The Silver City Public Library is pleased to announce that on Friday, April 5th at 3:00 PM author A. Thomas Cole will read from his book Restoring the Pitchfork Ranch. In the book, Cole weaves the history of the ranch with current restoration projects while offering an inspiring rallying cry for everyone who wants to take action for the environment.

Tucked away in the rolling hills south of Silver City is the historic Pitchfork Ranch. Archaeological sites on the ranch suggest people have been living in the area for the last 11,000 years thanks to the fresh water of the ciénagas-- desert wetlands. In more recent times the area has been used for a way station for the Butterfield Trail and, most notably, for cattle ranching. The region has a fragile desert grassland ecosystem and is a critical wildlife corridor. Use by humans and a changing climate have taken their toll on the land, but a herculean labor of love is trying to fix that.

Thomas Cole and his wife Lucinda moved to the Pitchfork Ranch from Casa Grande, Arizona after Cole retired from his career as a lawyer. Together the pair have been rehabilitating the ranch, where they focus on protecting wildlife and wildlife habitats, wetland restoration, and carbon sequestration. Their aim is to draw down their carbon use and to encourage others to do the same. This is a story not of living off the land, but of living for the land, told by the very people working to restore the Pitchfork Ranch.

For more information call the library at (575) 538-3672 or email at programs@silvercitypubliclibrary.org . The Silver City Public Library is located at 515 W. College Avenue and online at www.silvercitypubliclibrary.org  .