Dear Ecolog: Thanks to all of you who generously offered to donate conservation biology textbooks. I was (pleasantly) overwhelmed with responses and cannot accept any more books at this point. Those books that I cannot physically take to the host country will be offered to other programs sponsored by the Department of Interior's International Technical Assistance Program. http://www.doi.gov/intl/itap/index.cfm
I had several inquiries wondering if I would accept textbooks for general ecology, environmental science, etc. Also, I received some inquiries if I was interested in journals. All of this goodwill got me wondering about other programs out there that may already be doing what I was doing, but on a bigger scale. There appear to be some organizations that accept donated medical textbooks and journals (http://www.amsa.org/amsa/homepage/about/committees/global/textbookdonations.aspx). Also, an organization based in the UK that accepts books on "natural history and the environment" to distribute to conservation NGOs throughout the world (http://www.worldlandtrust.org/projects/books-for-conservation). In most cases, shipping of textbooks and journals to foreign countries becomes cost-prohibitive, and they rely on bookmules (like me!) to get them to the target audience relatively cheaply. If one does not already exist, perhaps there is a niche in the the U.S. for an organization to accept and distribute books and journals related to natural resource management and conservation science? Based on the responses on Ecolog the supply is there and I think the demand is there too. One last thing, several people emailed me the link to the (free) online book "Conservation for All" ( http://www.conbio.org/publications/consbioforall/) that provides an easy solution to the problem of purchasing and shipping heavy books around the globe. All the best, Steve Windels Voyageurs National Park/National Park Service
