Principles Over the Brink.

This article focuses on doctrinal stands of U.S. Presidents regarding the use of natural resources towards public interests, specially regarding Hells Canyon, the finest remaining water-power site in the U.S. Ever since the Pleistocene Epoch, the mountain river has been gnawing at the ramparts of the Waillowa and Seven Devils Ranges. At Hells Canyon, on the Oregon-Idaho boundary, an era has ended. It began half a century ago with the trail-riding Gifford Pinchot, who heralded the doctrine of equal rights for all, special privilege for none. Pinchot and his sponsor, Theodore Roosevelt, stood for two principles: first, full use, in the public interest, of such resources as rivers and hydroelectric sites; and second, eternal protection of resources which should be saved for future generations.