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Hetch Hetchy in the News Media

For the Calendar Year 2006

2006 News Archive - See Also Current News

December, 2006

Secrets of Hetch Hetchy (PDF of The Argonaut's December Issue)
by Warren Hinckle
The Argonaut (San Francisco, Nov-Dec., 2006)
Editorial arguing that "this is a fine time to take serious look at the real possibilities of repairing our city's sins against nature without doing damage to our water and power supply." Accompanied by more than a dozen photos, including O'Shaugnessy's Hetch Hetchy holiday cards, and text from Restore Hetch Hetchy's Finding the Way Back to Hetch Hetchy report, and Gift Ideas from our Catalog!

November, 2006

America to regain lost paradise: A California valley disappeared under a reservoir 80 years ago. Dreams of reclaiming it are now coming true
By Paul Harris
The London, UK Guardian (November 19, 2006)
It is the Atlantis of modern American environmentalism: a lost paradise of unsurpassable beauty in the California highlands that sank beneath the waves of a reservoir almost a century ago.... Now hopes are high that Hetch Hetchy will re-emerge in one of the biggest restoration projects on American soil. It could cost billions and take years, but its proponents say it would herald a new age of restoring damaged eco-systems. "It is an idea whose time has come. This is a signal of hope. This will show that the Earth can restore itself," said Ron Good, founder of Restore Hetch Hetchy, the group spearheading the project.

October, 2006

Hetch Hetchy Informational Hearing (Windows Media)
Watch the complete three-hour October 10, 2006 Hetch Hetchy Informational Hearing held by the California Assembly Standing Committee on Water, Parks & Wildlife, webcast archive by The California Channel.

Hetchy hearing ahead at state capitol
By Mike Morris
The (Sonora) Union Democrat (October 6, 2006)
A hearing focusing on how to proceed with the Hetch Hetchy Valley restoration debate is scheduled for Tuesday in Sacramento.
The 9 a.m. hearing at the Capitol is in response to the California Department of Water Resources' "Hetch Hetchy Restoration Study" —a 62-page report that says tearing down O'Shaughnessy Dam and draining Hetch Hetchy Reservoir is possible, but will cost between $3 billion and $10 billion.... Jerry Cadagan, chairman of Restore Hetch Hetchy's Board of Directors, said he plans to attend the hearing with Ron Good, the group's executive director. Jerry Meral — the main author of Restore Hetch Hetchy's 2005 feasibility study — will testify on behalf of the group. "We're trying to get some sense of what the next logical step is," Cadagan said.

August, 2006

Hetch Hetchy restoration debate builds
By Mike Morris
The (Sonora) Union Democrat (August 24, 2006)
A proposal to tear down O'Shaughnessy Dam and drain Hetch Hetchy Reservoir has sparked strong opinions on both sides of the debate.
Last month's release of a California Department of Water Resources report on the proposal has spurred renewed debate. Although the state stops far short of endorsing the project, and although both sides of the debate have used parts of the report in their own arguments, it has given the idea legitimacy....

Star power joins debate
By Mike Morris
The (Sonora) Union Democrat (August 15, 2006)
Harrison Ford, star of such blockbusters as "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones," visited Hetch Hetchy Reservoir to narrate a documentary that suggests O'Shaughnessy Dam be torn down....

Greens Call for Removing Dam to Restore Hetch Hetchy Valley
August 15, 2006
Reporting by Roddy Scheer
E Magazine (August, 2006)
Environmentalists are calling the new campaign to remove Yosemite National Park’s O’Shaughnessy Dam and restore the majestic canyon of the Hetch Hetchy Valley “a piece of unfinished work that John Muir left to his heirs.”

July, 2006

Undo Hetch Hetchy's Dam Shame
Bay Area folks claim L.A. stole the Owens Valley, but San Francisco has to do some atoning of its own.
By Bill Stall,
Los Angeles Times (July 27, 2006)
SAN FRANCISCANS have long castigated Los Angeles for sneaking into the Owens Valley a century ago and "stealing" its water. But Bay Area folks become apoplectic when anyone suggests tampering with their water supply, the source of which is a far greater infamy than the Owens Valley dust-up.... Los Angeles has given up more of its own pristine supply of water for the sake of the environment than the city of San Francisco uses from Hetch Hetchy. The state study showed what everyone knew: Restoring Hetch Hetchy Valley would be a massive, complex problem that would cost a lot of money and take a lot of time... Californians should never lose sight of that goal....

Editorial: Half a Hetchy study
State's review doesn't resolve debate
Sacramento Bee (July 20, 2006)
The Schwarzenegger administration's new analysis of restoring Hetch Hetchy, the lesser known of Yosemite National Park's magnificent valleys, provides ammunition for both sides in the debate.... This was never intended to be an exhaustive, definitive, end-the-debate study. This study was supposed to provide a road to clarifying the conflicting public values posed by the choice of keeping the valley underwater or returning it to the American people.... What next? The National Park Service should have been a co-author of this study. It sadly was not.A definitive study awaits the necessary partnership of federal and state governments, stakeholders and a funding source. If philanthropists and forward-thinking foundations are looking to fund a study of historic proportions for a dramatic setting with conflicting public values, this is it. Yosemite deserves to be managed based on the best possible analysis of a solid set of facts, not by ignorance....

