Our Natural History: The Lessons of Lewis and Clark

325 Pages·2004·3.88 MB·English

by  Daniel Botkin

"Wonderfully readable...
[an] important and highly pleasurable book."
—Santa Barbara News Press
"Daniel Botkin shows us riches we never dreamed of. As a lifelong biologist,
with abundant experience in the field (including the area Lewis and Clark
explored), he is uniquely qualified to reveal to the present generation the rich
environmental meaning of this glorious page of American history."
—Garret Hardin, author of
Living Within Limits
"With scores of natural ecosystems endangered in at least half of the contiguous
forty-eight states, the pertinent scientific question is 'How can they be saved?'
Botkin provides a bag of clues and a map."
—Sierra magazine
"Intriguing. . .Botkin describes the American West as seen by Lewis and Clark
in 1804–06 and compares it with today's West as shaped by industrial civiliza-
tion... The records of Lewis and Clark are valuable for helping us understand
what nature was like before we changed it."
—Publishers Weekly
"We can only hope that books like this will steer us toward a more respectful and
environmentally sound way of life."
—Booklist
"Everyone who shares an interest in the environment and the economic future
should read this book. . .He has a view of the environment that is both practical
and deeply rooted in history and fundamental science, and he emerges with
important and innovative things to say about the perceived tension between
ecology and competitiveness. Centering these approaches on the journals of the
Lewis and Clark expedition provides great continuity with the American West
as it existed shortly after the United States became a nation."
—Harold J. Morowitz,
Director, Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study,
George Mason University

