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Peter Rowlands, a career airline pilot, brings his personal and community love of a river to bear in this timely volume about the Stikine River and its watershed. As Rowlands states in the preface, “My aim in writing this book is twofold. While wishing to celebrate the inner and outer beauty of this one river, I also hope to show how commitment to the public process is essential for management of our natural resources.” He has skillfully compiled boatloads of information about this riverine feature of northwest British Columbia, beginning with six scrapbooks of newspaper clippings from the Friends of the Stikine Society about resource management issues in the late 1970s, combined with the author’s personal collection of FOS newsletters and info from many community members. During Rowlands’ first trip on the river, he became uncomfortably aware of human activity created by the possibility of two dam sites. Thus began his lifelong activism to preserve and manage the river for the benefit of future generations.
The text is breathtaking in its minute detail, and the academic rigor plus the lyrical quality of descriptive writing converge into a fascinating reading experience. Beautifully illustrated with grayscale photos by Gary Fiegehen, the utility of Rowlands’ text is also enhanced by maps, endnotes, and a photo index. Rowlands’ book tells a complex historical and ecological story of the 640 kilometers of the Stikine watershed. Rowlands begins with an engaging personal remembrance of his first paddling adventure on the Stikine in 1979, a simpler time without GPS and other support technology. The narrative then deftly segues into the many issues surrounding the welfare of the watershed over the decades since Rowlands’ first paddle, taking a look back at indigenous reverence for the river and some touchstones by non-native explorers. Rowlands' book is a must-read for lovers of the outdoors.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review