This Was Our Valley was a phenomenal success when first released in 1989, winning the Alberta Culture Nonfiction prize as well as the Silver medal for the Roderick-Haig Brown BC Books award.

Construction of the W.A.C. Bennett Dam commenced in 1963, and went online in 1967. The resulting 640-square mile (1660 square kilometre) reservoir backing the dam was named for Ray Williston, then-BC Minister of Minister of Lands, Forests and Water Resources. The gargantuan lake swallowed up the land and all that had dwelt within the valley.

The first editions of This Was Our Valley brought to light the phenomenal changes wrought by the project, from fluctuating water flow-levels to continued erosion of the banks, to loss of forestry, fish and wildlife habitats, homes and businesses – effects that continue to be experienced downstream to the Peace-Athabasca Delta.

A second dam, Peace Canyon, built 16 miles (25 km) downstream of the W.A.C. Bennett Dam, went on-line in 1980. The 2003 edition of This Was Our Valley detailed this dam’s construction, and sold all printings out.

And then came the announcement that a third dam, called Site C, would be built on the Peace River near Fort St. John, 56 miles (90 km) downstream from Peace Canyon. Long planned by BC Hydro, and twice scuttled, the project shook the senses of people province-wide and sounded the death knell for what remained of the BC sector of the Peace River.

Amid protests, then-BC premier Christie Clark famously announced on January 31, 2017, that the late Bill Bennett (BC Premier 1975-86) had got Site C started and she would get it finished, vowing that prior to the election to be held May 9, 2017, “I will get it past the point of no return.” She did not count on the anger of the people and the protests that raged Canada-wide.

This new edition of This Was Our Valley registers the voices that demand to be heard. Some are for the project: those of project-owner BC Hydro; contractors and workers who expect employment building Site C Dam; and a population that believes the power will be needed in future. It also chronicles the opinions of those in protest: Treaty 8 First Nations members; farmers, fishers, and wildlife experts; environmentalists, naturalists, and specialists advocating new technologies such as solar and wind-power, or run of the river dams that are less destructive to agricultural and wildlife environments.

This Was Our Valley records facts, figures and fables to bring readers into the heart of the Valley, and allow them to evaluate the reasoning behind Site C Dam and its reservoir, and further displacement for road realignments.

While the Peace River will never again flow in a natural state, perhaps when the tallies are all in, and all pros and cons accounted for, answers to these timely questions might provide solace.

Shirlee Smith Matheson was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, but has lived in over twenty different communities. Her own experiences of making new friends and leaving familiar things behind inform many of her stories. Shirlee is an alumna of the Banff Centre's writing program and has published award-winning fiction and non-fiction books for adults and young people. She lives in Calgary, Alberta.

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