Floyd Dominy was a river-murdering son of a bitch, but the man had style. The chief promoter of the Glen Canyon Dam and thus the man mainly responsible for the drowning of one of the most beautiful landscapes of the American West, Dominy, who ran the Bureau of Reclamation from 1959-69, was unapologetic in his approach to western water. In an interview ten years ago with Ed Marston of High Country News, Dominy said:

I was in the federal government for 37 years, in water and land development, but I expect the Glen Canyon Dam and the creation of the most wonderful lake in the world, Lake Powell, is my crowning jewel.

In the words of the late Mark Reisner, author of Cadillac Desert, “Dominy was General Patton with General MacArthur’s ego doing Mulholland’s work, which he considered the Lord’s.”

Floyd Dominy died a few days ago at 100 years of age.

I once told Dave Brower my goal was to “think like Brower and dress like Dominy.” Dave said “you might have that backwards.” Dave knew Dominy well, having faced him down across both DC meeting room tables and rafts on the Colorado River. Dave had a lot of respect for Dominy. Dominy was sincere and passionate and brilliant. Yeats had something to say about passionate intensity like Dominy’s. There are those of us who struggle now to undo much of his work, and changing climate threatens to render it moot anyway. But he honestly thought he was making the world a better place. I can appreciate him for that much.

1. 
   Bill 2010 04 28 at 6:07:42 am

   No friend of the environment or precious landscapes, Dominy seems to have represented the western world’s position of progress VS. natural habitats.  Goodness knows what species may have been forever impacted by his brand of unapologetic development. 

   I’m no expert in desert ecology, and admit that I only admire it from afar, but even I can see that this form of human intervention has had long term deleterious impacts.

   Bill:www.wildramblings.com

2. 
   Maska 2010 04 28 at 12:17:44 pm

   Um, wasn’t that Yeats who talked about “passionate intensity,” not Keats? ^..^

3. 
   Chris Clarke 2010 04 28 at 12:27:03 pm

   Arg. I went back after posting and fixed like eight typos, but missed that. Clearly I ought to wait until morning when I’m posting while exhausted.

4. 
   Maska 2010 04 28 at 12:47:45 pm

   I know the feeling! ^..^

5. 
   Sukumar 2010 05 03 at 3:25:56 pm

   I hope your “RIP” stands for Rest in Piss. If (seeming) sincerity and intensity were sufficient grounds for respect, we’d have to confer that same honor on Dick Cheney, may he too Rest in Piss when his time comes.