Marc Reisner (September 14, 1948 – July 21, 2000) was an American environmentalist and writer best known for his book '' Cadillac Desert'', a history of water management in the

American West The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

Early life

He was born in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, the son of a lawyer and a scriptwriter, and graduated from Earlham College in 1970.

Career

For a time he was on the staffs of Environmental Action and the Population Institute in Washington, D.C. Starting in 1972, he worked for seven years as a staff writer and director of communications for the Natural Resources Defense Council in New York.

Writings and television work

In 1979 he received an Alicia Patterson Journalism Fellowship, which enabled him to conduct research and write ''Cadillac Desert'', which was first published in 1986. According to The Guardian, ''Cadillac Desert'' illuminated the importance of water conservation in the American West with "the remarkable ability to explain entertainingly the complex, and often numbing, deals and disputes in the 'water wars' that have plagued the west." The book was a finalist for both the National Book Critics' Circle Award and the Bay Area Book Reviewers' Award (BABRA) that same year. In 1999, a

Modern Library The Modern Library is an American book publishing imprint and formerly the parent company of Random House. Founded in 1917 by Albert Boni and Horace Liveright as an imprint of their publishing company Boni & Liveright, Modern Library became an ...

panel of authors and critics ranked it 61st on a list of the 100 most notable English-language works of nonfiction of the 20th century. It was later made into a documentary film series that premiered nationwide on PBS nationwide in 1997 and won a Columbia University/Peabody Award. He went on to write additional books and helped develop a 1997 PBS documentary on water management that emphasized human endeavor in the building of dams. He was featured as an interviewee in Stephen Ives's 1996 PBS documentary series '' The West'', which was produced by

Ken Burns Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary film, documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle United States, American History of the United States, history and Culture of the ...

. In 1997 he published a discussion paper for the

American Farmland Trust American Farmland Trust is a nonprofit organization in the United States with a mission to protect farmland, promote environmentally sound farming practices, and keep farmers on the land. AFT is staffed by farmers, policy experts, researchers and ...

on water policy and farmland protection.

Dam removal

Shortly before he died, he had won a Pew Charitable Trusts Fellowship to support efforts to restore Pacific salmon habitat through dam removal.

Sustainability

Reisner was also involved in efforts to promote sustainable agronomy and green entrepreneurship. In 1990, in partnership with the Nature Conservancy, he co-founded the Ricelands Habitat Partnership, an innovative program designed to enhance waterfowl habitat on California farmlands and reduce pollution by flooding rice fields in winter instead of burning the rice straw, as was then the common practice. He also joined in efforts to help California rice farmers develop eco-friendly products from compressed rice straw, and a separate project to promote water conservation through water transfers and groundwater banking.

Teaching

For a time, Reisner was a distinguished visiting professor at the University of California at Davis, lecturing on the relationship between urbanization and environmental concerns.

Criticism

In his later years, Reisner was criticized by environmentalists for his connection to two private companies that went against the values he presented in his books: one stored water underground for profit, and the other promoted the use of rice fibers in Western rice paddies. Reisner later stated that he had changed his mind about the latter due to its ability to provide habitat for birds.

Death

Reisner died of

colon cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel mo ...

on July 21, 2000, at his home in San Anselmo, California, survived by his wife, biochemist Lawrie Mott, and their two daughters Ruthie and Margot. His final book, ''A Dangerous Place'', was completed before his death but did not appear in print until 2003.

Books

* '' Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water'' (1986, revised 1993). * ''Overtapped Oasis: Reform or Revolution for Western Water'' (with Sarah Bates) (1990). * '' Game Wars: The Undercover Pursuit of Wildlife Poachers'' (1992). * ''A Dangerous Place: California's Unsettling Fate'' (2003).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reisner, Marc 1948 births 2000 deaths Writers from California Earlham College alumni 20th-century American non-fiction writers People from San Anselmo, California Deaths from colorectal cancer Deaths from cancer in California