Beaverhills Lake, near Tofield, Alberta, lies at the heart of one of North America's most important wetlands. The lake supports hundreds of plant and animal species in its still, shallow waters, undisturbed by boats or swimmers. An engaging text with beautiful full-colour photos, Prairie Water is a must-read for birdwatchers and nature enthusiasts.

Theodorus Johannes (Dick) Dekker was born in Rotterdam on 19 October 1933. Just after the outbreak of the Second World War and before Rotterdam was bombed, he moved to Haarlem, where he received his secondary education at Het Triniteitslyceum. In 1950 he began a career in graphic design and publish-ing at Uitgeverij De Spaarnestad. Nature study had become a lifelong passion. At 17, he sold his first illustrated articles to youth magazines and eventually to a wide range of print media. His list of publications in the Dutch language, which continues to grow, now includes 222 titles and seven books. In 1959 he emi-grated to Canada in search of unspoiled wilderness. After almost having lost his life in a canoe accident in Yukon, he returned to Haarlem in 1961, resuming his nature writing until 1964, when he again left for Canada, accompanied by his wife Irma. In Edmonton, Alberta, he established himself as a free-lance graphic designer until 1982. Since then he has devoted himself full-time to wildlife writing and field research, which includes long-range mammal surveys in Jasper National Park, and ongoing studies of the avian inventory and habitat succession at Beaverhills Lake, a Ramsar wetland and Hemispheric Shorebird Reserve. He has given talks about wolves and other wildlife at a number of national and international conferences and nature group meetings. His growing list of pub-lications in the english language now sits at 180 titles, including 27 papers in refereed journals, nine books, and three scripts for television documentaries. Throughout, his main focus has been on the dynamics of predator and prey interactions, with particular emphasis on the Peregrine and other falcons.

Dick Dekker's profile page

Edgar T. Jones is a television and film producer and photographer whose images of wildlife appear on numerous TV programs and in many publications. Jones obtained his bird banding permit in 1940, was a founding member of the Edmonton Bird Club in 1948, and also co-founded and was president of the Alberta Wildlife Foundation. Jones and his wife, Jeanne, have banded more than 100,000 birds under his permit. They purchased a 228-acre property at Hasting Lake and sold it to the Province of Alberta at below market value to be used as a wildlife sanctuary: the Edgar T. Jones Natural Area. In 2001, he received the Order of Canada for his outstanding promotion of wildlife conservation. In 2002, Jones received the Alberta Order of the Bighorn Award.

Edgar T. Jones' profile page

"Prairie Water will be of interest to regular birdwatchers at the lake as well as visitors." Sandy Campbell (??)