Wet prairie : people, land, and water in agricultural Manitoba / Shannon Stunden Bower ; [foreword by Graeme Wynn].

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stunden Bower, Shannon, 1977-

Series:

Nature, history, society.

Nature, history, and society series, 1713-6687

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Agriculture--Manitoba--History.

Agriculture.

Drainage--Manitoba--History.

Drainage.

Watershed management--Manitoba--History.

Watershed management.

Agriculture and state--Manitoba.

Agriculture and state.

Agriculture--Social aspects--Manitoba.

Physical Description:

xxiii, 238 p. : ill., maps.

Place of Publication:

Vancouver [B.C.] : UBC Press, 2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

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.

Contents:

Introduction : the wet prairie

Drains and cultural communities : the early years of Manitoba drainage, 1870-1915

Juridictional quagmires : dominion authority and prairie wetlands, 1870-1930

Drains and geographical communities : experts, highlanders, and lowlanders assess drainage

Internaional bioregions and local mementum : the International Joint Commission, Ducks Unlimited, and continued drainage

Permanence, maintenance, and change : watershed management in Manitoba

Conclusion : chequer board squares in a dynamic landscape

Appendices.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-283-24548-5

9786613245489

0-7748-1854-9