Description
Book SynopsisFor most of the past century, Humbug Valley, a forest-hemmed meadow sacred to the Mountain Maidu tribe, was in the grip of a utility company. Washington's White Salmon River was saddled with a fish-obstructing, inefficient dam, and the Timbisha Shoshone Homeland was unacknowledged within the boundaries of Death Valley National Park.
Until people decided to reclaim them.
In Reclaimers, Ana Maria Spagna drives an aging Buick up and down the long strip of West Coast mountain rangesthe Panamints, the Sierras, the Cascadesand alongside rivers to meet the people, many of them wise women, who persevered for decades with little hope of success to make changes happen. In uncovering their heroic stories, Spagna seeks a way for herself, and for all of us, to take back and to make right in a time of unsettling ecological change.
Trade Review"Spagna’s enthusiasm for their dedication and causes is irresistible. Such struggles are the real deal, after all, and what reader wouldn’t cheer on these tenacious underdogs trying to remedy past damage? We’re blessed with opportunities to make a difference, the writing shows…The lessons of her journeys, those readers can glean from these pages, are ‘Do what you can. Hope without hope. Expect the unexpected."
-- Irene Wanner * Seattle Times *
"The most influential book I’ve read recently. . . . It’s not a typical story of adventure, but I found it absolutely motivating to get out and learn about our wild places, cherish them, and listen to the stories of people who call them home. It also makes very clear that adventure is not just found high up on a rock face or in a deep snowy couloir – the world is full of places to take risks and dive deep into, to be curious and ambitious and wild and bold."
-- Jenny Abegg * Outdoor Research Verticulture blog *
Table of ContentsPrologue: The Low Ground
Part One | A Red-Lettered Sign
1. Homeland
2. Willkommen
3. Revisit
4. Remediation
5. Talk Talk
Part Two | Face-to-Face
6. The Red Fox and the Tule Elk
7. Tending
8. Without an Invite
9. The Circle of Life
10. What Now?
Part Three | When the Walls Come Tumbling Down
11. Unequivocal
12. She Who Watches
13. Bypass
14. Restored . . . Salvaged
15. Hope without Hope
16. No Difference at All
Coda: The High Ground
Acknowledgments
