With the surprise resignation June 12 of Dan Beard as
director of the Bureau of Reclamation, Interior Secretary Bruce
Babbitt has lost one of his most effective lieutenants (HCN,
3/20/95). Although Western water has long been a contentious issue,
his reign has been quiet, especially when compared with grazing and
logging. In announcing his departure, effective Sept. 1, Beard said
he thought he’d redefined the agency mission from dam-building to
dam management, reduced the budget by $107 million and downsized
the work force by 20 percent. Conservationists applauded Beard’s
vision of a new Bureau, but were disappointed when BuRec pulled the
plug on a flood release from Glen Canyon Dam this spring, which
would have redeposited sand on the Grand Canyon’s depleted beaches
and improved spawning habitat for native fish. On the other hand,
Steve Harris, head of the Colorado water district that wants to
build the Animas-LaPlata Project, said of Beard’s departure,
“that’s the best news I’ve had all day.
* Rick
Keister
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Dan Beard resigns.
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