"The Niagara Reservation was established by law in 1885, with the mandate to restore and preserve the primeval vegetation about Niagara Falls. This volume explores the early history and struggle of those who sought to reclaim and preserve that wilderness and those who found opportunity for hydropower development. It is a case study in efforts to protect native vegetation and species in an exceptionally area in the face of vigorous business development."--back cover. A companion to Botanical heritage of islands at the brink of Niagara Falls by Patricia Eckel published in 2013.