This book brings together scientists and practitioners from six continents to present their experience in undertaking activities that contribute to our understanding and informed management of mountain areas. In particular, they address the challenges of working in interdisciplinary teams and of effectively involving stakeholders.A comprehensive introduction covers the challenges in mountain area research and management and the need for integrated approaches. This is followed by chapters that look at key areas of mountain research and management over the past 25 years, covering inter- and trans-disciplinary research, subsistence cultures and sustainable development, innovations in watershed management and biodiversity conservation. Subsequent chapters cover key areas of research and management, presenting interdisciplinary case studies from Australia, Canada, the US, Sweden, India, Colombia and Tanzania with a focus on comparison of common challenges and solutions across regions. The concluding chapter brings these experiences together. The result is a powerful book that integrates research from different disciplines in the natural and social sciences, and in some cases indigenous knowledge, to address the question of how knowledge is gained about mountain areas and how can it be integrated and used in effective management.This volume provides an indispensable tool kit for all researchers and professionals undertaking research and management in mountain and other environments, including local and regional authorities, planners, park and protected area managers, tourism operators, and communities involved in resource extraction, watershed management, agriculture and forestry.

Each year, thousands of tourists visit Mount Mitchell, the most prominent feature of North Carolina's Black Mountain range and the highest peak in the eastern United States. From Native Americans and early explorers to land speculators and conservationists, people have long been drawn to this rugged region. Timothy Silver explores the long and complicated history of the Black Mountains, drawing on both the historical record and his experience as a backpacker and fly fisherman. He chronicles the geological and environmental forces that created this intriguing landscape, then traces its history of environmental change and human intervention from the days of Indian-European contact to today. Among the many tales Silver recounts is that of Elisha Mitchell, the renowned geologist and University of North Carolina professor for whom Mount Mitchell is named, who fell to his death there in 1857. But nature's stories - of forest fires, chestnut blight, competition among plants and animals, insect invasions, and, most recently, airborne toxins and acid rain - are also part of Silver's narrative, making it the first history of the Appalachians in which the natural world gets equal time with human history. It is only by understanding the dynamic between these two forces, Silver says, that we can begin to protect the Black Mountains for future generations.

Packed with dozens of lifesaving illustrations!

HIGH ALTITUDE, LOW RISK!

Piloting aircraft above mountainous regions demands more than a thirst for adventure. It also requires a keen understanding of the unique challenges involved in mountain flying — for the safety and pleasure of everyone involved.

That’s why if you’re a pilot, a flight instructor, or are learning to fly, Flying the Mountains is the one-stop, practical resource you need to stay safe while soaring at extreme altitudes. Written with insight by a noted high-elevation flight instructor and pilot, Flying the Mountains:

* Outlines the nature of mountain flying

* Relays mountain flight accident statistics and causes

* Details effects of altitude on aircraft and pilots

* Examines in-flight ailments related to mountain flying

* Reviews take-off conditions from mountain airports

* And much, much more!

Logically organized by phases of flight — from preflight preparation to landings — Flying the Mountains delivers a potent combination of statistics, techniques, and examples of actions (correct and incorrect) used in actual flight scenarios.

Every year around the globe, people cross paths with avalanches--some massive, some no deeper than a pizza box--with deadly results. Avalanche expert Jill Fredston stalks these so-called freaks of nature, forecasting where and when they will strike, deliberately triggering them with explosives, teaching potential victims how to stay alive, and leading rescue efforts when tragedy strikes. In "Snowstruck," Fredston draws on decades of personal experience to take "avalanches out of the statistical realm and into the human one" ("Skiing Magazine"): a skier making what may prove his final decision, a victim buried so tightly that he can't move a finger, rescuers racing both time and weather, forecasters treading the line between reasonable risk and danger. Fredston brings to life the awesome forces of nature that can turn the mountains deadly--and the equally inexo-rable forces of human nature that lure us time and again into treacherous terrain.

A new form of strip mining has caused a state of emergency for the Appalachian wilderness and the communities that depend on it-a crisis compounded by issues of government neglect, corporate hubris, and class conflict. In this powerful call to arms, Erik Reece chronicles the year he spent witnessing the systematic decimation of a single mountain and offers a landmark defense of a national treasure threatened with extinction.