Why the Yellowstone Is Still Un-Dammed

In New West, David Nolt expertly covers the fascinating history of attempts by irrigators and energy companies to dam what remains the longest un-dammed river in the lower 48 states. “Several times throughout the 20th century the possibility of large-scale, river-changing dams loomed over the Yellowstone River. Eager irrigators proposed a dam at the outlet of Yellowstone Lake within Yellowstone National Park in the early 1900s, and during the drought of the 30s and the hydroelectric heydays of the 50s, 60s and 70s, sustained efforts threatened to dam the Yellowstone River in five different places, four of which are in Park County.”