Flaming Gorge Dam - History

History

The Flaming Gorge area was prehistorically inhabited by people of the Fremont culture, which hunted game near Flaming Gorge, during prehistoric periods. The Ute tribes came later and spread throughout mountainous regions in what are now the present-day states of Colorado and Utah. In the early 19th century, fur trappers began searching the area for beaver. This led to the first exploration of the Green River, by William H. Ashley, one of the organizers of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company. Far later, in 1869, famed explorer John Wesley Powell and nine men started an expedition of the Green River and the Colorado River. Powell gave Flaming Gorge its present name after seeing the "sun reflecting off the red rocks", although Red Canyon, was to them, more impressive than Flaming Gorge, with its far more dangerous rapids. With new knowledge of the area, ranchers and pioneers moved to the area beginning in the 1870s. Many outlaws and fugitives, including Butch Cassidy and the Wild Bunch, would hide in isolated canyons along the Green River.

The cancellation of Echo Park Dam, a proposal in the scenic downstream Green River canyon of Echo Park, was won by environmentalists primarily from the Sierra Club, at that time led by David Brower. Having never seen Flaming Gorge and Glen Canyon until construction had begun on both dams, Brower had suggested that a "sacrifice" should be made in order to preserve Echo Park. The famous quote:

prompted Congress to reject this proposal. However, when both dams had already begun construction, it was said that Brower vowed to

Although Flaming Gorge is nowhere as well known as Glen Canyon, he had still quoted it as "part" of the sacrifice. While Glen Canyon was the primary "replacement", Flaming Gorge provided additional storage.

Construction of the Flaming Gorge Dam began in 1958 under the direction of the Bureau of Reclamation, and ended in 1964 with the completion of its three generators, each rated at 36,000 kilowatts. The town of Dutch John, with a population of three thousand at the peak of construction, was a company town built to house construction workers. The reservoir first filled to its highest capacity in August 1974. The construction of the dam resulted in permanent changes to the ecosystem of the Green River. 91 miles (146 km) of the river was flooded to become Flaming Gorge Reservoir. Prior to the construction of the dam, the Green was a highly seasonal, silty and warm river, with greatly fluctuating flows throughout the year. After the dam was built, the river temperature dropped and silt was trapped in the reservoir. Sandbars downstream of the dam ceased to replenish and the habitat of native fish disappeared, in similar fashion to the Grand Canyon when Glen Canyon Dam was built. Despite the lower Green being a "Blue Ribbon Trout Fishery", many native fish have been lost.

On August 11, 1977, one of the turbines, Unit 2, jammed after one of the sealing rings on the penstock failed. This event led to the seal rings on all three penstocks being replaced. These seal rings also failed, and were replaced again. However, no major structural damage to the dam occurred. The generators were uprated to 50,650 kilowatts each from August 1990 to April 1992.