Mac Stone's 'American Amazon' Documents Vanishing Southeastern Wildlife

Mac Stone, a National Geographic Explorer and filmmaker, has unveiled 'American Amazon,' a photographic book that chronicles the diminishing wildlife in the southeastern United States, which he refers to as the 'American Amazon.' Published by teNeues, the book showcases the area's extraordinary biodiversity, boasting more species of freshwater turtles, fish, and salamanders than the Amazon Basin itself, while also addressing the region's alarming extinction crisis, as it has the highest extinction rates in the country. Stone's striking photographs depict 'ghost forests' devastated by rising saltwater and ecosystems impacted by invasive Burmese pythons. His project included remarkable physical challenges, such as climbing 2,000-year-old cypress trees and descending 160 feet into underground caves. Additionally, it lays the groundwork for a four-year partnership with director Eric Bendick, leading to an IMAX film and a PBS Nature mini-series that documented unprecedented events, including the subsonic calls of breeding alligators and the territorial battles of giant hellbender salamanders. Stone merges field biology with artistic expression to champion these frequently neglected ecosystems.