Reining in the Rio Grande: People, Land, and Water

by Fred M. Phillips, G. Emlen Hall, Mary E. Black

The Rio Grande was ancient long before the first humans reached its banks. These days, the highly regulated river looks nothing like it did to those early settlers. Alternately viewed as a valuable ecosystem and life-sustaining foundation of community welfare or a commodity to be engineered to yield maximum economic benefit, the Rio Grande has brought many advantages to those who live in its valley, but the benefits have come at a price. This study examines human interactions with the Rio Grande from prehistoric time to the present day and explores what possibilities remain for the desert river. From the perspectives of law, development, tradition, and geology, the authors weigh what has been gained and lost by reining in the Rio Grande.

296 pages, Hardcover

First published July 16, 2011

Reviews

[Max Gersh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides a great deal of information on the Rio Grande, the people who have held a relationship with it, and the infrastructural and legal battles people have and continue to fight. The book leaves the future open, not really diving into the options moving forward, more so leaving it as an afterthought.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really nice overview of the Rio Grande's history, focused primarily on the infrastructural and legal developments of the 20th century. While I can appreciate that it was probably written with brevity as a goal, I would have appreciated more elaboration and data in some of the technical discussions.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overview of water resources on the rio grande ..does not provide ideas on how to move into this new scary normal.

[Martha Pskowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent overview of how the Rio Grande of today was shaped by human intervention, with practical ideas of how to move forward. The writing style is refreshingly concise and clear.