A Brief History Lesson

The United States may be a young country, but our colorful past has been dotted with a number of exciting periods of growth and upheaval. Focusing on a particular movement whose history would be beneficial to understand when designing future plans would be environmentalism; it may be one of the most interesting cultural shifts seen in the recent past of the American psyche. Let's jump back to the early 1900s when environmental reformists were some the top dogs in the political arena. Arguably one of the first and most influential advocates for stewardship, or "wise use", was Teddy Roosevelt. He, with the help of John Muir, pushed for the preservation of unspoiled wilderness for future generations to enjoy. He set the stage for future reformers with the laws and bureaus he created during his presidency.

via The Washington Post Archives

I was pleased to find many sources reported Roosevelt's respect for nature to be genuine. His actions coincide with his political leanings, as was depicted in the Washington Post's political cartoon seen to the left (14 Nov 1902). 
While on a hunting trip, Theodore Roosevelt declines to shoot a youngling tied to tree. Fun fact: Many believe this comic may have inspired the public's nickname of "Teddy", since he doesn't enjoy killing baby animals. Just like a teddy bear.


What I did not know before this project was that dams had been been built by the federal government far before the environmental movements of the early 1900s. Their history in the US goes back to the 1820s, when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers designed and built a multitude dams to improve navigation on the Ohio River.  Their work then expanded to storage dams along the upper Mississippi river after the Civil War.  In 1902 Congress established the Bureau of Reclamation, which played a dramatic role in the influx of federal funding for dam construction. For the next few decades a large number of Bureau of Reclamation dams dotted the West coast. 

A map showing the ~100 dams considered for future removal plans

These two organizations, the Reclamation and the Corps, have built the majority of major federal dams seen in the United States.  These dams serve a wide variety of purposes from hydroelectric power sources to flood protection.  Most dams funded by the Bureau of Reclamation primarily functioned as water storage and delivery requirements. Conversely, U.S.A.C. of Engineers dams come with important secondary functions. On their website's mission statement they clearly state their designs intend to incorporate "management of the Nation’s water resources, protection and management of the natural environment, restoration of aquatic ecosystems, flood risk and emergency management, [and] military and civil engineering technical service".  


While the principles of dam construction written above may be stated without guile, here are some current statistics provided by the American Society of Civil Engineers:

Statistics like these do a wondrous job of highlighting one of the many factors needed to be considered when planning in the future. Economics play in a important role in what gets funded and what doesn't. Over the past few decades dams have not received the necessary upkeep, and we're now standing at a crossroad: spend the money to repair and sustainably redesign dams or remove them and find a new energy source? Where would our money be better spent?