The artwork presented in this book was hand drawn in ink on backgrounds of torn, collaged, paper maps. The maps, taken from a Collegiate World Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1964, are of the United States and the world. They are torn and collaged to illustrate that the colorful lines, shapes, and numbers that name, divide, locate, and demarcate the land are an illusion of ownership. The land does not belong to us. The collaged maps also symbolize the idea that some species have been forced out of Frederick County and into other regions and may be rare, threatened, and endangered across the United States and the world.

Information for this project was sourced from the List of Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species of Frederick County, July 2019 by The Maryland Department of Natural Resources, The Maryland Wildlife and Heritage Service, and The Natural Heritage Program. Each species is identified by common name, scientific name, state rank, and state status.

The Piscataway people include both the Maryland State Recognized Piscataway Conoy Tribe and the Piscataway Indian Nation. Piscataway ancestral lands extend on most of the Western Shore of Maryland from Virginia to the Chesapeake Bay and north to Frederick including present day Washington, DC.

All proceeds from the sale of this book go to the Piscataway Conoy Tribal College and University Scholarship Fund.