"The San Francisco Bay Area holds the most extensive system of wild greenbelts of any major metropolitan area in the world. More than 200 parks, preserves, and other protected areas can be found within forty miles of the city. This book celebrates these separate national, state, regional, county, local, and private entities as a whole for the first time. These 172 photographs of wild coasts, wild animals, wildflower meadows, redwood forests, oak woodlands, river deltas, bay wetlands, and mountain ridges are every bit as evocative as images that lure travelers to far corners of the Earth." "Rowell's text traces the evolution of his childhood discovery of the wildlands out his Berkeley back door into his fascination with the relationship between preserved areas and those who have gone out of their way to save them. The narrative concludes with a series of interviews exploring the motivations and accomplishments of some of the individuals who have been instrumental in preserving wild parts of the San Francisco Bay Area."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved