ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the decision-making with regard to the B. Everett Jordan Dam and Lake. As Samuel Florman suggests, it is indeed fun to build a dam. The chapter digresses to describe the history, function and operation of the Corps of Engineers in order to establish the framework in which this decision was made. It returns to the question of the dam and shows how the decision by the Corps is influenced by factors other than technical and economic considerations, or even the welfare of the people the Corps is supposed to serve. The history of the US Army Corps of Engineers stretches to the American Revolution, with the present Corps of Engineers tracing back to 1802 when it was formed by an act of Congress. The Hoover Commission Task Force on Water Resources and Power recommended in 1949 that the civil functions of the Corps be transferred to the proposed Department of Natural Resources.
