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(download as a pdf)
In
this graduate research seminar we will integrate physical and human
geography research, focusing on river morphology and ecology, human use of
rivers as a resource, and policies that shape rivers. We will take a
historical, place-based approach, to understand the present condition of a
river and its historical change over the last century and a half. We
will practice collaborative research in which individual projects inform
other projects and contribute to a larger understanding and goal.
Research in this seminar will address questions that lead to understanding
how the form and ecological status of the river is shaped from the
interplay of natural and social processes.
The goal of the seminar is to
address questions such as: When and how did Euro-Americans modify the
river? Why did they modify it? What were the environmental effects of
river modifications, and how did humans view and respond to the
environmental effects? Who benefited from and who lost as a result of the
modifications? What were the relative roles of individuals and
institutions in the modifications? What principles or understandings were
used in the modifications? How has the science behind river management
changed since Euro-American settlement? In the early part of the seminar,
we will examine some models for historical, place-based environmental
research, such as Langston’s Where Land and Water Meet, A Western
Landscape Transformed, and Cioc’s The Rhine: An Eco-Biography,
1815-2000.
The focus of the seminar will
be the basin of the Grande Ronde River, a tributary of the Snake River in
northeastern Oregon. The Grande Ronde has a varied landscape with public
forest lands in its headwaters, agricultural land in the broad Grande
Ronde Valley in the central part of the watershed, and ranching in the
downstream canyon segment. In its variety, it is representative of many
rivers throughout the Interior West. In the 1840s and 1850s, the Oregon
Trail pioneers passing through the Grande Ronde Valley in wagon trains saw
it as a rich oasis in which to recover and prepare for the arduous
crossing of the Blue Mountains. Euro-American settlement began about
1869. In the late 1860s, the five-mile long State Ditch was dug to cut
off the great bend of the river in the Grande Ronde Valley, to reclaim
flooded land for agriculture. Reshaping of the river by timber harvest,
grazing and mining in the upper watershed, and irrigation and channel
engineering in the valley continued up through at least the 1970s. In the
late 20th century, the inhabitants’ attention turned to
rehabilitation and restoration of the rivers and creeks of the Grande
Ronde system.
Seminar participants will
take on a project, individually or in a two-person team, on some aspect of
the seminar theme. Each individual or team will conduct primary research
and produce a written, publishable paper by the end of the term. As a
group we will explore and learn how to use historical sources such as the
original land survey records, census data, government documents,
newspapers, maps, and aerial photographs. Some projects may involve GIS
work or mapping river change, and others may be mainly based on
documentary evidence. All participants will report on their research, and
discuss and comment on others’ research weekly, so that information
sources and emerging results are shared and inform other projects.
Some potential research questions are listed below.
Landscape and ecology: What was the character of the
Grande Ronde Valley during the early Euro-American exploration period
(1800-1860)? How was it modified by the time of agricultural settlement
and the GLO surveys?
Drainage: How did the State Ditch project get
started? What was the motivation for the project and who was behind it?
Who benefited and who lost? What was the engineering and/or science
background for the project? What was the soil quality of the drained
land, and how did it compare to other lands in the valley? How did it
impact fisheries and aquatic ecology? Was there awareness of potential
ecological impacts as it was being planned? How does the Grande Ronde
story fit into the national or regional context of drainage and
reclamation?
Irrigation: When was irrigation introduced into the
valley? Who developed irrigation, individuals or institutions such as
irrigation districts or drainage companies? Who benefited and who lost?
What was the environmental impact of irrigation, and was there awareness
of the environmental impact? How did development of irrigation relate to
drainage projects such as the State Ditch?
Fish: When did fisheries management start in the
valley? What were seen as early threats to the fisheries?
Hydrology: How has the hydrologic regime of the
Grande Ronde been modified from its natural regime? What human activities
caused this modification? What was the effect of the early floods on the
Grande Ronde Valley and on the inhabitants?
Dams: Where in the Grande Ronde system were dams
proposed? What was motivation for dams? Who supported and who opposed
dams? Was there a conflict over dam building, and why were dams not
built? How does the Grande Ronde story fit into the national or regional
context of dam building?
Registration is with instructor’s consent. Contact
Pat McDowell
(pmcd@uoregon.edu) if you are interested in registering.
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