A Beacon of Hope for the Environment

“A River Reborn” captures the restoration of Fossil Creek in the Mogollom Rim of Arizona, a process that took fifteen years. Environmentalists, Native Americans, Arizona Public Service, and others involved with the process of restoring the creek reached a compromise without litigation to decommission and dismantle the dam that once existed where the body of water now flows freely.

According to Jack Stanford, director of Flathead Lake Biological Station, dams decrease biodiversity and increase the population of harmful and non-native species. There were also flaws found by many environmental agenices in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission concerning the source of hydroelectric power. The flaws moved the agencies to campaign and collaborate for full-flow creeks. In October of 1998, litigation finally moved to negotiation. Together, the parties involved reached one common goal to preserve a part of nature, to restore Fossil Creek.

"The decision to decommission had many facets to it. And as we looked at the opportunity to give the residents of the state of Arizona a perennial stream in the desert, there is no option to that. We can find other ways to generate electricity. We cannot find other perennial streams in the desert," said William Post, chairman of the Arizona Public Service.

The “model” for Fossil Creek can be implemented into the situations presented by the Florida Department og Environmental Protection and the ones mentioned in the New York Times (which include saving the California Condors and keeping wolves out of gunsights). As Ted Danson introduces the documentary film, he says that the decision to decommission “provides a beacon of hope and an inspiring model for the restoration of degraded streams and waterways.” With this statement, I have to agree.

With cooperation and collaboration, the environmental agencies and industries can work together to sustain the environment. East Bay Oyster Restoration and the seagrass salvage conducted by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection is a step headed in the right direction. Continued efforts on both parts of the agency and the community to restore ecosystems will preserve the environment and create more natural resources.

The people involved with the situations in Montana and California can learn a thing or two from the restoration of Fossil Creek. The problem was presented by the Fish and Wildlife Services for both states, but no collaborative efforts with hunters and the government have been established. I also think some ignorance has hindered any progress.

In the article by Tia Grose, Ted Novin, spokesman for the National Shooting Sports Foundation said,"This is about choice. Absent sound science demonstrating a wildlife population impact, sportsmen and women should be free to choose for themselves the type of ammunition they shoot."

The environmental and human health impacts in the affected regions have to be taken into consideration. As suggested in “A River Reborn,” it all depends on human stewardship.

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