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Re: Hydropower Roads
Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 8:55 pm
by adam921
Maybe you're misinterpreting my question? I know the the roads had to be built to build the dams- what I'm trying to get at is whether you think the wilderness is better off because of the roads. Is the people traffic a good thing or bad thing? (in terms of the environment)
Re: Hydropower Roads
Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 8:58 pm
by rlown
adam921 wrote:Maybe you're misinterpreting my question? I know the the roads had to be built to build the dams- what I'm trying to get at is whether you think the wilderness is better off because of the roads. Is the people traffic a good thing or bad thing? (in terms of the environment)
It's good if they know how to use it correctly.
Re: Hydropower Roads
Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 9:00 pm
by adam921
Definitely, but would you say most people do?
Re: Hydropower Roads
Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 9:02 pm
by rlown
Is this an interview? most do. Some do their own thing. Can't control that; that's why we have laws and rules.
Read the book!
Re: Hydropower Roads
Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 9:13 pm
by adam921
You don't have to answer questions if you don't want to. All I'm trying to do is to get some perspective here.
As far as I can tell the book is history. That's helpful, but not for this question specifically.
Re: Hydropower Roads
Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 9:25 pm
by rlown
adam921 wrote:Hi guys, back to stir up trouble again (just kidding, hopefully not).
I'm doing a research paper on the Big Creek hydro system. For anyone not familiar, that's the system with the road over Kaiser Pass and the dams making Florence, Edison, Shaver, and Huntington Lakes (and more).
At this point i'm fairly certain that the roads would not have existed without the system; a local forester said the timber value just wouldn't be worth the hassle.
That leaves this final question; are the wilderness areas worse or better off because of the roads up there? For the sake of argument, let's assume the road would end at Huntington Lake, and everything beyond that somehow became wilderness.
You first need to define wilderness. Hetch Hetchy redefined wilderness. so does highway 120 for me. If you give people access, they will use it.
It'd be more interesting to look at the option of taking the access away.
Re: Hydropower Roads
Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 9:40 pm
by adam921
I'm just talking about Wilderness Act wilderness. Going into our own definitions would be a really controversial thing I'm sure
Re: Hydropower Roads
Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 9:46 pm
by rlown
so.. define that for us..
Re: Hydropower Roads
Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 9:51 pm
by ERIC
adam921 wrote:I didn't mean to avoid the question at all- I missed that you were talking about the book and not just the article. No, I haven't read the book, have you?
No worries. Just clarifying.
Yes, I have. Recommend you do the same - it's not a time consuming book and should help with your research paper.
Re: Hydropower Roads
Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 9:55 pm
by adam921
“A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain.”
Plus where the boundaries are.
I'll definitely read it, our library has just about everything
