Although it was closed for the season, we were able to tour the Gavin’s Point Dam. The dam regulates the flow of water on the Missouri River and is an important source of energy for the local area. The dam formed Lewis and Clark Lake, an important area of recreation for the region. The trees which line the river are a popular place for bald eagles to nest. I saw my first bald eagle ever. For your blogging enjoyment, I attempted to snap a photo, but the eagle spread its majestic wings and soared away before I could get a shot. We also visited the Lewis and Clark visitor center. This region was an important stopping point on Lewis and Clark’s expedition, where the explorers made contact with the Sioux nation.
We enjoyed lunch at the Hartington Senior Center with many local residents. We also met with the Hartington Economic Development team. They outlined a broad vision of where they see Hartington moving in the future. They envision Hartington as an affordable place to run a business and a safe, nurturing community to raise a family. A theme that we consistently here from all the locals is that the people make Hartington a special place. The locals appreciate that everybody in the town knows each other and are able to support each other in both good times and bad times.
We got our first real break of the trip this afternoon and were able to just wander around downtown Hartington. We visited some local shops and enjoyed the relatively warmer weather. It’s funny…after only being here for four days, people are already recognizing us as we walk around town. Even people that we had never met asked us if we were the group visiting from Chicago. Now I understand how everybody knows everybody in a small town. It was great to get out today and just decompress after a very intense schedule the last few days. We have certainly been immersed in the local community with all that we’ve been doing. Many of us were very tired and had been trying to catch some ZZZs whenever we could, especially on bus rides between locations.
3 comments:
Thanks for this delightful blog and insight about how you see us and our beloved state of Nebraska.
We have a cabin 3 miles below the dam you visited. When we saw our first eagle, it took our breath away. When I last saw an eagle, it did the same thing -- a sight I never tire of.
Blessings on your continued journey!
The Dam intrigued me because of the tension it created between trying to harness natural power and conserve our resources, and the toll it extracted on the environment in which it was located. It was an interesting juxtaposition to see our desire to be resourceful and harness renewable energy, and the price we paid for that energy which we may not have understood at the time of the dam's construction.
The Dam has placed three species in danger, though proper management of this issue has now been addressed. The river is also filling with silt because of its position on the natural water way. Both of these issues are a by-product of our intention to not harm the environment by using a natural energy source.
This dam does good things for many people. It provides jobs, a power source, and it is very efficient at what it does. I just wanted to point out that sometimes this too comes at a price.
We are learning just how connected the relationships in our world are through places like this dam.
Travis highlights an interesting tension created by the dam: the benefit of harnessing natural power versus the cost of extracting harm on our environment. Although I do not know the specifics on this particular dam, it appears that the marginal benefit of producing power exceeds the marginal cost of harming the environment because of the steps that have been taken to address the environmental destruction.
In my mind, this raises the importance of directing capital into projects that harness more efficient, sustainable sources of energy. Especially in Nebraska, wind power remains a very viable option, with its open landscape and ever-present breeze in many locations. In addition, if our country can work on updating its infrastructure with the establishment of a smart grid, Nebraska could profitably produce wind energy and distribute it to other areas of the country. Although the initial cost to harness wind energy and build a smart grid is steep, the long-run benefit for our country is tremendous, saving us countless dollars and protecting the environment.
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