In my opinion I am . John Muir was the main proponent for the preservationists. In late 2016, the Obama administration designated an area in southeastern Utah as Bears Ears National Monument. George Knapp held the view of the common American and stated Our natural resources have been used, not wasted. On the global level, many people recognize the wisdom in preserving wilderness simply because the Earth itself is our home and should be respected and honored. It carried workers and materials for the dam, as well as tourists, postage and other amenities. One of the more recent conflicts is the Keystone XL Pipeline. used tiffin motorhomes . True, a smaller Lake Eleanor was already there. Next well ask for a review from the state Supreme Court.. All these iconic wild places are part of your "great American backyard." This grossly destructive commercial scheme has long been planned and urged (though water as pure and abundant can be got from sources outside of the peoples park, in a dozen different places), because of the comparative cheapness of the dam and of the territory which it is sought to divert from the great uses to which it was dedicated in the Act of 1890 establishing the Yosemite National Park. We are fighting a battle to try our case in the California courts, Rosekrans said. Divide the class into four small groups. The projected restored the natural habitat of the river and opened it up to its original course from the Olympic Mountains to the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Today, however, that valley is under 300 feet of water. Hetch Hetchy was the first major battle of the environmental movement. It then outlined five features that form the keystone of this clean, efficient water and power delivery system: The flyer goes on to say that the system supplies their customers with water and power that is delivered by a greenhouse gas-free system.. The Hetch Hetchy Valley and Reservoir in Yosemite National Park, a system that is operated by the San Francisco Public . Many worry that it will intrude on property rights, while others believe that it will be a danger to the environment. John Muir believed that nature was an . That is why I think it is good that the issue is now before the courts. It pitted a powerful city against a dedicated group of conservationists. They also cannot pass through because there is going to be a dam in there way. O'Shaughnessy Dam is a 430-foot (131 m) high concrete arch-gravity dam in Tuolumne County, California, United States.It impounds the Tuolumne River, forming the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir at the lower end of Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park, about 160 miles (260 km) east of San Francisco. We cant build more dams as long as the radical environmental laws make their construction impossible(McClintock). In the 1800s, that number of tress and forests decreased tremendously because expansion and progression recklessly exploited natural resources by clear-cutting forest to use wood for fuel and building supplies. 2. The Hetch Hetchy Project controversy brought into sharp relief the difference between conservation and preservation. If the dams were not built then till this day there would still be and uncontrollable and an uncontrollable, In response to this discussion, Senators Kyl and McCain wrote the article, An Endless Tribal Water Fight, in hopes of defending the intentions of their bill. The Fresno appellate court disagreed. Rosekrans had previously worked at the Environmental Defense Fund, a New York-based environmental advocacy nonprofit, where he was lead author of the 2004 report Paradise Regained: Solutions for Restoring Yosemites Hetch Hetchy Valley. 1244). They would lose about 20% of their hydropower. Most people would probably think that the Dakota Access Pipeline is just another pipeline, like the Alaska pipeline, except, it's not just another pipeline. This created conflicts between the Conservationists and the Preservationists over the thought of building a dam in Hetch Hetchy. students will explore the divisions this controversy exposed within the conservation movement by using teacher selected documents and text representative of both sides of the debate along with actual records of the congressional hearings held to decide the valley's fate. Up to 24% cash back position: Righter, oxford university press, 2005, chapter 1 the uses of the valley,. This few is that whatever man had been taking from nature it only used it for what was, They feel that being able to enjoy the natural beauty of the world was more beneficial to humanity than collecting resources from it and destroying it in the process. It uses a free resource. Hetch Hetchy water travels 160 miles via gravity from . Robin Meadows covers water for the Monitor. This topic is highly controversial because of the negative impacts it causes on the environment, the political issues, and economic benefits. Today, a little over 700 million acres in the United States is forestlandonly thanks to preservation laws. Stated in one of his essays This grossly destructive commercial scheme has long been planned and urged, because of the comparative cheapness of the dam. The valley is in Yosemite National park would deliver power and water to the city over 100 miles away. NEXT. However, even if Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is drained (with its water to be stored elsewhere and the valley restoration begins), Yosemite will still not be whole. Lake Eleanor is another reservoir with another Dam and within the boundary of Yosemite National Park and also part of the Hetch Hetchy water system for San Francisco. Reservoir releases also generate hydropower that San Francisco uses for . In the essay Thinking Like A Mountain, Aldo Leopold tell us how important is sustainability. Building a dam on the tuolumne river at hetch. Your 50025 word paper should: Read each of the articles on the uploaded file. After the built the dam farm land increased by a lot. Instead, he envisions what once was and could be again. Considering the context of the hetch hetchy debate at the time,. Hetch Hetchy is unique because of its small holding capacity in comparison to the vast watershed feeding it. Feb 13, 2022. Theodore Roosevelt: Conservation As A National Duty introduces the problem of the lack of