Hetch Hetchy Restoration Advocates Find a New Friend in President Bush
Posted March 27, 2007 by Laura ArmstrongPresident Bush just signed a budget proposal that included a seven million dollar study of the possible removal of O’Shaughnessy Dam and restoration of Hetch Hetchy Valley, through which used to flow the headwaters of the Toulumne River. Although the proposal may seem a bit inconsistent with some of Bush’s prior policies, it is a welcome and incredibly significant development in environmental politics. The restoration of Hetch Hetchy Valley would be the first major federal testament to the fact that perhaps some of the many dams that were built across the West were in fact a bit superfluous and are now dispensable. It would symbolize a shift in thinking, a drive towards finding alternatives and thinking more about conservation rather than finding new ways to keep taking more and more from our natural environment. It would be a powerful precedent and reference point for future conservation battles over other rivers, including the one currently ongoing over the American River and Auburn Dam. Whatever it is that is motivating our president towards this particular environmental cause, I’m all for it. Let’s hope our Congress agrees! For more details and perhaps a bit less opinion, check out this article from the Union Democrat: