Finalist for the John B Oakes Award for Distinguished Environmental Journalism, Arizona journalist Mitch Tobin presents a slideshow, discusses, and signs his new book Endangered: Biodiversity on the Brink (Fulcrum, $27.95), which uses wildlife of the Southwest to provide a snapshot of the issues facing species throughout the world.  

Since 1973, the Endangered Species Act has served as our nation's legislative ark for imperiled wildlife, but has only recovered a handful of the more than 1,300 species under its protection.  In Endangered, Tobin uses firsthand accounts to show why so many species are at risk of extinction.  For nearly seven years, Tobin criscrossed the Southwest - our hottest, driest, fastest-growing region - in search of wildlife driven to the brink of extinction and solutions to the crisis.  Tobin discovered that this region, with its urban sprawl, wasteful water use, and vulnerability to climate change, is one of the continent's hot spots for biodiversity - and contains compelling examples of collaboration.  With these examples in mind, he advocates for a set of innovative policies that can preserve the species and wild places that sustain us all.

Mitch Tobin worked as a journalist from 1999 to 2006, covering wildlife, wildfires, and other environmental issues for the Tucson Citizen, Arizona Daily Star, and High Country News.  Endangered grew out of Tobin's yearlong series on Arizona's endangered species.  Tobin's work was honored in the Best of the West competition and received first prizes from the Arizona Press Club and Arizona Associated Press Managing Editors.  Today, Tobin serves as a consultant to leading conservation groups and foundations.