The National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 is the nation’s premier law for river protection. The upcoming 50th anniversary of this measure offers an opportunity to take stock of what we’ve done — and failed to do — regarding the fate of our best waterways for all the generations to come.
Inspired by the need for balance when dams were halting the free-flow of streams all over the country, the Senate approved the Wild and Scenic Act unanimously, while the House voted 265-7 in a bygone age of bipartisanship. For specified rivers with outstanding natural values, the act banned new dams and it directed federal agencies to safeguard those waterways where acreage was federally owned.