Kuenzler Book Explores Piedmont's Wonders

The Kuenzler (pronounced kenz-ler) family entered into a conservation agreement with TLC in 2001 to permanently protect a 154-acre wildlife habitat preserve in southwest Orange County. Ed Kuenzler passed away in September 2001, just a few months before the agreement he had worked many years to establish was put in place. This book was another project in the works for many years, pretty much since Ed retired from UNC in the early 1990s. His wife, Jutta (pronounced you-tah), with the help of family and friends, was able to retrieve the files and have the book published this year. As Jutta says in her foreword, "This book is truly a labor of love."

Time and the Piedmont takes its readers on a detailed exploration of some of the most intriguing of nature's wonders. Author Edward Kuenzler leads us on an expedition through territory that boasts a web of life as complex as the ecology that has evolved over the ages on Africa's Serengeti Plain, and he sets before us a sweep of geological time every bit as awe-inspiring as that laid bare in the Grand Canyon. But the wonders he uncovers are those that surround us every day in the Piedmont region of the eastern United States, whether we are aware of them or not.

Time and the Piedmont examines the scales of time that we can observe and appreciate in our everyday natural environments: in our yards and gardens, a neighborhood park, or a seemingly ordinary forest tract. Kuenzler reminds us that we need not travel to exotic locales to experience a sense of wonder—all we need to do is go outdoors to look, listen, and think.

Raised in Florida, Kuenzler received his Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Florida and went on to the University of Georgia-Athens, where he received his Master of Science and Ph.D. degrees under the guidance of Professor Gene Odum. Professor Odum's expertise in the then-emerging field of ecology sparked the author's interest in the discipline to which he would devote his career.

After holding professional positions at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Kuenzler accepted an appointment to the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at UNC-Chapel Hill. Here he held professorships in Environmental Biology, Marine Sciences, Ecology, and Botany before being appointed Professor Emeritus of the Department upon his retirement in 1992.

Professor Kuenzler spent much of his retirement doing research for this book and was still polishing the manuscript when he died in September 2001 at the age of sevety-one. He is survived by his wife, Jutta; daughter, Doreen; and son, Dirk, all of whom have helped see Time and the Piedmont through its publication.

Time and the Piedmont (ISBN 1-880849-79-8) is available at some local bookstores, selected online booksellers, and the publisher, The Chapel Hill Press.

Copyright © 2006-2008, Triangle Land Conservancy Last updated on 11/22/2006.