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Statement presented by David Ross Brower
Mr. Chairman, members of the Committee, and staff: Thirty-three years after my first testimony before Congress I was at again, on behalf of the Arctic National Wildlife Range. Now, ten years later still, this old
mountaineer is asked to climb Capitol Hill yet again, to continue what I have tried to do for the past 47 years on behalf of the Colorado River, its canyons, its states, and two of the wonders of the world - the Grand
Canyon and now the place we hardly knew, Glen Canyon. At the moment, I wish to present only a brief summary of the disaster that has befallen Glen Canyon-the great mistake of Lake Powell. I would like to make
available to the committee and the media the material I put together in an attempt to prevent the great mistake- three films, hours of congressional testimony, a grand canyon conference, and summaries of what was
presented at length to the media, in interview, and at other conferences. This effort was called to a halt in 1956 when, as the Executive Director of the Sierra Club, I was required by its board of directors to cease
the club's opposition to the Colorado River Storage Project-opposition which, I am convinced, would otherwise have blocked the project for good reason. I want to remind the members if I may, of the opportunity your
predecessors of both parties seized to protect the earth's wild places, in particular in establishing Wilderness Areas, National Parks, Wildlife Refuges, wild rivers, and National Monuments. Indeed, until the Carter
administration, Republicans saved and protected more National Monuments than did the Democrats. I would like to see them rejoin the contest. Since 1969, when I founded the League of Conservation Voters as part of
Friends of the Earth, the League had to lean backwards pretty far to find Republicans who revered the environment rather than deplore protecting it. David Ross Brower Earth Island Institute (Chairman)
Sierra Club (Director)
Glen Canyon Institute (Director) |
