Dams: ‘Relics’ Or Vital To An ‘All Of The Above’ Fix?

As the West struggles with climate change, drought and rapid population growth, talk about the region’s deepening water woes often boils down to a simple but complicated question. Build more dams and other infrastructure, or ramp up conservation? E&E News put that question to two leading players with strong competing views. Daniel Beard, the commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation in the Clinton administration, is widely credited with shifting the agency’s mission from unrestrained irrigation and water development to environmental management.