Saving Grand Canyon

July 8, 2019
In a year that marks the Grand Canyon National Park’s centenary, this thoroughly researched and documented study from Pearson, a West Texas A&M University history professor, revisits the persistent struggles to keep the park dam-free. But beyond this specific focus, his work also captures key pivot points in the changing national mood, particularly from the general optimism of the early 1960s, when “no dream seemed too farfetched,” to the more contentious tone that followed John F. Kennedy’s 1963 assassination. Noting that the political tumult of the mid-’60s included the “rise of modern environmentalism,” Pearson emphasizes the Sierra Club’s role in opposing development of the park. After the Sierra Club issued a series of “Battle Ads” challenging the construction of dams within the park, the IRS revoked the club’s tax-deductible status. Though Pearson concludes by describing how, in 1968, legislation was passed to keep dams out of the Canyon, he warns that it is still “far, far, too early to pronounce dead.” Nature-loving readers will find value in his insights both into a specific conservation milestone and into the broader sweep of the environmentalist movement’s history.

February 14, 2020

Drawing on more than two decades of research, Pearson (history, West Texas A&M Univ.) examines the role of dams in the history of Grand Canyon National Park. For many years, various states and the federal government sought to build hydroelectric dams in or near the national park, with efforts reaching a fever pitch in the 1960s. Though it is commonly thought that the work of conservationist group the Sierra Club was responsible for "saving the Grand Canyon" and the Colorado River, Pearson shows that it was influential congressional leaders who successfully blocked dam construction. Divided into nine chapters, the book covers the history of dam building, including the Glen Canyon Dam and Hetch Hetchy, and illuminates the role of politicians such as Sen. Henry Jackson and Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall. Pearson also discusses how presidential politics in the late 1960s, the changing role of environmental groups, and the adoption of the National Environmental Policy Act shaped public opinion about the need to protect natural lands and resources. VERDICT An important addition for all environmental collections.--Patricia Ann Owens, formerly at Illinois Eastern Community College, Mt. Carmel

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