Some error occured while loading the Quick View. Please close the Quick View and try reloading the page.
As featured in the documentary, DamNation (Patagonia, 2014). A distillation of fourteen years of detailed observations, in this surprisingly engaging almanac, Spencer records a natural history teeming with fish, water, vegetation, birds, mammals, insects, reptiles, and amphibians, seasonal changes, and interesting events and stories. Spencer is a modern-day Thoreau, and the steelhead pool is his Walden Pond.
“A Temporary Refuge succeeds on multiple levels. It effectively documents regional wildlife and the perilous annual migration of the wild fish. It puts the interaction between man and nature into important context, and shows why the wild population is so important, even as hatcheries breed more and more salmon. And it’s also a meaningful memoir about a man and his dog who were devoted to helping protect part of our shared natural heritage, year after year.” —Foreword Reviews (STARRED REVIEW)
“[A Temporary Refuge] is proof that personal observation, practiced with dedication and openness to wonder, can produce extraordinary insights.” —MidCurrent http://midcurrent.com/books/book-excerpt-a-temporary-refuge/
“This is strong nature writing—descriptive and thorough, and helped by Spencer’s obvious devotion to his task.” —Foreword Reviews (STARRED REVIEW)
“One of the best outdoor books of the summer.” —Adventure Journal
Living at the pool for so many years has given Lee the chance to study the fish and other wild animals that come there. In addition to his duties of educating visitors and deterring would-be poachers, he takes careful notes about his observations for field research, which are often used by biologists and employees of the Forest Service and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
After being awarded a Master’s in Anthropology in 1978 by the University of Oregon, Spencer worked as a field archeologist for more than twenty years, mostly in the desert west and often excavating dry rock shelters. He has cast flies for steelhead on his river of choice, the North Umpqua, for the last thirty-five years.
Spencer was featured in the documentary Damnation (Patagonia, 2014).
Lee Spencer was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1950 and was raised in Minnesota. After being awarded a Master’s in Anthropology in 1978 by the University of Oregon, he worked as a field archeologist for more than twenty years, mostly in the desert west and often excavating dry rock shelters. He has cast flies for steelhead on his river of choice, the North Umpqua, for the last thirty-five years and, in 1999, with his good dog, Sis, he began volunteering with The North Umpqua Foundation at Big Bend Pool.