Synopses & Reviews
Elizabeth Grossman's
Watershed offers a close examination of the questions facing communities across North America where dam removal is on the political and ecological agenda.
Dams and diversions along the rivers of America have transformed the country, and in doing so created environmental problems whose resolution will, in many ways, determine how we live in the next century. The great dam building of the past hundred years paralleled the progress of this American century. Jobs were created, farms and ranches irrigated, and factories were built that helped to win world wars and furnish the American dream. Cities rose in the desert, floodplains were drained, and rivers were channeled to suit civic vision.
Questioning the value of dams requires a serious readjustment in the country's notion of progress, a process frightening and threatening to some, daunting to all. Watershed examines the implications of dam removal to America's rivers and their communities by exploring the stories of a number of locales around the country where dam removal is now under consideration or underway. This is a story of people and place, as watersheds become an increasingly important part of local identity throughout the country.
Some of the dams discussed in the book:
- ARIZONA - Glen Canyon Dam (Colorado River)
- CALIFORNIA - Saelzter Dam Dam (Clear Creek, Sacramento River tributary), Matilija Dam (Matilija Creek, Ventura River tributary)
- FLORIDA - Rodman Dam (Ocklawaha River)
- MAINE - Edwards Dam (Kennebec River), East Machias Dam (East Machias River)
- MONTANA - Milltown Dam (Clark Fork River)
- NORTH CAROLINA - Quaker Neck, Cherry Hospital and Rains Mill Dam (Neuse River and tributaries)
- OREGON - Savage Rapids Dam (Rogue River), Jackson Street Dam (Bear Creek, Rogue River tributary)
- WASHINGTON - Elwha and Glines Canyon Dams (Elwha River), Four Lower Snake River dams
- WISCONSIN - Oak Street, Linen Mills & Waterworks Dams (Baraboo River), Ward Mill Dam (Prairie River), Woolen Mills Dam (Milwaukee River), Shopiere Dam (Turtle Creek, Rock River tributary)
Synopsis
Questioning the value of dams requires a serious readjustment in the country's notion of progress, a prospect threatening to some and daunting to all. Watershed examines the implications of dam removal to America's rivers and their communities by exploring the stories of a number of places where dam removal and river restoration are now underway. This is a story of people and place, and of a vital turning point in the nation's relationship to its rivers.
About the Author
Elizabeth Grossman is co-editor of Shadow Cat: Encountering the American Mountain Lion. Her articles, essays and reviews have appeared in a variety of publications including Amicus Journal, Audubon, California Wild, Cascadia Times, The Chicago Tribune, The New York Times Book Review, Newsday, Oregonian, Orion Afield, Patagonia catalogue, The Seattle Times and The Washington Post. She is also writing a Lewis and Clark Trail Adventure Travel Guide for Sierra Club Books. A native of New York City, she now lives in Portland, Oregon.