Great Read on the Highlands Region

"The Highlands: Critical Resources, Treasured Landscapes" (Rutgers University Press) is a must-read new book for anyone interested in the Mid-Atlantic Highlands. Edited by Richard G. Lathrop, who directs Rutgers University's Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis, the book features fifteen chapters, each written by different experts on topics such as geology, soils, watersheds, forest ecology and cultural history.

The Highlands makes a compelling case for protecting the region from encroaching development -- simply by presenting a science-based factual account of why these rugged foothills of the Appalachian Mountains are so unique and vital, not only to the people who live and recreate there but to the millions of people who live downstream from the Highlands and are dependent on the region for drinking water. The book provides a clear overview of how the boundaries of the Highlands have been defined, from both political and geographic perspectives, and readers are treated to a historical overview of parks and recreation in the Highlands region of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.