Anne LaBastille

"Her reach as an environmentalist extended to Guatemala, where she had discovered the flightless bird known as the at while leading nature tours in 1960. When LaBastille returned five years later to study the rare bird, its population had declined by 50%. She wrote her doctoral dissertation for Cornell on the plight of the grebe, or “poc” as the bird was known locally, and spent 24 years campaigning to save it. She persuaded the Guatemalan government to make the grebe’s habitat a wildlife refuge, launched educational programs and wrote about the doomed bird in her 1990 book “Mama Poc,” the nickname local residents gave her."

"I developed from being a lister of birds and es to an investigator of ecosystems, and as a natural outgrowth, becoming a and protector of wildlife and ."

"In spite of the obstacles a few female artists persisted and gave us some wonderful scenes depicting beauty, , and primitive western life. Among these we might mention (1880s), (1800s), Mary Elizabeth Achey (1860–1885), and (1885–?)."

"Dr was, in her words, a part-time . She died 1 July 2011, and her last name calls to , a celebration of independence. A wildlife ecologist, writer and photographer, she built her own 12x12 cabin on after her divorce in 1964. She chronicled her life and research in more than a dozen books, including the Woodswoman series. ... Her work remains relatively unknown in the male-dominated landscape, but I believe a copy of Woodswoman belongs next to Henry David Thoreau’s Walden in a library. If you’re looking for a real declaration of independence, and a deeper social experiment, try a woman living alone in the for decades."

"As I became more tuned into trees, I began to admire the enormous near the path to the . I even oriented the entrance of the outhouse so that I could gaze at this tall, furrowed tree while sitting there. It was much better than reading ."

"… a beside the sparkling Rio Bajo Chiquero? Not everyone agrees that a ’s chief function is to conserve , species, ecosystems, and natural beauty, The possibilities made me cringe."

"During my morning trek, two of the striking differences between and s became evident. Any 5 s around my cabin in the , or in New England woods, may have 10 to 12 kinds of trees growing; yet, here in the same-sized area, an average of 200 species can be found!"