natural resources, and how are we going to fix the problem for future generations? In a 2006 analysis in the Journal of the American Water Resources Association, Lund identified additional options for storing the water that is currently in Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. students will explore the divisions this controversy exposed within the conservation movement by using teacher selected documents and text representative of both sides of the debate along with actual records of the congressional hearings held to decide the valley's fate. The Sierra Club gained 1,000 members by 1908 and from them on continued to rise. May be crucial for the energy transition process. Steve Ritchie, a San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) water manager who oversees the Hetch Hetchy system, says storing the water elsewhere would cost billions of dollars. John Muir believed that nature was an example of the power of god and creation, and that the use of nature through management was an act of defamation. In most areas of the country municipal water must be filtered AND treated. The Don Pedro reservoir, downstream from Hetch Hetchy, on the Tuolumne River, currently has the capacity to hold ALL the water in the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. Posted on May 6, 2013 by Galen Hiltbrand. He is arguing that the conservationist only care about the real dollar cost for the project without consideration for what will be, Environments today that we consider as natural or wilderness are not particularly wild or natural. The Hetch Hetchy Valley was within Yosemite National Park and . This fight set the stage for future battles between those who believed natural resources were to be used for the greatest good versus . A decade later the O'Shaughnessy Dam, the second largest civil engineering project of its day after the Panama Canal, was completed. Hydroelectricity is responsible for 19% of the world's energy supply, offering over 3000 terawatts each year. When people are not aware of where their energy comes from, it threatens their values and ideals. Department of the interior. Energy powers many of the things key to life. His greatest idea was the land ethic. A quote from the movie says: All ethics so far evolved rest upon a single premise that the individual is a member of a community of individual partsland ethic includes soils, waters, plants and animals. Although, Leopold died in 1948, his ideas are still current. Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, a source of drinking water for 2.7 million people in the City of San Francisco, is viewed from O'Shaughnessy Dam on October. Newest results. Knowledge of high and low tide cycles can help a tidal power plant construct an efficient system for generating electricity. Only AFTER the Raker Act was put into place and AFTER the establishment of the National Park Service, was there any supportable cause to dissuade such usage in the future, but certainly NOT retro-actively. Pros: Hetch Hetchy is an iconic, rare and spectacular landscape, Hetch Hetchy is part of Yosemite National Park and its damming and flooding is by far the worst destruction of our national parks have ever experienced. And that is what happened with San Franciscos initial request to be granted the right to build a dam inside the park. Note they also derive water from local watersheds and do filter that supply. Hetch Hetchy Valley as a repository for the water from the Tuolumne River belongs to San Francisco, et al. McEwen, 1972 Fresno High graduate, attended Fresno State and majored in Journalism. Hetch Hetchy is just 15 miles north of Yosemite Valley and the two are often called twins. The floor of Yosemite is about 4,000 feet above the sea, the Hetch -Hetchy floor about 3,700; the walls of both are of gray granite, rise abruptly out of the flowery grass and groves are sculptured in the same style, and in both every rock is a glacial monument. Explore hetch hetchy - view hand-curated trail maps and driving directions as well as detailed reviews and photos from hikers, campers and nature lovers like you. The hearing considers an amendment to the Raker Act that authorized the dam. Wilderness is a type of protection given to the most pristine wildlands left on Earth areas within national parks, forests, recreation areas and other wildlands where there are no roads or development. As it is clear from the Pros and Cons above, (and San Franciscos less than enthusiastic undertaking in alternative view points) there are some sound reasons why San Francisco doesnt want to give up their Dam/Reservoir. It lost in a . Water data back to 1930 are available online. Pinchot stated that to be a good forester you must be a good citizen. You own barren desert plains and looming jagged mountain peaks. Bill McEwen publishes this article in the Fresno Bee, located in Fresno, because he believes the project subsists unhelpful. I also asked San Francisco Water Public Records the following: Ive been curious about the water purity issue and that one of the features of the Tuolumne River is its purity and that it could be delivered without filtration. Through his life experience, he then realize sustainability importance, all species have inherent value in the biosphere, humans have no right to reduce this richness and diversity only to satisfy our needs, from the perspective of, John Muir, a naturalist and preservation pioneer of nature took an ethical stand for land ethics when he shared his thoughts that all living things are equally important parts of the land, and animals and plants have as much right to live and survive as people do. Donald Hodel, then Secretary of the Interior, suggested that the time might be ripe to remove the OShaughnessy Dam that holds back the Tuolumne River creating the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. United States. The proponents of the dam scheme bring forward a lot of bad arguments to prove that the only righteous thing to do with the peoples parks is to destroy them bit by bit as they are able. Current conditions of LAKE OR RESERVOIR WATER SURFACE ELEVATION ABOVE NGVD 1929 and RESERVOIR STORAGE are available. By being able to connect socially and politically Pinchot was able to push his agenda to improve environmental, The plan that has been proposed by Bybee Logging Company