As the Democratic congressman from Colorado's Fourth District from 1949 to 1973, Wayne Aspinall was an advocate of natural resource development in general and reclamation projects in particular. A political loner, considered crusty and abrasive, he carved a national reputation by helping secure the passage of key water legislation—in the process clashing with colleagues and environmentalists alike. Fiercely protective of western Colorado's water supply, Aspinall sought to secure prosperity for his district by protecting its share of Colorado River water through federal reclamation projects, and he made this goal the centerpiece of his congressional career. He became chair of the House Interior Committee in 1959 and ruled it with an iron fist for more than a dozen years—a role that placed him in a key position to shape the nation's natural resource legislation at a time when the growing environmental movement was calling for a sharp change in policy. This full-length study of Aspinall's importance to reclamation in the West clarifies his role in influencing western water policy. By focusing on Aspinall's congressional career, Stephen Sturgeon provides a detailed account of the political machinations and personal foibles that shaped Aspinall's efforts to implement water reclamation legislation in support of Colorado's Western Slope, along the way shedding new light on familiar water controversies. Sturgeon meticulously traces the influences on Aspinall's thinking and the arc of his career, examining the congressman's involvement in the Colorado River Storage Project bill and his clash with conservationists over the proposed Echo Park Dam; recounting the fight over the Frying Pan-Arkansas Project and his decision to support diverting water out of his own district; and exploring the battles over the Central Arizona Project, in which Aspinall fought not only environmentalists but also other members of Congress. Finally he assesses the Aspinall legacy, including the still-disputed Animas-La Plata Project, and shows how his vision of progress shaped the history of western water development. The Politics of Western Water portrays Aspinall in human terms, not as a pork-barrel politician but as a representative who believed he was protecting his constituents' interests. It is an insightful account of the political, financial, and personal variables that affect the course by which water resource legislation is conceived, supported, and implemented—a book that is essential to understanding the history and future of water in the West.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"Sturgeon's book focuses on Aspinall's influence on water development in the West, but his examination of early-twentieth-century water development is nearly as valuable as his examination of Aspinall's career." —Montana "[A] careful and tightly-focused study of Aspinall's influence on Colorado and western water development . . . Sturgeon knows Colorado water politics and legislation well." —Western Historical Quarterly "Anyone interested in the story of water development on the Colorado River would do well to read this book." —Utah Historical Quarterly
About the Author
Stephen C. Sturgeon is Manuscript Curator in Special Collections and Archives at Utah State University, where he is also Adjunct Assistant Professor of History and an affiliated faculty member in the Natural Resource and Environmental Policy Program.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wayne Aspinall and his Philosophy,
By
This review is from: The Politics of Western Water: The Congressional Career of Wayne Aspinall (Hardcover)
Sturgeon concisely details Wayne Aspinall's election to Congress, his slow rise through the seniority system to be finally Chairman of the House Interior Committee, a tremdndously powerful position that Aspinall exercised with the subtlity of a sledge hammer. Knowing that water is scarce in the West, that the Colorado River originates in Western Colorado (his District), and that seven states continually fight over rights to the water, his priority was to safeguard water supplies in his District from all the other claimants. Practically everything he worked on during his House tenure centered around this objective. As Sturgeon says, when Aspinall was first elected in 1948, his water philosophy--develop natural resources to the maximum extent--was in accord with most of America. When he was finally defeated in 1972, the environmental movement was in full swing, leaving Aspinall dragging behind. When it came to environmental protection, Aspinall thought that all nature should either be developed--farmed, mined, or flooded--or made available to everyone, as scenery, by means of paved roads and other developments. And he could see no irony in his strange idea of preservation. This is a fine book that should be read by students of political power, as well as by environmentalists and citizens of the American West. It is also puzzling to realize that Aspinall was a Democrat--so much out of tune with the Democrats of today.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
