Restoration of the Great Lakes: Promises, Practices, and Performances

The Great Lakes inspire evocative language and hyperbolic metaphors, from the “sweet seas” of Samuel de Champlain to the “bold shores” of Henry R. Schoolcraft. Yet, the attitudes, values, and behaviors of settlers, both Native American and European, often reflect the utilitarian values of the Lakes and their resources. In this challenging study, Mark Sproule-Jones examines the history of the key uses of the Great Lakes, and the relative successes and failures of the institutions that govern the Lakes’ resource management. Ultimately, he concludes that human beings need to find better ways of integrating social, community, and individual human needs with the needs of the Lakes themselves, in an effort to create new policies of balance and usage.

Mark Sproule-Jones is Professor of Political Science, McMaster University.