Reading the Entrails: An Alberta Ecohistory

Sandy Campbell is a reference librarian in the Science and Technology Library at the University of Alberta.

While this book is published by University of Calgary Press, it is not a
scholarly work. It is an unsophisticated look at Alberta’s ecohistory
and, as such, does a moderately good job. The author describes himself
as having taken a view of the province’s ecohistory from his backyard
in residential Calgary. Such a view is necessarily more detailed and
clearer in areas that are closer to Calgary. As a result, there is much
more detail about the ecohistory of the south of the province than of
the north.

The author deals at length with bison, railways, cattle, oil and gas
exploration, and urban centres. However, he gives short shrift to the
ecohistory of the pulp and paper industry, water use, and recreation and
tourism. There are some areas that he explores fully and other areas of
which he grasps only the surface. For example, he deals with the
immediate impact of seismic cutlines on the forest, but fails to
recognize the ongoing impact from recreational use of the cutlines.

While this volume is uneven in its coverage, the content is heartfelt.
The study of Alberta’s eco-history is a developing field and any
serious contribution is welcome.