Making and Remaking Waters Wild: Environmental Humanities and Multispecies Justice

Abstract

This dissertation investigates human-animal relationships in city conservation actions to reintroduce and resettle riverine species. I chart the cultural implication and historical context of the beaver and sturgeon as they traveled across the Milwaukee River in recent years following their reappearance and reintroduction in the river. I argue that the struggles, expectations, and impact of the last twenty years of river conservation are still based in imperial colonization. Even though these Lake Sturgeon and Beaver are native to Milwaukee, since they have been missing from the landscape for nearly 200 years, some people claim they do not belong. For instance, these recent contentious issues – (1) the federal lawsuit regarding the beaver management program and (2) the debate over exemption of Lake Sturgeon from the Endangered Species Act – reveal how the confrontations over these political and legal issues were simultaneously historical debates. They offer a lens onto how these controversies which center on lake ecologies and rivers in Milwaukee and elsewhere in Wisconsin bear wider implications for engaging with matters of multispecies justice in the past, present, and future.As a place-based approach, I trace the activities of organizations and groups whose interest in certain species, has inspired them to help create more healthy ecosystems, bringing restoration, people, and nonhuman animals together in new ecological niches. The interactions and engagement of multiple species on the Milwaukee River during resettlement and reintroduction is an attempt of recompensation. This restoration of species and environments generates unexpected faunal relations, with the Milwaukee waterways acting as liaisons and intermediaries. Enriching the local environment through cleaner waters, planting of trees along the shoreline, and the removal of manmade dams has allowed beaver to naturally return to the river. The building of fish passages, strong public support, and a network of advocates and volunteers have given sturgeon a home in Milwaukee after their disappearance in the late 1800s. Both creatures suffered dislocation, forced removal, and were killed in droves, but multiple organizations, federal and nonprofit, support the return of the sturgeon. In addition, while beavers are returning to these urban environments naturally, sturgeon are bred and reintroduced into the city’s waters. Ultimately, I detail the consequences and impact of human activities on environmental health, nonhuman beings, and Milwaukee waterways.