Matagorda Island: A Naturalist's Guide

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Summary: Looking Over an Overlooked Treasure
Review: Once, all barrier islands were natural places where sand dunes and sea grasses, water birds and beach creatures flourished, undisturbed by human development. Matagorda Island still is. Part of a chain of five major barrier islands that shelter the Texas coastline from the Gulf of Mexico, Matagorda Island is the only one completely under public ownership. This guide to the island seeks to acquaint first-time visitors and seasoned naturalists alike with the natural wealth and ecological fragility of Matagorda. The book also tells the human history of Matagorda - the Karankawa Indians, European explorers, Civil War-era settlers, lighthouse keepers, and the U.S. Air Force, which used Matagorda for a bombing range during the 1940s and 1950s. There are appendices on plants, wildflowers, and birds as well as maps and line drawings