Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Author's Note -- Introduction -- Where Are the Ponderosa Pine Forests? -- Pinus ponderosa, Cone-Bearers, and Naked Seeds -- Yellowbellies, Blackjacks, and Spiral Growth -- One House, Winged Seeds, and Golden Pollen -- Tiny Seedlings -- Energy Factories -- The Rest of the Tree-Alive or Dead? -- Sculptures of the Forest -- Pine Scents, Sapsuckers, and Naval Stores -- Roots, Underground Fungi, False Truffles, and Mushrooms -- Residents of the Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Forest -- Who Owns the Forests? -- Tree Scars -- Uses of Ponderosas from Past to Present -- Plant Neighbors -- Mistletoe and Witches' Brooms -- A Bit of Geology -- Bark Beetles -- Other Insects and Fungi -- Fire and Flood -- Climate Change-It's Real -- The Beginning (Not "The End") -- Taxonomy and Scientific Name of the Ponderosa Pine -- Checklist of Some of the Mammals of the Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Forests -- Checklist of Some of the Birds of the Southwestern Ponderosa Pine Forests -- Brief History of the Establishment and Responsibilities of the U.S. Forest Service -- Suggested Readings -- Literature Consulted -- Index.