A year-round escape for one million annual tourists,Catalina Island is gaining popularity as a world-class eco-destination.Eighty-eight percent of the island is under the watch of the Catalina IslandConservancy, which preserves, manages and restores the island's unique wildlands. Bison, foxes and bald eagles are its best-known inhabitants, butCatalina is home to more than sixty other animal and plant species that existnowhere else on earth. And they are all within the boundaries of one of theworld's most populous regions: Los Angeles County. Biologists Frank Hein andCarlos de la Rosa present a highly enjoyable tour through the fascinatingorigins, mysterious quirks and ecological victories of one of the West Coast'smost remarkable places.