BRAVE THE WILD RIVER

A biography of two female botanists who cataloged the plants of the Grand Canyon.

Sevigny, a science journalist for Arizona Public Radio, recounts the details of the 1938 river journey of Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter, who, along with their guide, Norm Nevills, and a few other crew members, traveled down the Colorado River with the goal of cataloging undiscovered plants in the area. As women scientists, Clover and Jotter faced scrutiny even before their trip began. They started in Green River, Utah, and then traveled through Cataract Canyon, Glen Canyon, and the Grand Canyon before ending at Lake Mead. For Clover, the trip “fit perfectly with her dream of cataloging all the Southwest’s cacti, but, more than that, it was a chance to make her mark on the field of botany.” As they made their way down the river, they continued to face challenges, including navigating intense rapids, losing one of their three boats, and contending with aggressive reporters and inaccurate and speculative news reports. When Clover and Jotter finally reached the entrance of the Grand Canyon, they felt apprehensive, but they decided “they had no choice now but to brave the wild river.” Drawing from the crew’s letters and journals, Sevigny brings us directly into the boats and introduces us to many of the plants that Clover and Jotter surveyed and collected, including desert mistletoe, Indian paintbrush, and coyote willow. The author also includes a map of the route and images of the crew at different points along the way. Woven throughout the narrative of Clover and Jotter is the early history of travel on the Colorado River as well as how Indigenous peoples, Europeans, and the Park Service have shaped the ecology of the river over time. As the author notes, women in science still face challenges, stereotypes, and barriers; Sevigny hopes that recalling the past will lead to a more equitable future.

A beautiful tribute to two pioneering women of science.