Apply Today! Monroe was a Chicago poet who joined Muir and others on their 1908 and 1909 outings to the valley. Hetch Hetchy, a glacially carved valley situated in the northern end of the park, was flooded and dammed in the early 1900s in order to serve as the primary drinking water source for parts of San Francisco and the Bay Area. Hetch Hetchy is the incredible story of Americas most controversial dam and the birth of the environmental movement. As the battle lines were drawn, the different methods employed by each side in presenting their case spoke to some of their basic assumptions about the nature of the issue. Pinchot argued that applying the principle of the greatest good for the greatest number, meant the benefits accrued to the people of San Francisco from having the dam far outweighed leaving the valley in its current state. On this point we hold that while we are willing to die for the lives or the health of the citizens of San Francisco, we are not willing to die for their pockets. From our petition "The cost of replacing water storage in Hetch Hetchy Valley to maintain the current levels of water service and electrical power production by CCSF would be approximately 2 billion dollars, including 199 million dollars for additional interties, 372 million dollars for water supply, 387 million dollars for water treatment, 669 He was a firm believer in utilitarian conservation. Photo: Chris Migeon She says the water first leaves Hetch Hetchy through the O'Shaughnessy Dam. Hetch Hetchy, unlike other water storage facilities in California, is relatively buffered from near-term climate change because of its high elevation. Utilizing its superior resources, the city produced a detailed report which made a compelling case that, far from damaging the beauty of Yosemite, the dam would actually enhance it. Day 6: Hetch Hetchy Reservoir to San Francisco. It then cascades on its westward descent through the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne, and enters the eastern end of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. Muir and other defenders of Hetch Hetchy believe the fight revolved around two central issues. a strong proponent of restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley and Senator Feinstein is still[when?] Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, encompassing 2,000 acres of federal park land, has clearly been maintained for the benefit of San Francisco with minimal consideration of the wider public whose tax dollarsand, in the case of visitors, entrance feessupport the national park. Animals were principally driven along Joseph Screech's trail from Big Oak Flat to Hetch Hetchy. The Valley Below | The Verge Annie Li, a senior engineer at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, points to the yellow and brown squiggly lines on the map, revealing our water's path from Hetch Hetchy to the Bay Area. Gravel, logs, and other important food and habitat features can become trapped. [35] Muir, who himself had briefly worked as a shepherd in Hetch Hetchy, was known for calling sheep "hoofed locusts" because of their environmental impact. It is part of our More than Just Parks Environmental Heroes series. "[22], The valley's name may be derived from a Miwok word earlier anglicized as hatchhatchie, which means "edible grasses"[8][23] or "magpie". High temperatures prevail in summer months, but that is a small price to pay for the reward of vast wilderness filled with stunning peaks, hidden canyons, and remote lakes. This 1910 view shows Kolana Rock and Tueeulala Falls in the background. If you love that insider feeling of discovering an often-overlooked gem, plan a stop at Buck Meadows on your way to or from Hetch Hetchy. In 1913, Woodrow Wilson appointed Lane his Secretary of the Interior. But Hetch Hetchy was a federally protected as part of Yosemite National Park. The gently rolling terrain has excellent views of the water and eye-catching Kolana Rock, which towers roughly 2,000 feet above. They also remove water needed for healthy in-stream ecosystems. Dam Hetch Hetchy! There have been lawsuits over whether San Francisco violated the agreements of the Raker Act. [3] Kolana Rock, at 5,772ft (1,759m), is a massive rock spire on the south side of the Hetch Hetchy Valley. Due to its high-altitude location at 3,900 feet above sea level and its snowmelt-fed water supply, water from Hetch Hetchy Reservoir behind O'Shaughnessy Dam does not require filtration. Hiking Hetch Hetchy: the unknown Yosemite National Park - 2TravelDads . The dam was then 227 feet (69m) high; its present height of 312 feet (95m) was achieved only later, in 1938. The National Park Service concluded that two years after draining the valley, grasses