Where Land and Water Meet: A Western Landscape Transformed

Weyerhaeuser Environmental Books

by Nancy Langston, William Cronon (Foreword)

Water and land interrelate in surprising and ambiguous ways, and riparian zones, where land and water meet, have effects far outside their boundaries. Using the Malheur Basin in southeastern Oregon as a case study, this intriguing and nuanced book explores the ways people have envisioned boundaries between water and land, the ways they have altered these places, and the often unintended results.

The Malheur Basin, once home to the largest cattle empires in the world, experienced unintended widespread environmental degradation in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. After establishment in 1908 of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge as a protected breeding ground for migratory birds, and its expansion in the 1930s and 1940s, the area experienced equally extreme intended modifications aimed at restoring riparian habitat. Refuge managers ditched wetlands, channelized rivers, applied Agent Orange and rotenone to waterways, killed beaver, and cut down willows. Where Land and Water Meet examines the reasoning behind and effects of these interventions, gleaning lessons from their successes and failures.

Although remote and specific, the Malheur Basin has myriad ecological and political connections to much larger places. This detailed look at one tangled history of riparian restoration shows how--through appreciation of the complexity of environmental and social influences on land use, and through effective handling of conflict--people can learn to practice a style of pragmatic adaptive resource management that avoids rigid adherence to single agendas and fosters improved relationships with the land.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, History, Environment

230 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Jeff]

I thought I'd read most of the books out there on SE Oregon's Steens Mountain country so was happily surprised to find this one. A good overview of the various competing interests in that area over time: humans vs nature, public land advocates vs private landowners, ranchers vs farmers, environmentalists vs developers, etc.

My conclusion is Mother Nature will always win in the end. Whether the battle takes years, generations, or centuries is up to us. This study of Harney County bears that out.

[Tattered Cover Book Store]

This book was recomended by author and historian Char Miller as part of the Rocky Mountain Land Library's "A Reading List For the President Elect: A Western Primer for the Next Administration."

[Brent Kahmann]

A must read if one really wants to understand the complex evolution of our wildlife refuge system.

[Cleo Chiu]

I was taken on a journey of the complicated aspects of life, hope, and water. I loved the book, Carson showed me a world I've never imagined.

[Cathy]

Great book to give both historical and lay-science perspective for the ongoing issues.