When the famous photographer Margaret Bourke-White made her iconic 1936 Life magazine cover shot of the still under construction spillway at Fort Peck Dam – the very first cover of the magazine – the country had no environmental impact statements. A cost-benefit analysis? Huh, what’s that? There was no Fish and Wildlife Service in the 1930′s to assess how the massive dam across the Missouri River would impact fish or whether whole species might be endangered by drastically altering habitat. The Fort Peck Tribes weren’t consulted. The states of Montana and North Dakota had little role beyond having their federal elected officials weigh in on the project/Marc Johnson, Andrus Center. More here.

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Question: Are there too many hoops to jump through today to build a major dam project?