would cover most of its floor and within 10 years, clumps of cone-bearing trees and some oaks would take root. Owned by the city of San Francisco, Hetch Hetchy Reservoir provides water to 2.7 million residents and businesses in the San Francisco Bay Area. While the debate goes on, Hetch Hetchy remains a relaxing and often-overlooked corner of the park much to the delight of hikers and backpackers who prefer less touristy experiences. Fourth, dams alter water quality. There are thousands of dams in the United States. As a result, San Francisco secured a reliable and . The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir also serves to provide energy in the form of hydroelectricity, with a capacity of over 200 megawatts a year. Albert Bierstadt was known for his sweeping landscapes of the American West. 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 Restoration would not only make Yosemite whole once again it would inspire people that we don't need to live with mistakes of the past" But tearing OShaughnessy Dam down now in order to restore Hetch Hetchy Valley would be a disaster. The network goes from the Sierra Nevada mountains, across the Central Valley and out to the coast, and serves 2.5 million Californians in 30 cities across four counties. [45], The controversy over Hetch Hetchy was in the context of other political scandals and controversies, especially prevalent in the Taft administration. Other trails also continue to Lake Vernon. This can be very disorienting to fish and disrupt their migrations as they depend on steady streams and flows to guide them. What one Secretary of the Interior giveth, another taketh away. Bierstadts paintings and Muirs writings began to publicize the beauty of the Hetch Hetchy Valley. From 1901 - 1913, John Muir led the Sierra Club in a campaign to protect the Hetch Hetchy Valley, a part of Yosemite National Park, from being filled by a reservoir. [citation needed], The Hetch Hetchy Valley began as a V-shaped river canyon cut out by the ancestral Tuolumne River. Instead, it was a more complicated battle which pitted public interests against private interests. while birds, bees, and butterflies help the river and waterfalls to stir all the air into music. In spite of Muirs eloquent and heated objections, the Raker Act was signed into law in December of 1913. Hetch Hetchy was the first major battle of the environmental movement. [67], Preservation groups including the Sierra Club and Restore Hetch Hetchy state that draining Hetch Hetchy would open the valley back up to recreation, a right that should be provided to the American people because the reservoir is within the legal boundaries of a national park. [2] From Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, the water flows through the Canyon and Mountain Tunnels to Kirkwood and Moccasin Powerhouses, which have capacities of 124 and 110 megawatts, respectively. Second, the sanctity of the national parks which they believed should not be violated. [46], Work on the Hetch Hetchy Project began in 1914. On December 19, 1913, Congress passed and President Wilson signed the Raker Act which permitted the building of the OShaughnessy Dam and the flooding of the Hetch Hethcy Valley in Yosemite National Park. Hetch-22 | Ethics: Climate Change - Galen Hiltbrand 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. Hetch Hetchy Valley is a treasure worth visiting. If youre excited about a long hike or backpacking trip, you can continue to Laurel Lake for a 14.2-mile (22.9 km) out and back. The battle for the Hetch Hetchy Valleys future was not simply preservation versus conservation. Visitors might still need chains to get down Evergreen Road this time of year, but a trip to Hetch Hetchy reveals an example of the potent storms, and a reservoir of controversy for 100 years. Such new supplies are not guaranteed to have the low greenhouse gas emissions profile that Hetch Hetchy water and power do and they could worsen climate change while increasing our vulnerability to it. This effort was famously and vociferously fought by John Muir and was the subject of a national debate for years; the loss later galvanized the Sierra Club to successfully oppose large dams in Dinosaur National Monument and Grand Canyon National Park. [57] Pipelines 3 and 4 end at the Pulgas Water Temple, a small park that contains classical architectural elements which celebrate the water delivery. Richard Ballinger was appointed his Interior Secretary. Giving a Dam: Congress Debates Hetch Hetchy - George Mason University Hetch Hetchy, located at 3,900 feet in Yosemite National Park, is one of the park's most popular hiking . As Muir famously protested: Dam Hetch Hetchy? [6][7], Upstream from the valley