ur N a t u r al
O
H i s t o ry
The Lessons oj Lewis ana Clark
Daniel B. Botkin
OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
Oxford New York
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Copyright © 1995, 2004 by Daniel Botkin
First published by Grosset / Putnam, 1995
Published by Perigree, 1996
Published as an Oxford University Press paperback, 2004
198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016
www.oup.com
Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of Oxford University Press.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Botkin, Daniel B.
Our natural history: the lessons of Lewis and Clark /Daniel Botkin
p. cm.
Originally published: New York, NY: Putnum, c!955.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0–19–516829–1 (pbk.)
1. Natural history—West (U.S.)
2. Botkin, Daniel B.—Journeys—West (U.S.)
3. Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-1806)
4. Nature conservation—Philosophy.
5. Human ecology.
I. Title.
QH104.5.W4B682004
508.73—dc22 2003061171
Permission granted by Gary Moulton, editor of The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition,
to quote extensively from the published volumes of the new edition.
Use of the drawing of "White Salmon Trout" from the Lewis and Clark Journals
is used by permission of the American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, PA.
Use of Woody Guthrie prose is by permission of WOODY GUTHRIE PUBLICATIONS, INC. NEW YORK, NY.
LUMBER Is KING. Words by Woodie Guthrie, music by Pete Seger. Copyright © 1988 by WOODY GUTHRIE PUBLICATIONS, INC.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
ROLL, COLUMBIA, ROLL (The Grand Coulee Dam). Words and musk by Woodie Guthrie TRO Copyright © 1958
(Renewed) 1963 (Renewed) 1976 Ludlow Music Inc., New York,NY. Used by permission.
COLUMBIA TALKING BLUES (Talking Columbia). Words and music by Woody Guthrie TRO Copyright © 1961 (Renewed) 1963
Ludlow Musk, Inc., New York, NY. Used by permission.
13579 10 8642
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
For Erene,
my inspiration for eighteen years
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Acknowledgments
Many people helped me as I sought to under-
stand the expedition of Lewis and Clark
and to visit locations along their path. These contacts and the experi-
ences that followed created a network that is in itself an interesting
story. Gary Moulton, editor of the new edition of the Lewis and Clark
journals, discussed the expedition with me and offered invaluable sug-
gestions of places to visit and people to see. He suggested I speak with
Ty Harrison, the botanist who identified the vegetation described by
Lewis and Clark, for the new edition of their journals, and whom I also
thank for helping me to find representative natural areas of prairie and
woodlands along the Missouri River and suggesting people to visit as
well. Ty Harrison suggested I meet Tom Bragg and Gary Garabrandt.
Tom Bragg, botanist at the University of Nebraska, Omaha, pointed out
prairie lands to visit; Gary Garabrandt, Chief Ranger of the Fontenelle
Forest Association, Bellevue, Nebraska, gave me many hours of pleasant
A C K N O W L E D G M E N TS
and insightful discussion and tours of the prairies, wildlife refuges, and
woodlands along the Missouri. Gary Garabrandt, in turn, introduced
me to Neal and Izen Ratzlaff, whom I thank for their hospitality during
a visit to Omaha and for our long discussions about the conservation of
prairie. Dr. David C. Glenn-Lewin and Tom Jurik of Iowa State Univer-
sity gave me a wonderful field trip through natural areas of Iowa and
provided important references concerning the geological and natural
history of that state. I thank them all.
During my work in Oregon, many people and organizations helped
me understand the issues that concern the Pacific Northwest, the natu-
ral history of the forests and fish of Oregon and Washington, the status
of the environment, and the state of our knowledge about that environ-
ment. In particular, I thank Phil Cogswell, an editor of the Oregonian,
for many delightful discussions about Oregon's history and environ-
mental controversies, and for providing me with useful references as
well. I also wish to acknowledge how much I gained from discussions
with staff of the Oregon Department of Forestry, especially state for-
ester Jim Brown and Janet McLennan, chair of the Oregon Board of
Forestry, with the staff of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife,
and members of the Oregon Coastal Zone Management Association,
especially its Director, Jay Rasmussen; with non-governmental environ-
mental organizations, especially Oregon Trout, Ecotrust, and Oregon
chapters of the Audubon Society and the Wilderness Society. I thank
the staff of the Fontenelle Forest Association and of the Fort Clatsop
National Monument for their courteous assistance during my visits. The
World Forestry Center provided office space for our project on salmon
and their habitats, and their Director, John Blackwell, provided a great
deal of help.
Many of my scientific colleagues have played important roles over
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A C K N O W L E D G M E N TS
the years, and the results of my discussions and work with them are
reflected throughout this book. Dr. Thomas Dunne of the University of
Washington taught me about the geomorphology of the Columbia and
the role of geological processes in the lives of salmon, and provided
important references about the geological history of the Missouri. Dr.
Kenneth Cummins of the South Florida Water Management District
educated me about the life history of salmon and the dependence of
these fish on forested habitats. I am deeply indebted to Dr. Matthew
Sobel of the State University of New York, Stony Brook, who over
many years has helped me analyze and understand the role of chance
and uncertainty in nature. Similarly, I am indebted to Dr. Lee Talbot,
former Director of the International Union for the Conservation of Na-
ture, for many thoughtful discussions about biological conservation, and
who kindly reviewed my discussion in this book about endangered spe-
cies. Dr. Harold Morowitz of George Mason University has been a con-
tinuing source of inspiration on the subject of innovation in science and
on the need for clear thinking and clear writing about it; I thank him
also for reviewing early drafts of this manuscript. I thank Dr. Charles
Beveridge, historian and Director of the Olmsted Papers, Washington,
D.C., and Roderick Nash, historian and Professor Emeritus of the Uni-
versity of California, Santa Barbara, for many discussions over the years
about environment and society.
The writing and rewriting of this manuscript benefited especially
from the help of Joan Melcher, a screenwriter and professional editor
who read and reread drafts of the manuscript, advising me about its
structure and providing helpful editing. I would especially like to thank
Jane Isay, my editor and publisher at Grosset Books, who, in the course
of many drafts, provided an excellent perspective on what worked and
what did not, who helped me with the level of discussion, the balance
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