Levelling the Lake

Benidickson is to be congratulated for both the depth and quality of his research. His understanding of the complex legal and constitutional frameworks which have been imposed upon this region from the 1860s to the present is outstanding. [...]

This is an important work – and a pioneering one at that.

Daniel Macfarlane:

This lengthy, erudite, and often (necessarily) dense manuscript details the environmental and social consequences of resource development in numerous sectors: fish, water levels, hydropower, pollution, logging, mining, recreation, etc.

Robert Sandford:
Jamie Benidickson injects subtle ironic humour throughout [Levelling the Lake], but readers not interested in water or history may find it a long, hard haul … but ultimately this is a rewarding read, perhaps best appreciated as an unfolding story … while subdued in tone, Levelling the Lake offers a valuable analysis on how ecosystems and relations between people can decline from one generation to the next … the book quietly and forcibly puts into relief how long-term economic and social security can be assured only through mutual trust among peoples, along with the proper maintenance and re- establishment of ecological balance.

Francis M. Carroll, St. John’s College, University of Manitoba:

Benidickson shows how the many controversies and challenges—from the early negotiations around leveling the lake, to the Winnipeg water problems, the search for answers to the mercury crisis, and the need for a bridge and road to address the living conditions of the Shoal Lake band—illustrate how essential and necessary multi-agency solutions have been for the problems of the Lake of the Woods basin.

Mark Kuhlberg, Social History:

Benedickson’s story embraces the field of environmental history.

Francis M. Carroll, St. John’s College, University of Manitoba:
Benidickson shows how the many controversies and challenges—from the early negotiations around leveling the lake, to the Winnipeg water problems, the search for answers to the mercury crisis, and the need for a bridge and road to address the living conditions of the Shoal Lake band, illustrate how essential and necessary multi-agency solutions have been for the problems of the Lake of the Woods basin.

from the Foreword by Graeme Wynn:
Levelling the Lake offers perspective on the larger continuing challenge of understanding both ourselves and the trajectory of development that created the present. In the twenty-first century, it is well to remember that the impacts of particular actions on people, landscapes, and ecologies may only become evident years or decades after these actions are taken.

Shannon Stunden Bower, Department of History and Classics, University of Alberta:
Benidickson's environmental-legal history of the Lake of the Woods area considers the tensions between the geographical integrity of the river basin and various geopolitical entities that have sought to assert their will over parts of it. This book is a rare example of regional history that effectively situates the local within the administrative scales and networks of power bearing on it.

Noah Hall, founder of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center:
Professor Benidickson travelled to a fascinating corner of the Canada-US border, explored its every nook as a paddler and historian, and gathered a treasure trove of stories along the way. His comprehensive study of the Lake of the Woods region reveals how political boundaries and water bodies shape us and are shaped by us. As we consider erecting walls along our border waters, Professor Benidickson's story of cooperation and conflict offers a much-needed history lesson.