State Hetch Hetchy study says valley can be restored
By Mike Taugher
Contra Costa Times (July 20, 2006)
It is one of the biggest and boldest -- some say craziest -- ideas among conservationists today: Drain San Francisco's water supply and restore Hetch Hetchy to its previous life as Yosemite Valley's smaller twin. In the most comprehensive study to date on the proposal, state officials say it can be done... "It does appear technically feasible to restore the Hetch Hetchy Valley. However, it is premature to evaluate its financial feasibility," the study concluded. The proposal to restore the seven-mile-long valley in Yosemite National Park has gained steam in recent years, rekindling passions from a century ago. Then, John Muir railed that Congress might just as well flood a cathedral. State officials caution that their study is a survey of existing reports and that many issues remain unaddressed. Much more analysis, about $65 million worth, needs to be done before any decisions can be made, they said.... "The study confirms it is possible to restore the other Yosemite Valley," said Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, D-Davis, whose committee on water, parks and wildlife will hold a hearing on the issue. "The idea of having a valley which is the equal to Yosemite is something that really stirs a vision that most people would embrace."

State Agrees Restoring Hetch Hetchy is Feasible
(Restore Hetch Hetchy Press Release (July 19, 2006)
“The Schwarzenegger Administration’s report confirms earlier conclusions by our organization and others that restoration of Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park is feasible and practical, and can be achieved with no harm to San Francisco Bay Area water and power users and Central Valley irrigation districts,” said Restore Hetch Hetchy’s Executive Director Ron Good...
The State’s cost estimates as high as $10 billion appears to include the cost of new and unrelated storage facilities not necessitated by the elimination of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and the replacement of its water and power delivery capability. RHH estimates the cost of its recommended alternatives for removal of the dam, replacement of water and power supplies, and valley restoration to be approximately $1 billion, and stands by that estimate.

June, 2006

Editorial: Hetchy, almost hatched
State's review to surface at campaign time
Sacramento Bee (June 17, 2006)
Word is that state officials have authorized the printing of the long-awaited study of the feasibility of restoring Yosemite National Park's Hetch Hetchy Valley.... We have grown excited about the possibilities for restoring Hetch Hetchy because of some potential flexibility in the Bay Area's water system. Hetch Hetchy is but one of nine reservoirs in the system. Either by expanding others, maximizing their use or storing water underground, the same supplies may continue to be captured as Hetch Hetchy gets reclaimed. Even so, it is important to remember that the discussion is very preliminary. The study that the Schwarzenegger administration is about to release is an overall sketch of feasibility. No matter what the study says, big details remain to be considered.

May, 2006

Discover Hetch Hetchy Video Wins “Best Short”
Environmental Defense CA Update, (May, 2006)
A new video from Environmental Defense, Discover Hetch Hetchy, was awarded the "Best Short" prize at the 2006 Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival and played to a packed Smithsonian theater during the Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital. Documentary filmmaker David Vassar (whose credits include The Spirit of Yosemite, a stunning 23-minute introduction to Yosemite National Park shown exclusively at the park’s visitor center) blends the human and natural history of Hetch Hetchy Valley, as he documents this pivotal preservation battle and how the valley could be reclaimed. Watch a preview of the film or email dmckenzie@environmentaldefense.org for a copy.

February, 2006

Restore Hetch Hetchy Welcomes Three New Board Members
Press Release, (February 8, 2006)
RESTORE HETCH HETCHY WELCOMES DISTINGUISHED
AND DIVERSE GROUP OF NEW MEMBERS TO ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Restore Hetch Hetchy today announced that three new members have recently joined its Advisory Committee. The new members are:
• DAVID CURRY
• NORMAN (“IKE”) LIVERMORE
• TONY ROWELL
“Restore Hetch Hetchy is indeed fortunate to have such a professionally and geographically diverse group of individuals on our Advisory Committee, as our organization moves forward with its goal of restoring Yosemite National Park’s Hetch Hetchy Valley to its natural state,” said Ron Good, Executive Director of Restore Hetch Hetchy.

January, 2006

Editorial: Hetch Hetchy's moment:
State, feds need to support further study of this Yosemite treasure's future
Sacramento Bee (January 22, 2006)
The question for the public is: What is the highest, best use of this magnificent valley? The answer can come only through a truly definitive study.... Count us among those whose gut tells them that historic change is in order. In a future California with perhaps 50 million people yearning for natural respites, Hetch Hetchy is more valuable as a meadow surrounded by stunning waterfalls and granite peaks than as a water tank.

For earlier stories, see:

To get involved in the effort to restore Hetch Hetchy, contact Restore Hetch Hetchy at: info@hetchhetchy.org, To get involved in the effort to restore Hetch Hetchy, contact Restore Hetch Hetchy at: info@hetchhetchy.org, 6114 La Salle Ave. #457, Oakland, CA 94611. Telephone: (510) 655-1876.

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Updated 10-12-05

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