Episode 66: Water Narratives
“All of us have a different experience of our worlds, we all build these worlds together, and the narrative that I tell myself in my core about my life is my life. Some of the interesting relational work between people is about how those narratives come in contact and how we build those narratives together.
”
“Resilience and stability really come from instability, and allowing rivers to be, to function in a way that isn’t always predictable. I’m thinking of a river: it meanders, it carves itself, it leaves deposits, it forms islands. It’s interesting that a river has built in this ability to change.
”
A conversation with Drs. Caroline Gottschalk Druschke (University of Wisconsin–Madison) and Marty Holtgren (Encompass Socio-ecological Consulting) about the importance of restoration, oral histories, dams, and rivers. Released January 17, 2025.
guests on the show
Caroline Gottschalk Druschke
Dr. Caroline Gottschalk Druschke is a Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor in the Department of English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Gottschalk Druschke uses her training in rhetoric to consider the logics and practices of freshwater management. Dr. Gottschalk Druschke has presented internationally on her work, published widely across rhetorical studies and environmental sciences, and received fellowships from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, US Environmental Protection Agency, and AAUW and funding from the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Park Service. Her interdisciplinary work began with a B.A. in Social Work at the University of Iowa (1999), and a concentration in Gender and Women’s Studies and a fellowship in the NSF-IGERT program in Landscape, Ecological and Anthropogenic Processes at the University of Illinois at Chicago (2011), and continued with a M.S. in stream ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2021).
Marty Holtgren
Marty is a Fisheries Biologist and Social Scientist. He has enjoyed more than 20 years of experience in fisheries management, native species restoration, cultural revitalization and socio-ecological research. He has managed over 30 major projects involving native species restoration, river restoration, Tribal fishing rights, collective action, fishery management plan development, fish behavior research and evaluation of fishery management techniques. Marty has led many novel projects with Tribal and State agencies including the first effort for streamside rearing of Lake sturgeon in Michigan and evaluating the feasibility of reintroducing Arctic Grayling into Michigan waters. Recently he has focused efforts towards engaging local communities in research and restoration of culturally vital species and habitats. Marty holds a BS in Biology from Bethel College, an MS in Fisheries Biology from Michigan Technological University and a Ph.D. from Michigan Technological University where he focused on developing governance strategies for State and Tribal institutions that are managing fishery resources. He also has numerous peer reviewed publications.