Wet Prairie

People, Land, and Water in Agricultural Manitoba

AvShannon Stunden Bower

Häftad, Engelska, 2012

Del i serien Nature | History | Society

372 kr

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Beskrivning

The Canadian prairies are often envisioned as dry, windswept fields; however, much of southern Manitoba is not arid plain but wet prairie, poorly drained land subject to frequent flooding.Wet Prairie brings to light the complexities of surface water management in Manitoba, from early artificial drainage efforts to late-twentieth-century attempts at watershed management. Irregular water-flow patterns challenged the checkerboard landscape of the 1872 federal Dominion Lands Act, and homesteaders found their agricultural ambitions at odds with local environmental realities. Thus, in keeping with liberal principles, the provincial government undertook substantial drainage efforts. Flooding and drainage became the subjects of intense and persistent debate among provincial officials, drainage experts, and Manitoba residents. New alliances and rivalries emerged amid shifting social, political, and environmental contexts, with enduring consequences for both the landscapes and people of the wet prairie.This account of an overlooked aspect of Prairie environmental history traces how the biophysical nature of southern Manitoba helped shape both Manitoba society and the provincial state.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2012-01-01
Mått:152 x 229 x 18 mm
Vikt:400 g
Format:Häftad
Språk:Engelska
Serie:Nature | History | Society
Antal sidor:264
Förlag:University of British Columbia Press
ISBN:9780774818537
Utmärkelser:Joint winner of K.D. Srivastava Prize 2012 (Canada)

Utforska kategorier

Miljövetenskap och miljöpolitik inom Naturvetenskap och teknik

Mer om författaren

Shannon Stunden Bower is the research director for the Parkland Institute at the University of Alberta.

Recensioner i media

Wet Prairie is excellent environmental history that evaluates the human/nature relationship. - Sterling Evans, Department of History, University of Oklahoma (Great Plains Research Vol. 22 No.2, Fall 2012) A welcome addition to the growing global literature on wetland historical geography and environmental history. Carefully researched, well argued, and clearly written, Stunden Bower's first book is a valuable read for scholars in these fields. - Adam Mandelman (H-Net online, H-HistGeog) Brings to light the often overlooked problems and complexities of dealing with surface water in Manitoba, from early efforts to drain the landscape to late-twentieth-century attempts to establish watershed management. (Prairie Books Now, No. 59, Summer 2012)

Innehållsförteckning

Foreword: Wetland Elegy? / Graeme WynnIntroduction: The Wet Prairie1 Drains and Cultural Communities: The Early Years of Manitoba Drainage, 1870-19152 Jurisdictional Quagmires: Dominion Authority and Prairie Wetlands, 1870-19303 Drains and Geographical Communities: Experts, Highlanders, and Lowlanders Assess Drainage4 International Bioregions and Local Momentum: The International Joint Commission, Ducks Unlimited, and Continued Drainage5 Permanence, Maintenance, and Change: Watershed Management in ManitobaConclusion: Chequer Board Squares in a Dynamic LandscapeAppendicesNotesSelected BibliographyIndex