B. Collard III

I spent many of my childhood summers living next to one of the most important bases, Eglin Air Force Base in the Florida Panhandle. When I decided to move forward with a book, I didn’t have to think hard to decide where to focus. The Eglin base, in operation since before World War II, has a fascinating military history. It also harbors one of the largest intact long-leaf pine forests in the South.

After contacting base biologists and getting official clearance to proceed, I focused on three of Eglin’s most high-profile endangered and threatened species: the Red-cockaded Woodpecker, the gopher tortoise, and a secretive amphibian called the reticulated flatwoods salamander.

As part of my research, I flew to Florida and spent three days with biologists at the base. They could not have been more helpful. Although I had done a lot of “book research” on my subject ahead of time, it was only on seeing Eglin in person that I truly grasped the value of the base and the incredible effort it took to safeguard these and other species.

While I found working on Defending Nature personally rewarding. I hope it also will increase awareness of the importance of the military’s “other” mission: protecting species for future generations.

Contact info:

Sneed B. Collard III, sbcollardiii@gmail.com, https://www.sneedbcollardiii.com/, https://fathersonbirding.com/
Instagram: @sneedcollard
Facebook: [Sneed Collard](https://www.facebook.com/sneed.collard/
Defending Nature: How the US Military Protects Threatened and Endangered Species
Agent: Karen Grencik, info@redfoxliterary.com
Publicist: Megan Ciskowski, [mciskowski@lernerbooks.com](mailto: mciskowski@lernerbooks.com)

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Advance Copy

The path from idea to book may take myriad routes. The Advance Copy column, started in 2000 by NASW volunteer book editor Lynne Lamberg, features NASW authors telling the stories behind their books. Authors are asked to report how they got their idea, honed it into a proposal, found an agent and a publisher, funded and conducted their research, and organized their writing process. They also are asked to share what they wish they’d known when they started or would do differently next time, and what advice they can offer aspiring authors. Lamberg edits the authors’ answers to produce the Advance Copy reports.

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