Dr. Robert Behnke, the late and eminent fisheries biologist who literally wrote the book on trout taxonomy, was a matter-of-fact kind of guy. In my early years as a newspaper journalist, Behnke was on my speed dial as I navigated the fascinating and complex world of native trout classification, particularly the names and biological assets prescribed to the West’s cutthroat trout. He was very good at describing the complex genealogy of trout, both native and invasive.

Just a year ago, the future of the largest American wilderness area east of the Mississippi River was in question, as biologists and conservationists feared that a dragline mining project on its southeastern fringes would tragically lower the water table and change the Okefenokee Swamp forever. After a land purchase last summer, and the formal transfer of the would-be mining site to the state of Georgia, the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge appears safe from industrial-grade development.