Join us in celebrating the latest project from our partners at Braided River Publishing – Big River: Resilience and Renewal in the Columbia Basin. This new, breathtaking book includes work by photographer David Moskowitz, writer Eileen Delehanty Pearkes, and poet Claudia Castro Luna.
The Columbia River Basin spans 1,200 miles through seven states and one Canadian province, all of which include the ancestral lands of many Indigenous Nations. The Columbia River Basin watershed encompasses immense ecological, cultural, and economic value, the benefits of which its inhabitants have both stewarded and wrangled over for centuries. As we come to terms with the unsustainable nature of our relationship with this watershed today, and local Indigenous nations renew their efforts to steward their traditional territories, we have reached an inflection point.
Big River, a new photographically-driven book from award-winning photographer David Moskowitz, writer Eileen Delehanty Pearkes, and poet Claudia Castro Luna, illuminates the hydrogeology, beauty, and activity of the Columbia River, while also highlighting current challenges facing the region and the riverkeepers working on sustainable solutions. Through rich and comprehensive images of the land, river, and people and micro-interviews from diverse voices across the region, Big River explores the Columbia River Basin as a single living, interdependent entity.
The book is a culmination of Moskowitz’s many years of photographing the river and exploring its watershed and Eileen’s decades of research and exploration. Big River seeks a path forward for the Columbia River watershed, balancing the demands around water, salmon, agriculture, energy, and climate with the fundamental need for a sustainable living river.
Big River will be released on June 1, 2024, followed by a book tour around the Pacific Northwest region (see below).
Book Supporters:
Port Gamble Sklallam Tribe, Squaxin Island Tribe, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, Tulalip Tribe, Wildsight, Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative, ArtsFund, The Pendleton and Elisabeth Carey Miller Charitable Foundation, and The Hugh and Jane Ferguson Foundation
Photography by David Moskowitz
Events
Join SOS at book release events throughout June to experience a multimedia journey along the Columbia River from source to sea with photographer David Moskowitz, author Eileen Delehanty Pearkes, tribal members, and other people from across the region as part of the launch of the new book, Big River: Resilience and Renewal in the Columbia Basin.
Efforts around restoring fish passage throughout the watershed, upholding Tribal sovereignty, renegotiating the Columbia River Treaty, developing new sustainable energy projects, and addressing climate change, agricultural sustainability, and irrigation are dynamic and ongoing. We hope that Big River’s stunning imagery and diverse perspectives can galvanize these important conversations, and help to advance our collective work towards more just collaborative and durable solutions for all.
Events will feature author talks, panel discussions, and other activities that explore the issues facing the Columbia River and the importance of protecting the river, its salmon, and people.
Attend a book release event near you!
- June 1 — Nelson, BC
- June 4 — Olympia, WA
- June 5 — Seattle, WA
- June 17 — Astoria, OR
- June 18 — Portland, OR
- June 19 — The Dalles, OR
- June 20 — Richland, WA
- June 23 — Spokane, WA
Photography by David Moskowitz
About the Authors of Big River
David Moskowitz, photographer, author, wildlife biologist, and tracker, 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. www.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. www.edpearkes.com
Claudia Castro Luna served as Washington State Poet Laureate for several years. She is the author of Cipota Under the Moon, One River, A Thousand Voices, and There’s a Revolution Outside, My Love, among others. Born in El Salvador, Castro Luna arrived in the US in 1981. Living in English and Spanish, she teaches and writes in Seattle. www.claudiacastroluna.com
About the Publisher of Big River
Big River is published under the Braided River imprint of Mountaineers Books, which publishes photo-driven conservation books that are the foundation for creative communication campaigns with tangible public policy goals. Braided River defends wild places by bringing evocative and inspirational images and stories to an ever-growing audience of environmental protectors. www.braidedriver.org