lies the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne, while the smaller Poopenaut Valley is directly downstream from O'Shaughnessy Dam. From the turn-off, the road winds for 16.5 miles up the old Hetch Hetchy railroad grade (26.5 km) to the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir, passing many lonely trails along the way. Principally, dam removal on the Klamath will require annual replacement of 696 gigawatt hours of electricity by other means. In its natural state, the valley floor was marshy and often flooded in the spring when snow melt in the high Sierra cascaded down the Tuolumne River and backed up behind the narrow gorge which is now spanned by O'Shaughnessy Dam. The valley floor consisted of roughly 1,200 acres (490ha) of meadows fringed by pine forest, through which meandered the Tuolumne River and numerous tributary streams. So the idea of planning for new water supplies need not be on the ballot. It has two trailhead options. Copyright © 2023 More Than Just Parks | This post may contain affiliate links - read our Standards, Corrections, & Privacy Policy. As surely as forests provided timber, so did they provide beauty, inspiration, and the renewal of over-citified spirits. Have you been to Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in Yosemite? [54] An additional hydroelectric system comprising Cherry Lake, Lake Eleanor and the Holm Powerhouse is also part of the Hetch Hetchy Project, adding another 169 megawatts of generating capacity. This strenuous 2.5-mile, round-trip hike to the Tuolumne River has 1,229 feet of elevation gain. As well dam for water-tanks the people's cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man. San Francisco Mayor James Phelan led the fight to build a dam at Hetch Hetchy. The locations of these two formations roughly correspond with those of Cathedral Rocks and El Capitan seen from Tunnel View in Yosemite Valley. Indeed, Hetch Hetchy today[when?] Over the next decade, he produced fifteen large oils that transformed the valley into a dreamland unlike anything that ever met mortal eye.. Sign up for the email list and join an active community of monthly readers. So visit Hetch Hetchy. They acknowledge that a concerted effort would have to be made to control the introduction of wildlife and tourism back into the valley in order to prevent destabilization of the ecosystem,[68] and that it might be decades or even centuries before the valley could be returned to natural conditions. This fight set the stage for future battles between those who believed natural resources were to be used for the greatest good versus those who believed natural resources were to be preserved for the greatest enjoyment. We can't help it either. There are four fundamental ways in which dams damage rivers. In the northwest corner of Yosemite National Park you can find the Hetch Hetchy Valley. Required fields are marked *. The main power facility in the system, the Moccasin Powerhouse, began commercial operation on August 14, 1925. In this unmanaged scenario, where nature is left to take hold in the valley, eventually a forest would grow, rather than the meadow being restored. Hoover Dam. In the Bay Area, Hetch Hetchy water is stored in local facilities including Calaveras Reservoir, Crystal Springs Reservoir, and San Antonio Reservoir. [9] Formerly, a "small but noisy"[10] waterfall and natural pool existed on the Tuolumne River marked the upper entrance to Hetch Hetchy Valley,[11] informally known as Tuolumne Fall (not to be confused with a similarly named waterfall several miles upriver near Tuolumne Meadows). The exploitation of Californias natural resources continued unabated in the years leading up to Hetch Hetchy. A) 5 billion B . Over the last 35 years, the idea has been studied by the Environmental Defense Fund, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the National Park Service, UC Davis, and several state agencies. Winter weather conditions may cause road closures. A) human well-being B) renewable energy C) environmental sustainability D) cultural services E) human population growth, The current total world population has just passed ________. [75] The remaining deficit would likely have to be replaced by polluting fossil fuel generation. It pitted Gifford Pinchot, Americas first forester, against John Muir, Americas legendary conservationist. The valley provided an escape from the summer heat of the lowlands. Hetch Hetchy, for the time being, was safe, and it would not be inundated during Roosevelts watch.. By 1908, a different Interior Secretary, James R. Garfield, sided with the utilitarian conservationists and issued a permit for the Hetch Hetchy project. OPTION 3Give control to the local people of