The Ozark Society Foundation (OSF) is requesting support from the Arkansas Native Plant Society for the design and printing of a new publication, Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of Arkansas. OSF is requesting financial support to address a portion of the graphic design expenses.
Options for donating are at the bottom of this page, along with a preview gallery of selected draft pages from the book.
Project Description
The book will be over 400 pages, containing photographs, illustrations and maps to identify woody flora of Arkansas. The completed book will be designed as a field guide for outdoor use and as a reference volume for schools, libraries, and individuals.
Book production will be completed in winter 2020. At that time, OSF will promote the book, conduct public events, and provide for sales and distribution. Revenue from sales will advance the conservation work of OSF and the Ozark Society. Both are Arkansas-Incorporated, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations.
Value
The new book will be more comprehensive and relevant than any previous work on the subject. It will include descriptions of over 400 woody plants as well as up-to-date information on species names, ranges, and habitat. The book will include updated county-level distribution maps, 16 plates of botanical illustrations and more than 1,500 full-color photos.
The book will appeal to numerous institutions with interest in an Arkansas field guide. Interest in the book will be strong in public education, ecology, and natural sciences. Conservation professionals, including botanists, foresters, and land managers, would use the book as a field or desk reference. Outdoor enthusiasts, hikers, hunters, and amateur botanists, and their membership organizations are also highly interested in the topic.
Participants
The book was created for OSF by co-authors University of Arkansas, Fayetteville botanist Jennifer Ogle, Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission ecologist Theo Witsell, and University of Arkansas, Fayetteville professor emeritus Johnnie Gentry. The authors coordinated with botanists, ecologists, artists, and photographers to develop the book content, including University of Arkansas at Monticello professor emeritus Eric Sundell, who reviewed the manuscript, the late Linda Ellis, who drew the botanical illustrations, and ANHC contractor Molly Robinson, who obtained photo use permissions and developed a visual key for the book.
History
OSF has published high-quality books on Arkansas conservation issues for more than thirty years. The work leading up to Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of Arkansas started in 2012. The project initially focused on revising a previously published OSF book, a field guide to state trees, shrubs, and vines authored by Carl Hunter. Because Hunter’s original photos were unavailable and more contemporary materials were accessible, OSF chose to create a new field guide. Until recently, project progress was delayed by organizational transition, professional relocation, and the death of individuals. OSF is again actively coordinating the project with the co-authors and publishing industry businesses. In 2020, book design, printing, and distribution will be implemented.
OSF is requesting financial support of $1,000 from the Arkansas Native Plant Society to address a portion of the graphic design expenses. ANPS support will be recognized in the book and in all promotional materials and media descriptions.
Additional Support is being requested from:
Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation
Arkansas Forestry Commission
Department of Arkansas Heritage
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
Arkansas Master Naturalists
and other groups
EDIT 9-14-2020 – We reach our goal of $1,000! Thank you to all who contributed!
Note: As soon as we reach our goal of $1,000, we will end this fundraising drive. Due to the possibility of donations arriving in the mail, any amount over $1,000 will go towards our grants and scholarship fund.
Below is a sample of some of the pages from Trees, Shrubs and Woody Vines of Arkansas. Note: The cover is not final and could change prior to publication. These are low-resolution proofs and the photos will be higher resolution when printed.
Arkansas Native Plant Society 