Our National Monuments: America's Hidden Gems

by QT Luong, Sally Jewell (Foreword by), Ian Shive (Contribution by)

Overview

With the stroke of a pen, the president of the United States can proclaim a national monument. The Antiquities Act of 1906 was enacted to provide an expedited means to protect areas of natural or cultural significance. Since then, 16 presidents have used the Act to preserve some of America' most treasured public lands and waters. In 2017, an unprecedented executive order was issued questioning these designations by calling for the review of 27 national monuments across 11 states and two oceans, opening the threat of development to vulnerable and irreplaceable natural resources.

Our National Monuments, the first book of its kind, introduces these spectacular and unique landscapes at risk from the review. From the north woods of Maine to the cactus-filled deserts of Arizona, those national monuments include vast lands rivaling the national parks in beauty, diversity, and historical heritage. The critically important landscapes are often under the radar, with limited visitor information available, yet offer considerable opportunities for solitude and adventure compared to bustling national parks.

QT Luong - of the most prolific photographers working in America's public lands and author of the best-selling and acclaimed photography book about the national parks, Treasured Lands - hiked and camped in the 22 land-based national monuments under review, aiming his lens at the grand vistas, archaeological wonders, and hidden delights along the way. Accompanying the collection of 300 scenic photographs is an invaluable guide that includes maps, descriptions of the author's wide-ranging explorations and highlights for each of the monuments. Introductory essays from leaders and activists of 27 conservation associations provide the perspective of citizens caring for each of these national treasures. A foreword by former Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, as well as photographs of marine national monuments from Ansel Adams award-winning photographer Ian Shive round out this comprehensive portrayal of America's hidden gems.

Our National Monuments invites readers to experience for themselves these lands and learn about the people and cultures who came before - for whom these sites remain sacred places - with a renewed understanding of how these essential landscapes are preserving America's past and shaping its future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781733576079
Publisher:	Terra Galleria Press
Publication date:	11/09/2021
Pages:	308
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 12.30(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

QT Luong is a photographer, author, and environmentalist, known for being the first to photograph all 63 national parks - in large format. A recipient of the Sierra Club's Ansel Adams Award for Photography and of the National Parks Conservation Association Robin W. Winks Award for Enhancing Public Understanding of National Parks, he was featured in the PBS series "The National Parks: America's Best Idea" and in many press articles. Luong's photographs have appeared in hundreds of publications around the world, as well as solo gallery and museum exhibits across America. He lives in San Jose, CA with his wife and two children.

Sally Jewell served as United States Secretary of the Interior from 2013-17, following over 40 years in business. As a public servant, she advocated for balanced protection of public lands and waters, leveraged science to shape a landscape-level understanding of our resources, helped nurture a respectful nation-to-nation relationship with Native American tribes, and engaged youth in opportunities to experience and care for the natural world. Jewell has been recognized for working with groups across ideologies, geographies, and interests to seek common ground, making decisions that recognize the importance of shaping a future that is both economically successful and environmentally sustainable for all.

Ian Shive is an award-winning American filmmaker and photographer whose work documents some of the world’s most pristine environments and brings to the public important conservation stories from around the globe. In 2020, Ian Shive launched a new series on Discovery Channel titled Nature in Focus, where he explores our planet as host and executive producer. In 2019, Ian led several expeditions to some of the world’s most remote coral atolls for the giant-screen film, Hidden Pacific, which he directed and produced. Based in Los Angeles, Ian is also the founder and CEO of Tandem Stills + Motion, a leading outdoor media company.

Table of Contents

Foreword by Sally Jewell 8

Introduction 10

Maine 16
Katahdin Woods and Waters 18

Montana 28
Upper Missouri River Breaks 30

Washington 40
Hanford Reach 42

Idaho 52
Craters of the Moon 54

Oregon 66
Cascade-Siskiyou 68

California 80
Berryessa Snow Mountain 82
Giant Sequoia 90
Carrizo Plain 102
San Gabriel Mountains 112
Sand to Snow 124
Mojave Trails 134

Nevada 146
Basin and Range 148
Gold Butte 160

Utah 172
Bears Ears 174
Grand Staircase-Escalante 188

Colorado 202
Canyons of the Ancients 204

Arizona 210
Vermilion Cliffs 212
Grand Canyon-Parashant 224
Sonoran Desert 234
Ironwood Forest 242

New mexico 250
Rio Grande del Norte 252
Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks 262

Marine national monuments 274
Papahanaumokuakea 276
Pacific Remote Islands 284
Rose Atoll 290
Marianas Trench 296
Northeast Canyons and Seamounts 300

Afterword 304

Acknowledgments 306

Colophon 308

Editorial Reviews

PRAISE FOR OUR NATIONAL MONUMENTS

"QT Luong has captured with extraordinary power these images of our national monuments—places that are often subtler and more nuanced in their beauty than the images of our most famous national parks. They truly are hidden gems, and this book is a gem as well, one to read by the fire while you plan journeys for the summer ahead."
— Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature

