Not far from Seattle skyscrapers live 150-year-old clams, more than 250
species of fish, and underwater kelp forests as complex as any
terrestrial ecosystem. For millennia, vibrant Coast Salish communities
have lived beside these waters dense with nutrient-rich foods, with
cultures intertwined through exchanges across the waterways. Transformed
by settlement and resource extraction, Puget Sound and its future health
now depend on a better understanding of the region's ecological
complexities.
Focusing on the area south of Port Townsend and between the Cascade and
Olympic mountains, Williams uncovers human and natural histories in, on,
and around the Sound. In conversations with archaeologists, biologists,
and tribal authorities, Williams traces how generations of humans have
interacted with such species as geoducks, salmon, orcas, rockfish, and
herring. He sheds light on how warfare shaped development and how people
have moved across this maritime highway, in canoes, the mosquito fleet,
and today's ferry system. The book also takes an unflinching look at how
the Sound's ecosystems have suffered from human behavior, including
pollution, habitat destruction, and the effects of climate change.
Witty, graceful, and deeply informed, Homewaters weaves history and
science into a fascinating and hopeful narrative, one that will
introduce newcomers to the astonishing life that inhabits the Sound and
offers longtime residents new insight into and appreciation of the
waters they call home.
A Michael J. Repass Book