Hetch Hetchy Wapama and Rancheria Falls Looking up at Wapama Falls from the footbridge on the hiking trail. Albright, along with Stephen Mather, became instrumental players in the creation of a national park system three years after Congress decided the issue of Hetch Hetchy. This reservoir on the Sacramento River has been planned for decades $27.3125/hr Watershed Worker (Summer, 2023) - Hetch Hetchy Water The larger issues at stake would frame environmental debates for years to come. The Dam flooded about nine miles of the river, including the Hetch Hetchy valley. This trail is 13 miles round-trip with 3,700 feet elevation gain. For thousands of years, Native Americans subjected the valley to controlled bushfires, which prevented forest from taking over the valley meadows. Should natural resources be used to serve the greatest good for the greatest number? From this work, we have concluded that it is not wise to reduce water storage facilities considering the realities of a growing population and climate change. Once again, the political pendulum had swung. Hetch Hetchy doesn't require permit, you need just regular National park pass. However, the same NPS study also finds that with intensive management, an outcome in which "the entire valley would appear much as it did before construction of the reservoir" is feasible. He said, So we come now face to face with the perfectly clean question of what is the best use to which this water that flows out of the Sierras can be put. Those in favor of dam removal have pointed out that many actions by San Francisco since 1913 have been in violation of the Raker Act, which explicitly stated that power and water from Hetch Hetchy could not be sold to private interests. Hetch Hetchy: Time to Redeem a Historic Mistake - Sierra Club [63] The city justified this as a temporary measure, but no attempt to follow through with completing the municipal grid was ever made. Wapama Fall is reached via a five-mile, round-trip hike that follows the shoreline of the reservoir with moderate up and downhill hiking. Muir famously said, Dam Hetch Hetchy! The proposed ballot measure calls for the creation of a task force that would spend $8 million to develop a long-term plan for improving water quality and reliability, remediating environmental damages caused by the water supply system, and identifying new water and renewable energy supplies so that Hetch Hetchy Valley could be returned to the National Park Service. . Although there are relatively few visitors to Hetch Hetchy, youll find most of them along the trail to Wapama Fall. View of the OShaughnessy Dam and the Hetchy Hetchy Road and parking. Hetch Hetchy - Yosemite National Park (U.S. National Park Service) If you want to follow the old railroad line today, the Hetch Hetchy Road and most of the Mather Road were built on the old railroad bed and are beautiful scenic drives as well. Divide the class into four small groups. By 1908, a different Interior Secretary, James R. Garfield, sided with the utilitarian conservationists and issued a permit for the Hetch Hetchy project. Congress, confronted with rising public opposition, refused to act on the measure. Glaciers followed these low-points, leaving their own marks in particular carving out the characteristic U-shaped valley with steep sides and wide floor. Dbq Hetchy Project - 663 Words | Internet Public Library Start by hiking across the OShaughnessy Dam then turn east along the shore of the reservoir. Pinchot was recognized as a leader of the conservation movement. Valley, reservoir, and aqueduct in California, USA, sfn error: no target: CITEREFMatthes1930 (, sfn error: no target: CITEREFWohlforth2004 (, sfn error: no target: CITEREFWhitney1874 (, sfn error: no target: CITEREFGlennon2009 (, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Hetch Hetchy, List of dams and reservoirs in California, List of the tallest dams in the United States, "Alternatives for Restoration of Hetch Hetchy Valley Following Removal of the Dam and Reservoir", "Hetch Hetchy Reclaimed: Drain it, then what? The city must pay a lease of $30,000 per year for the use of Hetch Hetchy, which sits on federal land. [21][33] Albert Bierstadt, Charles Dorman Robinson and William Keith were known for their landscapes that drew tourists to the Hetch Hetchy Valley. (Read SPURs analysis of this plan.) It pitted a powerful city against a dedicated group of conservationists. The battle for Hetch Hetchy wasnt just conservationists vs preservationists. The openings in the Taft administration led to the eventual success of the Raker Act. Restore Hetch Hetchy and the Environmental Defense Funds own studies support a lower cost estimate, ranging from $1 billion to $2 billion. California