John Clayton's Book on the Teton Dam Disaster

On this site:

John Clayton's narrative history of the Teton Dam disaster is currently on hold. But this page describes why John and Riverbend publishing were originally interested in the topic:

In June, 1976, the Teton Dam in eastern Idaho collapsed, killing 11 people and causing a half-billion dollars of damage. In many ways it marked the end of the dam-building era in the American West, changing the dynamics of the federal Bureau of Reclamation and the economics of what was once called the frontier. Because the collapse seems like an important inflection point in the history of national environmental policy, I decided to write a book about it. Then the Idaho legislature made this topic a lot more important, when in the spring of 2008 it appropriated funds to study rebuilding the dam.

Did you live through the Teton Dam disaster? I'd love to hear from you. (I'm especially interested in stories of people who narrowly escaped the rampaging waters, people who worked for the Bureau of Reclamation, or people who helped direct the immediate response to the flood.) Send an email to info [at] johnclaytonbooks.com with some information on your experiences.

Do you have thoughts on whether the dam should be rebuilt? I'd like to hear from you also, especially if you have detailed arguments or data to support your position either way. Does climate change play a role? How about the changing economic structure of the Rocky Mountain West?

Would you like to read the book when it comes out? If you want to send me your address, I'd be happy to send you an email. (You could also learn by signing up for the feed on this site's blog using its Atom feed.)

http://www.johnclaytonbooks.com-- Revised: 11/21/2011