Book Review: Paddling the Wild Neches by Richard Donovan
The Piney Woods Group of the Sierra Club serves over 150 members.
The Chapter spans the heart of the East Texas woods, including the Big Thicket.
We are an all volunteer organization of hikers, hunters, campers, birders, and nature lovers.
Piney Woods Sierrans keep our eyes open for opportunities to protect and conserve East Texas'
diverse and valuable natural heritage.
Proof Positive that You Can Explore and Enjoy the
Planet While Protecting It!
"All those who have ever known the
Neches and its wildness will carry the song of
its waters forever in their hearts. Its rhythms
beat with the pulse of life and its melody sings
of the bond that has always existed between people
and the natural world. Will we allow this song
to be forever silenced... ?" -from the Epilogue
of Paddling the Wild Neches
East Texas native and conservationist Richard Donovan
is determined to preserve the Neches River for
future generations to enjoy. In Paddling the Wild
Neches, published in 2006 by Texas A&M University
Press, he takes readers canoeing down a two-hundred-mile-stretch
of the Upper Neches that flows through two national
forests.
A journal that he kept while canoeing on
the river from Lake Palestine to Lake B. A. Steinhagen
in 1999 is the basis for this book. Paddling
the Wild Neches tells the river's story and aims to help
educate the public about its outstanding qualities
in hopes that ultimately a large stretch of the river
will be designated as a national Scenic River under
the federal Wild & Scenic Rivers Act.
The Story of a River and a Region
Donovan chronicles the river's natural history,
describing the animal inhabitants and the recreational
potential it holds for paddlers and others. He also
delves into it cultural history, recounting stories of Native American Caddos
and Anglo pioneers who made their lives along the river, of East Texas hunting
traditions, and of the ways people have put the river
to use.
Ken Kramer, Director of the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club, said after reviewing the manuscript of the book that Paddling
the Wild Neches is ".. .one of those great treasures
that delivers more than it promises. Not only is it the personal story of one man's journey on a
scenic river and a compelling case for that river's
protection, but it is also a fascinating account
of the history and people of East Texas and a fute collection of stories that bring those
people to life."
Larry McKinney, Director of the Coastal Fisheries
Division for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department,
says, "Richard Donovan's Paddling
the Wild Neches does for the river and East Texas what John
Graves' book, Goodbye to a River, did for the Brazos
River and West Texas."
The author, Richard Donovan, is a former employee
of Temple-Inland who grew up hunting and fishing
along the creeks and streams of the Neches River.
He chairs the Forest Task Force of the Texas Committee
on Natural Resources (TCONR) and lives in Lufkin.
Donovan received the 2002 Evelyn R. Edens Award
for River Protection from the Lone Star Chapter
of the Sierra Club in recognition of his efforts
to further protection of the Neches River.
Donovan has been joined in his Neches River protection
efforts by his wife of 50 years, Bonnie, and their
daughter Gina Donovan, who is currendy the Communications
Director for TCONR Gina and others encouraged Donovan
to turn his river trip journal into a book.
Book Availability Paddling the Wild Neches is available at book stores
or direct from Texas A&M University Press (1-800-826-
8911, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central
Time). The book may also be ordered online through
www.tamu.edu/upress.
Royalties earned from the sales of the book will
be donated to The Conservation Fund for purchase
of Neches River bottomland.
