River of Redemption

Incorporating seven years of photography and research, Krista Schlyer portrays life along the Anacostia River, a Washington, DC, waterway rich in history and biodiversity that has nonetheless lingered for years in obscurity and neglect in our nation's capital. River of Redemption offers an experience of the river that reveals its eons of natural history, centuries of destruction, and decades of restoration efforts. The story of the Anacostia echoes the story of rivers across America.

Inspired by Aldo Leopold's classic book, A Sand County Almanac, Krista Schlyer evokes a consciousness of time and place, taking readers through the seasons in the watershed as well as through the river's complex history and ecology. As with rivers nationwide, the ways we've changed the Anacostia affect the people and wildlife that inhabit its shores, from the headwaters in Maryland, past its confluence with the Potomac River, and ultimately to the Chesapeake Bay. Centuries of abuse at the hands of people who have altered the landscape and mistreated the waterway have transformed it into a polluted, toxic soup unfit for swimming or fishing. The forgotten river is both a reminder of the worst humanity can do to the natural landscape and a wellspring of memory that offers a roadmap back to health and well-being for watershed residents, human and non-human alike.

Blending stunning photography with informative and poignant text, River of Redemption offers the opportunity to reinvent our role in urban ecology and to redeem our relationship with this national river and watersheds nationwide.
"Krista Schlyer rediscovers a treasure in our nation's capital, the Anacostia River. A gifted story teller and photographer, she leads us on a moving expedition of human failure and the miracle of nature's renewal." --Tommy Wells, Director, Department of Energy and Environment
--Tommy Wells
"Krista Schyler has woven her way into the soul of the Anacostia with poetic prowess. . . . a symphony of beauty through words and photos. As the river becomes cleaner and sparks more recreation on the water and development on the waterfront, it behooves us to protect the ecological system that has given birth there. Krista has showered the Anacostia with a sense of wonder as she pays tribute to the river of redemption."--Brenda Lee Richardson, Director, Earth Conservation Corps Monique Johnson Anacostia River Center--Brenda Lee Richardson