--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To some conservationists, the Colorado…" description: "\"“To some conservationists, the Colorado River is the preeminent symbol of everything mankind has done wrong—a harbinger of a squalid and deserved fate...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ea/marc-reisner-58794_colorado-river_to-some-conservationists-the-colorado-ri_428574.png" --- # To some conservationists, the Colorado River is the… ![“To some conservationists, the Colorado River is the preeminent symbol of everything mankind has done wrong—a harbinger of a squalid and deserved fate. To its preeminent impounder, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, it is the perfection of an ideal. The” quote by Marc Reisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ea/marc-reisner-58794_colorado-river_to-some-conservationists-the-colorado-ri_428574.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ea/marc-reisner-58794_colorado-river_to-some-conservationists-the-colorado-ri_428574.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5ea/marc-reisner-58794_colorado-river_to-some-conservationists-the-colorado-ri_428574.png) > ““To some conservationists, the Colorado River is the preeminent symbol of everything mankind has done wrong—a harbinger of a squalid and deserved fate. To its preeminent impounder, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, it is the perfection of an ideal. The”” [Marc Reisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-reisner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He contrasts how some view the Colorado River as a symbol of environmental failure, while others see it as a perfect engineered resource. **In simple terms:** People see the river as either a warning or a triumph. Key Takeaway Recognize differing perspectives on natural resources. Themes environment policy perception conflict engineering Mood critical analytical Type environmental philosophical When to use this quote - environmental activism - policy debate - water rights - public education Key Concepts Ecological ethics human impact resource management Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance engineering achievements with environmental health? - What narratives dominate our view of the river? A Different Perspective Idealizing a resource can ignore its ecological costs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Colorado river](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colorado-river/) [River](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/river/) ## Related quotes > [“there is method at work here, method of a fanatic order and perseverance: each groove in the rock leads to a natural channel of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/there-is-method-at-work-here-method-of-a-fanatic-order-and/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“WHILE HOOVER DAM was under construction, California began building the Colorado River Aqueduct and Parker Dam. Arizona’s governor, Benjamin B. Moeur, viewed the dam…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-owen/while-hoover-dam-was-under-construction-california-began-building-the/) [David Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-owen/) > [Yet for all the depression no one ever quit. When someone quit, we couldn't believe it. 'I'm becoming a rafting instructor on the Colorado…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-ferris/yet-for-all-the-depression-no-one-ever-quit-when-someone-quit-we/) [Joshua Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-ferris/) > [“Is it possible to make a living by simply watching light? Monet did. Vermeer did. I believe Vincent did too. They painted light in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/is-it-possible-to-make-a-living-by-simply-watching-light-monet-did/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [ “\[Jacob\] Hamblin arranged to make a trip across the Colorado River in search of a child who might be missing. The motive behind this… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juanita-brooks/jacob-hamblin-arranged-to-make-a-trip-across-the-colorado-river-in/) [Juanita Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juanita-brooks/) > [The Colorado River did not form the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon was formed as the flood went down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-hovind/the-colorado-river-did-not-form-the-grand-canyon-the-grand-canyon-was/) [Kent Hovind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-hovind/) > [“Earth processes that seem trivially slow in human time can accomplish stunning work in geologic time. Let the Colorado River erode its bed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-meldahl/earth-processes-that-seem-trivially-slow-in-human-time-can-accomplish/) Keith Meldahl > [What's happening on the Colorado River is happening all over the world. The water is overused, overdammed, and it's polluted in some places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-macgillivray/what-s-happening-on-the-colorado-river-is-happening-all-over-the/) [Greg MacGillivray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-macgillivray/) > [“On this trip there was no minute of time while travelling between San Patricio and the settlements on the San Antonio River, from San…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulysses-s-grant/on-this-trip-there-was-no-minute-of-time-while-travelling-between-san/) [Ulysses S. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulysses-s-grant/) > [I can only tell where I feel most at home, which is in the erosional landscape of the red rock desert of southern Utah,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-can-only-tell-where-i-feel-most-at-home-which-is-in-the-erosional/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [“Of all my objections to Jonathan Crane—and it is a lengthy list—the one point I will concede is that sometimes Fear has a purpose.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-dee/of-all-my-objections-to-jonathan-crane-and-it-is-a-lengthy-list-the/) [Chris Dee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-dee/) > [“I put a saddle on my salad, and I rode my horseradish to Rhode Island, where I was just in time to be late.