needed secure, reliable access to drinking water for their burgeoning populations. Muir concludes his treatise on Hetch Hetchy with the now familiar words, "Dam Hetch Hetchy! [2] The dam contains 675,000cuyd (516,000m3) of concrete. The main problem with the measure is that in spite of appearing to be about studying best options or planning for future water supplies, it has pre-determined the solution: draining Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. Us too! Being one of the biggest hydroelectric facilities in the United States and a National Landmark, Hoover Dam generates power to serve more than 1.3 million people. Today the 117-billion-gallon reservoir supplies drinking water to about 2.5 million San Francisco Bay Area residents and hydro-electric power generated by two plants downstream. What part should mountains, rivers, natural meadows or wild creatures play in American life? For functional purposes, Hetch Hetchy was a promising solution to San Francisco's serious water shortages. We would be trading flooded acres in one place for flooded acres in another. As John Clayton writes, At the height of Progressivism, Phelan and other good-government types believed that the city should administer its own utilities. Photo: Herbert W. Gleason courtesy of the Sierra Club. In 1987, President Reagans Secretary of the Interior, Donald Hodel, proposed that Hetch Hetchy be restored. 2 Existing Regional Water System - San Francisco Residents drink it in 26 cities and water districts from San. remains the least visited area of the park. This time, in favor of those who wanted to build the dam. Forests might provide for the material well-being of human beings, but they did not exist for this reason alone. [24] It is likely that the edible grass was blue dicks. Even a short stroll from the car gives a magnificent view of the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir from the OShaughnessy Dam. Coming from the San Francisco Bay Area youll pass right through Buck Meadows on Highway 120. It carried workers and materials for the dam, as well as tourists, postage and other amenities. Consequences - Hetch Hetchy: The Valley of Broken Promises . [47] On October 28, 1934 twenty years after the beginning of construction on the Hetch Hetchy project a crowd of 20,000 San Franciscans gathered to celebrate the arrival of the first Hetch Hetchy water in the city. The regional water system provides water to 2.4 million people in San Francisco, Santa Clara, Alameda and San Mateo counties. San Francisco had its eyes on this water source early on and repeatedly tried to acquire water rights to the Tuolumne River. [59] The water quality is high because of the unique geology of the upper Tuolumne River drainage basin, which consists mostly of bare granite; as a result, the rivers feeding Hetch Hetchy Reservoir have extremely low loads of sediments and nutrients. SPUR wholeheartedly agrees that planning for water quality and reliability is important. [40] The city would repeatedly try to acquire water rights to Hetch Hetchy, including in 1901, 1903 and 1905, but was continually rebuffed because of conflicts with irrigation districts that had senior water rights on the Tuolumne River, and because of the valley's national park status. A Trip to Hetch Hetchy and the O'Shaughnessy Dam And today there is even an organization, Restore Hetch Hetchy, which is committed to doing just that. San Francisco assumed from the outset that there would not be significant opposition to using the Hetch Hetchy Valley, even if it was in a national park, for the high and noble purpose of providing water to one of the nations great and growing metropolises, so their efforts in Washington, DC, were conducted discreetly. It is the primary water source for about 2.5 million residents of the San Francisco Bay Area. For all the similarities between Hetch Hetchy Valley and Yosemite Valley, there is one enormous difference the Hetch Hetchy reservoir. [79] Some observers, such as Carl Pope (director of the Sierra Club), stated that Hodel had political motives[80] in proposing the study. These clean and comfortable rooms also enjoy access to the pool, spa and other facilities at Yosemite Westgate Lodge. About one million years ago, the extensive Sherwin glaciation widened, deepened and straightened river valleys along the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, including Hetch Hetchy, Yosemite Valley, and Kings Canyon farther to the south. It's dumb, dumb, dumb. The second concept is preservation. The dam in the Hetch Hetchy valley of Yosemite National Park, first proposed in 1908, was intended to create a reservoir that would provide water and electricity for the burgeoning city of San Francisco.