A Watershed Runs through You: Essays, Talks, and Reflections on Salmon, Restoration, and Community

by Freeman House, Jerry Martien (Editor)

Essays and talks from the author of the award-winning Totem Life Lessons from Another Species. The essays and talks in A WATERSHED RUNS THROUGH YOU hold the formative insights that led to Freeman House's acclaimed Totem Life Lessons from Another Species --the central place of salmon in the ecology and culture of the Cascadia bioregion and the critical role of human communities in the restoration of its home watersheds. In engaging, lyrical prose, House shares lessons learned from four decades working with his community to restore the Mattole River the idea of watershed as an organizing principle; the realization that the work of restoration and recovery, for watersheds as for people, has to come from within; and that this undertaking comes to us as lived experience, in a vernacular culture guided by that principle. In these essays, some written as early as the 1970s, House's words are more relevant than ever, prescient and far-ranging in their vision, offering equal parts inspiration and on-the-ground knowledge for our increasingly climate-challenged times. Freeman House reminds us that restoration requires both interspecies knowledge and community cooperation and asks us not only to learn to think like a watershed but to recognize--with humility--our place as humans within it. With an eloquent foreword by Stephanie Mills, an early passionate voice for bioregionalism, a preface by editor Jerry Martien, and an afterword by Ali Freelund of the Mattole Restoration Council that Freeman House founded four decades ago, this collection is a tribute to the enduring legacy of Freeman House's vision. As Mills writes, "Not every watershed will find a voice like that of Freeman House. But every watershed needs such streaming wisdom." "Endless bows of gratitude to Jerry Martien for his savvy salvage of Freeman House's scattered essays and talks. Freeman's essays, along with his longer works, are absolutely fundamental to understanding bioregionalism, living-in-place, living-by-life, or just drawing breath in these unsettled times where humans must deal with the damages wrought by everything from dammed rivers to internal combustion. Freeman offers insights into clearing the wreckage as well as a constant sense of delight in dealing with the natural world; we neglect his heart-root wisdom at our own peril."--Jim Dodge, author of Stone Junction "I despair of the skills required to capture this sweet, dignified, good-humored man. Through the many years of our friendship, Freeman House remained utterly committed to restoring health and species diversity to the place he lived, to convincing his community such recovery was a worthy undertaking, and, most important, to maintaining his steadfast personal dedication to the survival of Salmon as a species and totem in the Mattole watershed. His life and vision, including his inner battles, offer a laudable and luminous model for us all."--Peter Coyote, author, Zen Buddhist priest Literary Nonfiction. Essay. Nature.

312 pages, Paperback

Published October 24, 2023

Reviews

[Terry Lawhead · Rating 5 out of 5]

“A Watershed Runs Through You: Essays, Talks and Reflections on Salmon, Restoration and Community” by Freeman House, Empty Bowl Press, 2023. Our contemporary reflections on seeking or having a personal sense of place are significantly informed by a wild diversity of thoughtful poets, scientists, philosophers and individuals, many having worked at vocations providing experiences in the natural world. These people found each other and produced a body of knowledge expanding and deepening our modern understanding of how the systems of nature work and how we can participate more fully in our world. House was a vital member of the group who wrote and spoke on how to improve habitat for salmon, ecological restoration and community organizing with a unique perception earned from working in the woods and on the sea. He, also in collaboration with like-minded people, helped build and nurture lively networks of those similarly engaged in such endeavors. This collection of his eloquent writings, transcribed presentations and inspiring activities utilizing progressive leadership preserve the original ideas that have generated opportunities in the re-inhabitation of endangered and disturbed areas and contributed to creative science-based bioregional planning to assist ongoing efforts to sustain our natural systems.