Frankenberg's Final Gift: A Great Book About Our Natural AreasWhen UNC marine science professor Dirk Frankenberg died a few days ago, he left a big empty spot in the leadership of the small army of those who fight to keep our beaches and coastal areas from being destroyed by misuse and overuse. But just before his death Frankenberg gave a wonderful gift - something for everybody who lives in North Carolina and everyone who visits here. His gift is a book that makes some of North Carolina's best natural areas accessible to those of us who love nature but are not into roughing it. In his work outside the classroom, Frankenberg searched out places that show the importance to the environment of out-of-the way, fragile, natural areas. He went to lots of places that you and I could never find - and probably wouldn't goto even if we could find them. We are too addicted to our creature comforts to hike and camp overnight in the wilderness. Nevertheless, more and more, we want to use some of our spare time to learn about the natural environment around us. There is a new word that describes activities for travelers who want to go where they can learn about the natural environment, and do it without too much discomfort. The word is "ecotourism." North Carolina has a rich and diverse natural environment. There are some good hiking and camping guides to our statešs natural jewels. But we lacked an authoritative, statewide guide to a representative group of accessible natural areas. We just have not had a good North Carolina ecotourism travel book. Now, thanks to Frankenberg, we do. A few weeks before his death, UNC Press released Exploring North Carolinašs Natural Areas: Parks, Nature Preserves and Hiking Trails, edited by Frankenberg and written by him and more than 30 other experts. As it turns out, Frankenberg spent the last few years of his life recruiting the experts to write the various sections, giving them instruction and encouragement and doing all the hard work it takes to complete a project with many helpers. Frankenberg must have been proud of the final result. His book contains 38 separate tours through some of North Carolina's best natural learning areas. There are several reasons why anyone vacationing in North Carolina this summer should have a copy of the book. First, the 38 different tours sample every region of the state. So almost everybody in North Carolina is within an hour's drive of at least one of the tours. Second, all the tours are designed for automobiles. You don't have to assemble a lot of equipment to take one of these ecotours. You can travel in style and still see some of the same things that our backpacking friends think are special. Finally, each tour is written by someone who can explain scientific matters to those of us who don't already know everything. Frankenberg wrote most of the coastal tours himself. His tours direct auto travelers to places where they can see things like the shifting sands and delicately balanced forests on the barrier islands. Along the way he explains how it all works together in dramatic, changing harmony. In his work, Frankenberg never missed a chance to remind anybody who would listen how the activities of man in the coastal areas are often destructive - especially when man tries to fight the natural movement of the barrier islands. In each of his tours, he quietly makes the same point. Other writers guide us though places in the coastal plains where rich plant and animal life has survived man's activities. There are trips through the Sandhills and around the eroded, mountain-like hills of the Piedmont. Of course, there are mountain trips in which the variations in elevation give magnificent opportunities to see an incredible variety of plants and terrain within a few minutes. If you use this book to take just one ecotour this summer, you will have a memorable vacation. But there is a risk. You might become not only a new ecotourist but also a committed environmentalist. As you learn about the remaining natural areas in North Carolina, you might start worrying about how few of them there are. You may find yourself wondering what will happen to these places if they are not better protected. All of a sudden you may be working to save enough of North Carolina's natural areas so that our grandchildren will have the chance to be ecotourists, too.
Even if just a few of us who enjoy the tours in this book become a little more committed to preserving our natural environment, it would be an enduring tribute to Dirk Frankenberg and his life of service.
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