Conflict in the Grand Canyon

Abstract

We were all taught as schoolchildren that the Grand Canyon is one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Three million of us visit each year to stand on the rim and marvel at the timeless, incomprehensible magnitude of the earth-forming processes at work and to float the river in rafts, humbled by the power present. But, of late, controversy has intruded on the magnificence. Born of the different visions that steer scientists, resource managers, and politicians, the disagreement is aggravated by the sometimes conflicting missions of several agencies within the Department of the Interior (DOI)-the Bureau of Reclamation, the National Park Service, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service-and by the power of inertia. The controversy arises over how the Glen Canyon Dam, built in 1963 just 30 miles upstream from Grand Canyon National Park, should be operated. Should operations be set to maximize power production, as they have been traditionally, or should there be operational compromises to protect environmental values? The debate goes beyond the downstream impact of the dam and how its effects might be alleviated. Some of the debate's participants question the historical primacy of power generation and the ability of society to make complex judgments about what it wants from public resources.