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-put-a-saddle-on-my-salad-and-i-rode-my-horseradish-to-rhode-island/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [As for the flood carving Grand Canyon, why don't they explain to us why the top of the Canyon is 4,000ft higher than where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-hovind/as-for-the-flood-carving-grand-canyon-why-don-t-they-explain-to-us/) [Kent Hovind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-hovind/) > [Nothing so challenges the American spirit as tackling the biggest job on earth…Americans are stimulated by the big job; the Panama Canal, Boulder Dam,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/nothing-so-challenges-the-american-spirit-as-tackling-the-biggest-job/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [ Free shackled rivers!...The finest fantasy of eco-warriors in the West is the destruction of \[Glen Canyon\] Dam and the liberation of the Colorado \[River\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foreman/free-shackled-rivers-the-finest-fantasy-of-eco-warriors-in-the-west/) [David Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foreman/) ## More by Marc Reisner > [I believe that anyone who flies in an airplane and doesn't spend most of his time looking out the window wastes his money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-reisner/i-believe-that-anyone-who-flies-in-an-airplane-and-doesn-t-spend-most/) [Marc Reisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-reisner/) > [If surface water can be compared with interest income, and non-renewable groundwater with capital, then much of the West was living mainly on interest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-reisner/if-surface-water-can-be-compared-with-interest-income-and-non/) [Marc Reisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-reisner/) > [Water flows uphill towards money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-reisner/water-flows-uphill-towards-money/) [Marc Reisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-reisner/) > [“the American West quietly became the first and most durable example of the modern welfare state.   The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-reisner/the-american-west-quietly-became-the-first-and-most-durable-example/) [Marc Reisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-reisner/) [Explore all 5 Marc Reisner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-reisner/) ## More Colorado river quotes > [“there is method at work here, method of a fanatic order and perseverance: each groove in the rock leads to a natural channel of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/there-is-method-at-work-here-method-of-a-fanatic-order-and/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Nothing so challenges the American spirit as tackling the biggest job on earth…Americans are stimulated by the big job; the Panama Canal, Boulder Dam,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/nothing-so-challenges-the-american-spirit-as-tackling-the-biggest-job/) [Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [As for the flood carving Grand Canyon, why don't they explain to us why the top of the Canyon is 4,000ft higher than where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-hovind/as-for-the-flood-carving-grand-canyon-why-don-t-they-explain-to-us/) [Kent Hovind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-hovind/) > [“I put a saddle on my salad, and I rode my horseradish to Rhode Island, where I was just in time to be late.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-put-a-saddle-on-my-salad-and-i-rode-my-horseradish-to-rhode-island/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“Of all my objections to Jonathan Crane—and it is a lengthy list—the one point I will concede is that sometimes Fear has a purpose.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-dee/of-all-my-objections-to-jonathan-crane-and-it-is-a-lengthy-list-the/) [Chris Dee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-dee/) > [I can only tell where I feel most at home, which is in the erosional landscape of the red rock desert of southern Utah,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/i-can-only-tell-where-i-feel-most-at-home-which-is-in-the-erosional/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [“On this trip there was no minute of time while travelling between San Patricio and the settlements on the San Antonio River, from San…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulysses-s-grant/on-this-trip-there-was-no-minute-of-time-while-travelling-between-san/) [Ulysses S. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulysses-s-grant/) > [What's happening on the Colorado River is happening all over the world. The water is overused, overdammed, and it's polluted in some places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-macgillivray/what-s-happening-on-the-colorado-river-is-happening-all-over-the/) [Greg MacGillivray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-macgillivray/) > [“Earth processes that seem trivially slow in human time can accomplish stunning work in geologic time. Let the Colorado River erode its bed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-meldahl/earth-processes-that-seem-trivially-slow-in-human-time-can-accomplish/) Keith Meldahl > [The Colorado River did not form the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon was formed as the flood went down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-hovind/the-colorado-river-did-not-form-the-grand-canyon-the-grand-canyon-was/) [Kent Hovind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-hovind/) > [ “\[Jacob\] Hamblin arranged to make a trip across the Colorado River in search of a child who might be missing. The motive behind this… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juanita-brooks/jacob-hamblin-arranged-to-make-a-trip-across-the-colorado-river-in/) [Juanita Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juanita-brooks/) > [“Is it possible to make a living by simply watching light? Monet did. Vermeer did. I believe Vincent did too. They painted light in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/is-it-possible-to-make-a-living-by-simply-watching-light-monet-did/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [Yet for all the depression no one ever quit. When someone quit, we couldn't believe it. 'I'm becoming a rafting instructor on the Colorado…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-ferris/yet-for-all-the-depression-no-one-ever-quit-when-someone-quit-we/) [Joshua Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-ferris/) > [“WHILE HOOVER DAM was under construction, California began building the Colorado River Aqueduct and Parker Dam. Arizona’s governor, Benjamin B. Moeur, viewed the dam…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-owen/while-hoover-dam-was-under-construction-california-began-building-the/) [David Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-owen/) > [ Free shackled rivers!...The finest fantasy of eco-warriors in the West is the destruction of \[Glen Canyon\] Dam and the liberation of the Colorado \[River\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foreman/free-shackled-rivers-the-finest-fantasy-of-eco-warriors-in-the-west/) [David Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foreman/) [Browse all 16 Colorado river quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colorado-river/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“To some conservationists, the Colorado River is the preeminent symbol of everything mankind has done wrong—a harbinger of a squalid and deserved fate. To its preeminent impounder, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, it is the perfection of an ideal. 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