"QT Luong has produced another impressive and comprehensive book, but one that is even more important than Treasured Lands. Along with QT's wonderful imagery are comments from people directly involved with each area. This is an incredible resource about these monuments at risk. And for photographers, information you won't find any place else about these areas."
— Charles Cramer, author of Yosemite

"In Our National Monuments, QT Luong has used his extraordinary photographic artistry—and his passion—to create an extraordinary book about some of our less traveled parklands. This is a visual feast that will make Americans cherish (and hopefully protect) these precious public lands." 
—Dayton Duncan, writer and co-producer of The National Parks: America's Best Idea

"In a book of spectacular photography and much, much more, QT Luong has brought forth for the first time the spectacular and diverse landscapes of our national monuments created by the force of local conservation organizations and presidential proclamations under the Antiquities Act. Our National Monuments is one of those rare books that both documents the history of our greatest conservation achievements and will shape the future. The eye-opening book is a great source of inspiration to protect, restore, and expand our national monuments and conservation areas."
— Ed Norton, Chair, Conservation Lands Foundation

"Our National Monuments is an important and beautiful book, and a masterful accomplishment for QT Luong. With the same commitment to excellence seen in his earlier book, Treasured Lands, Luong's impressive photography and abiding love for the American landscape have yielded a true masterpiece of American landscape photography, and a powerful call for conservation."
— Guy Tal, author of More Than a Rock: Essays on Art, Creativity, Photography, Nature, and Life

"QT Luong has done it again. It's increasingly rare to find photographers who are both skilled image makers and serious in-depth researchers. That incredible skill set has allowed QT to not only document these diverse National Monuments, but also supply a feeling for hidden places not easily accessible. He is one of the hardest working and most passionate photographers I know. In these pages, you'll not only see places of wonder, you'll experience QT's life quest. A true masterwork!"
—Jack Dykinga, author of A Photographer's Life: A Journey from Pulitzer Prize-Winning Photojournalist to Celebrated Nature Photographer

"Our National Monuments is the most beautiful and persuasive statement ever for the protection of our national monuments."
— Ramón Cruz, President, Sierra Club

EDITORIAL REVIEWS

"Inherently fascinating, profusely and beautifully illustrated, informed and informative, Our National Monuments: America's Hidden Gems is fully and unreservedly recommended."
— Carl Logan, Midwest Book Review

"Photographer Luong hiked and camped across the U.S. to capture 22 of the most beautiful national monuments in the U.S.— natural lands to be treasured, as emphasized by the conservationist writers who contributed to this coffee-table book. It includes stunning images."
— Christina Ianzito, AARP

"A universally appealing combination of stunningly beautiful photographs, evocative descriptions, and practical information about some of the nation's most special places."
— Douglas F. Smith, Library Journal

"The photographs are consistently beautiful, running the gamut from stunning vistas in perfect evening light, to dramatic storm-scapes, to telling details. Without exception they are technically immaculate, stunningly detailed, with a beautiful yet restrained color palette ... they provide a look at remarkable landscapes quite literally far from the beaten track. They’re an introduction to another vast range of public lands wilder and more remote than the more familiar National Parks."
—Geoff Wittig, The Online Photographer

" [O]ne of the most accomplished, and well-traveled, of today's national park photographers ... Luong's powerful images of [the national monuments] will defend, and even underscore, the need to protect more landscapes across America."
—Kurt Repanshek, National Parks Traveler

"Through his fantastic images and the high-quality writing found within the book, QT Luong makes the case for National Monuments as places to seek solitude and deeper connections with nature, as well as the importance these places ... [the images] serve the purpose of showcasing the natural beauty found within these places in a way that allows the viewer to see themselves standing where QT stood."
—Matt Payne, On Landscape Magazine

"Pairing sweeping photographs with testimonials from key preservationists ... Luong worked to make the case for keeping ... off-the-beaten-path wildlands preserved for perpetuity."
—Steve Scauzillo, San Gabriel Valley Tribune

From the Publisher

12/01/2021

Photographer Luong has comprehensively documented U.S. National Parks, resulting in a body of work that's itself a landmark of landscape photography. Here, presented in gorgeous Cinerama-scale spreads, are 27 national monuments and reserves, created by 16 U.S. presidents under the Antiquities Act of 1906 (one of the Progressive Era's most consequential legislative achievements). The book's foreword, by former Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, emphasizes preservation and denounces recent efforts to undermine protections, including a 2017 executive order that was the largest reduction of public lands in the nation's history. Luong's sublime photos speak for themselves, advocating stewardship by exposing ecological and cultural importance. The visual and natural variety of the National Parks is overwhelming, and he captures each place's unique appeal. Among Luong's subjects are the sinuous Missouri Breaks, the Katahdin Woods, the Carrizo Plain, the Vermilion Cliffs, and remote atolls designated as Marine National Monuments (these last expertly photographed by Ian Shive), each accompanied by essays from local activists. VERDICT A universally appealing combination of stunningly beautiful photographs, evocative descriptions, and practical information about some of the nation's most special places.—Douglas F. Smith, Oakland P.L.

Library Journal