Dbq Hetchy Project

In the 1800s, the first national debate occurred over the idea of damming Hetch Hetchy. The two sides include Preservationists who wanted to preserve Hetch Hetchy and Conservationist who believed that we should take advantage of the resources Hetch Hetchy provides. This created conflicts between the Conservationists and the Preservationists over the thought of building a dam in Hetch Hetchy. However, the Preservationists ultimately failed to convince Congress to stop the damming of the Hetch Hetchy due the ability to make money off the reservoir and the resources Hetch Hetchy provides that would benefit the people of San Francisco. This is proven through several of documents written by Gifford Pinchot and John Raker, San Francisco District

In the testimony before the House Committee on the Public Lands on June 1913, Pinchot (an advocate for conservationists) stated that “the use of the park will be enormously increased” (Pinchot and Raker 2). This means the the ability to have multiple use of the land can allow the government to create more than just an attraction site, but also create activities and different things people can do there for a price. Also in the testimony before the House Committee on the Public Lands on June 1913, Pinchot also stated that “the national park will be visited by a very large number of people who cannot visit them now” (Pinchot and Raker). This gives government the opportunity to make money, because people would pay money in order to see the beauty of the land now that it is cleared up. As a result, the ability to make money off the reservoir can increase the budget of San Francisco for things like roads and also benefit the people of San

In the Petition to the Senate of United States Supporting the Raker Bill on December 1913, San Francisco Examiner (a group of citizens of California who are conservationists) wrote, “[Hetch Hetchy] will give San Francisco the only available water supply adequate for its present and future needs” (San Francisco Examiner 4). This means that the water that Hetch Hetchy provide will ensure that the usage of water for residents of San Francisco won’t be low for a while. In the Telegram from the Executive Board Supporting the Raker Bill on December 2, 1913, San Francisco District of the California Federation of Women’s Clubs stated, “health is endangered through the necessity of making domestic use of water coming from questionable sources” (SFDC FWC 3). The questionable water source the currently have can possibly harm the health of people. However with clean water would prevent health concerns in the safety and cleanliness of the water. Using the reservoir can help prevent a decrease in useable water level in San Francisco and prevent health harms from the water coming from “questionable