The debate over damming the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park marked a crossroads in the American conservation movement. Until this debate, conservationists seemed fairly united in their aims. San Francisco's need for a reliable water supply, along with a new political dynamic at the federal level, created a division between those committed to preserving the wilderness and those more interested in efficient management of its use. While this confrontation happened nearly one hundred years ago, it contains many of the same arguments which are used today whenever preservationists and conservationists mobilize.

This unit includes two separate lessons which set the stage for and explore this particular controversy. While each relates to the other, the two are not dependent on each other and, therefore, may be taught separately. We have sought to provide a framework for instructors along with teaching materials they might print off or let their students use on line. With the exception of the extension activity suggestions, students will be working with a "limited archive" of our selection. For reasons outlined in the following technical note section, we have chosen to limit open ended searches.

Technical Note On the Collection

The material found in "The Evolution of the Conservation Movement, 1850-1920" was compiled from several separate collections within the Library of Congress. Each has its own peculiar searching and viewing challenges. General searches across these collections can be frustrating unless the searcher understands how the collection was compiled. Before using these lessons, we strongly urge instructors to read the How to View information.

Lesson One: What Is Conservation and Why Does It Matter? (2-3 Days)

Lesson Two: Case Study: Should the Hetch Hetchy be Dammed? (4-5 Days)

In this lesson students will examine the controversy surrounding the city of San Francisco's request to turn the Hetch Hetchy Valley into a water reservoir to meet its increasing needs. (The Hetch Hetchy was a part of Yosemite National Park.) Students will explore the divisions this controversy exposed within the conservation movement by using teacher selected documents and text representative of both sides of the debate along with actual records of the congressional hearings held to decide the valley's fate.

Evaluation and Extension

Created by Michael Federspiel and Timothy Hall.