is, a reckless proposal, the Bybee Timber Sale, which involves national forest land on the edge of Crater Lake National Park (Environment Oregon). Note: you may use the handout or navigate to our feature on the Hetch Hetchy Environmental Debates to access the overview and copy of the Raker Bill. Hardin defines individual interests as the uses a logical, self-interested person sees for the commons to further his or her personal gain (1968, pp. In todays time, these feuds are highly controversial. . In addition, if the building of two roads were to go near or go through a body of water they would harm the environment of the salmon. The name Hetch Hetchy is derived from a Sierra Miwok word for a type of wild grass. However, the Preservationists ultimately failed to convince Congress to stop the damming of the Hetch Hetchy due the ability to make money off the reservoir and the resources Hetch Hetchy provides that would benefit the people of San Francisco. We arent going to solve our water problems until we begin building more dams. It pitted Gifford Pinchot, America's first forester, against John Muir, America's legendary conservationist.. . The $7 million from the Park Service would, if approved, "provide a preliminary analysis of the advantages of dam retention versus removal and restoration, with emphasis on the potential benefits of . Its not going to be easy or simple and, maybe, not even feasible. Pros: The damming and flooding of Hetch Hetchy, which is a portion of Yosemite National Park, is by far the biggest harm our national parks have ever seen. Some of the costs would be operational, recurring year after year. The Progressive Eras most controversial environmental issue was the 19081913 struggle over federal government approval for building the Hetch Hetchy dam in a remote corner of federally-owned land in Californias Yosemite National Park. Today, hetch hetchy valley is a dammed and flooded reservoir. It is definitely worth to visit Hetch Hetchy area especially in 2021 when main Yosemite area requires booking permits in advance. Guide to Visiting Hetch Hetchy . Not only would restoration make Yosemite entire once more, but would also encourage others that we don't have to continue making . Again, as I said in an earlier post about the nature of the government and of the Department of Interior more specifically, their job was of managing the land resources for progressive purposes (water use, timber, land appropriation). In a brief filed with the appellate court, they said, The trial court did not determine that the continued use of the dam and reservoir was reasonable rather, it concluded that the question could not be examined at all. In other words, they say the trial court did not address the substance of Restore Hetch Hetchys argument. The fact that his book brought about the removal of the Elwha dam is a significant thing and is important to the future of conservation. Encountered a bear meandering down the trail towards us about a 1/2 mile from the fork to go up left . This November, a group of environmental advocates will put forth a ballot measure that would require the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to develop a plan to drain Hetch Hetchy. Located more than 900 metres (3,000 feet) above sea level, the Hetch Hetchy site offered a good storage location in the Sierra Nevada for water that could be delivered without pumping to San Francisco via an aqueduct nearly . Leopold grew up in the 1800s when the railroads were being built and all the forests were being cut down to make room for them. Whether to restore hetch hetchy will be the subject of a panel discussion thursday at the commonwealth club, with experts from both sides of the debate, including tom graff, regional director. Hetch Hetchy is just 15 miles north of Yosemite Valley and the two are often called twins. of 3. During the early 1900s there was a large debate in the United States concerning the proposed construction of the Hetch Hetchy dam. Copyright 2023 IPL.org All rights reserved. Rainer National Park and Glacier National Park. In 1961 they all participated in an expansion of the reservoir creating a larger dam increasing storage from just short of 300,000 acre-feet to a bit over 2,000,000 acre-feet. This conceptual metaphor is used as the allegory for suitability dilemmas. 1245). Hardin writes that the tragedy of the commons is that the conflict between the individual interests and the collective interest will always lead to the depletion of the commons, unless otherwise held in check (1968, pp. This link will take you to the page; just scroll down from there. Throughout the documentary, Leopolds biographer. The Hetch Hetchy Dam is the name of a popular reservoir and water system in the state of California. Generally, hydropower is the one of the oldest and most renewable sources of energy in the world today. Bringing to light the question of progress or plants (for this purpose it is a generic term encompassing various flora and fauna)? Hello, my name is Jeff Kreider. The Hetch Hetchy Dam is destroying a piece of land that is the homes of multiple types of animals. The issue at the time was should a portion of the public lands be given up as a right-of-way for San Francisco, et al, to store and transport water? When the gold rush happen they put yuma on the map. . I reached out to Restore Hetch Hetchy and asked them, WHY Restore Hetch Hetchy wants the valley restored. In response, Spreck Rosekrans, Executive Director said (among other things): Restore Hetch Hetchys mission remains, to return the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park to its natural splendor while continuing to meet the water and power needs of all communities that depend on the Tuolumne River.. 8. The public lands in the context of 1908 and 1913 when the merits were debated, included ALL federally held lands whether wilderness, forests or national parks. We havent built a major dam in this state since 1979, McClintock said. People would save large amounts of money because it was not needed to be used on distillation payments. In the end Congress chose management over aesthetics, voting 4325 (with 29 abstentions) to allow the Hetch Hetchy dam on federal land. The two books give near contemporary accounts of the Hetch Hetchy dam, one by the engineer in charge of building it.