RIVERINE DREAMS

The inspirational story of grassland rivers and the people who paddle and protect them The North American grasslands that once covered vast areas of the central United States are now our most endangered ecosystems But not far from any spot in the grasslands is a river Grassland rivers are as central to the story of prairies as bison and bluestem Defined as rivers that drain prairie watersheds these waterways are crucial to plains ecosystems and no less endangered than the grasslands surrounding them They are also enigmatic some are restricted by local access laws and others have simply been forgotten In any given year fewer than a dozen people might lay eyes on tens of thousands of miles of America s grassland rivers But as environmental writer George Frazier shows following their twists and turns is one of the best ways to experience the wild essence of the prairies Riverine Dreams invites us on a trip along eight grassland rivers including the Missouri the Niobrara and Purgatoire traversing their environmental and cultural histories and introducing us to the people who study paddle and conserve them This journey takes Frazier across the North American interior from Montana and Colorado to Nebraska and Missouri where he uncovers a remarkable movement