My book The Snake and the Salamander - Reptiles and Amphibians from Maine to Virginia came out in the Spring of 2017.  This book was published by John's Hopkins University Press and it is a combination of an art/coffee table book and guide.  This book explores the diverse collection of reptiles and amphibians that inhabit the northeastern United States covering 83 different species.  Alvin R. Breisch did the writing for this book while I completed all the illustrations.

To give a brief description of the book.  Unlike a field guide we made the decision to illustrate each species in a typical habitat for that species as well as showing predator-prey relationships, reproduction, morphological variation, or other interesting aspect of the species. We also decided to group the species by habitats rather than the traditional frog-salamander-snake-lizard-turtle format used by many books.  Our belief is that if people think of wildlife as associated with particular habitats they will have a better appreciation and understanding of a species needs, a first step in effective conservation.

The end result is that the book is a series of short stories.  The northeast is wilder than most people realize.  Most of the short species accounts center on the biology and identification of the organism but many also touch on history and conservation.  Hopefully that the information provided will tweak the reader’s interest enough so that they research in more about these amazing animals.