Big River : Resilience and Renewal in the Columbia Basin

Discover the diversity of the Columbia River watershed and the importance of the river’s treaty renegotiation--a once-in-a-lifetime chance to reshape our region’s futureColumbia River Treaty; Riverkeepers; Tribal sovereignty; Tribal water rights; Rights of nature; Columbia watershed; anadromous fish; Columbia fisheries; agricultural effects Columbia basin; mouth of Columbia; Sinixt people; Grand Coulee Dam; Middle Fork Salmon River; Ktunaxa

"A thought-provoking and visually stunning portrait of an embattled paradise." ― Kirkus Reviews

Independent Publisher Book Award Winner
Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist

In Big River, award-winning photographer David Moskowitz and writer Eileen Delehanty Pearkes illuminate the hydrogeology, beauty, and activity of the Columbia River, while also highlighting current challenges facing the region and the people working on sustainable solutions. The watershed encompasses immense ecological, cultural, and economic value, the benefits of which have been wrangled over for centuries. As the region comes to terms with the unsustainable nature of our relationship with the watershed, and local Indigenous nations renew their efforts to steward their territories, we are reaching a new inflection point. This book explores possible new management strategies, including the removal of key dams that have decimated the salmon runs that are vital to tribal cultures and a healthy ecosystem.

The culmination of Moskowitz’s many years of photographing the river and exploring its watershed, Big River seeks a path forward for the Columbia watershed, balancing the demands around water, salmon, agriculture, energy, and climate with the need for a sustainable living river.

Credit: Author Image 1

Photographer, author, wildlife biologist, and tracker David Moskowitz is the author of Caribou Rainforest, Wildlife of the Pacific Northwest, and Wolves in the Land of Salmon, and coauthor of Peterson’s Field Guide to North American Bird Nests. His work has been featured in the New York Times, Sierra, High Country News, and Audubon Magazine, as well as by organizations such as the National Wildlife Federation, Endangered Species Coalition, and Nature Conservancy of Canada. Visit him online at davidmoskowitz.net. Eileen Delehanty Pearkes explores landscape, history, and the human imagination through writing, maps, and visual notebooks, focusing on Indigenous culture and the power of water. She has researched the international Columbia River basin for more than two decades. Pearkes is the author of The Geography of Memory, A River Captured: The Columbia River and Catastrophic Change, and The Heart of a River. Visit her online at edpearkes.com.