Restore Hetch Hetchy Marks Raker Act Centennial:Events at David Brower Center and Huntington Library

SAN FRANCISCO - Sept. 23, 2013 - PRLog -- Restore Hetch Hetchy today announced that, as part of its commemoration of the centennial of the Raker Act, it will hold October events at Pasadena’s famed Huntington Library and Berkeley’s David Brower Center. The Raker Act is the landmark congressional decision that allowed San Francisco to occupy, clear-cut and flood the iconic Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park. The renowned authors featured at the events – Kenneth Brower (Berkeley) and Robert Righter (Pasadena and Berkeley) – have each written a book on the Raker Act and the battle over the Hetch Hetchy Valley.

“One hundred years ago, an epic battle was fought against the passing of the Raker Act. Today, as momentum builds for the restoration of Yosemite’s Hetch Hetchy Valley, it is important not only to mark this anniversary, but also to continue to educate the public about the act that caused this ongoing environmental disaster -- so that it will never happen again,” said Spreck Rosekrans, executive director of Restore Hetch Hetchy.  “And no one is better equipped to provide insight into the history of this infamous act or to inspire hope for the restoration of the valley than Kenneth Brower and Robert Righter, who have each written books on the topic. We anticipate two lively and informative events.”

·         Hetch Hetchy: The Centennial of the Raker Act takes place at The David Brower Center in Berkeley on Tuesday, October 1st and features Kenneth Brower, author of the recently released “Hetch Hetchy: Undoing a Great American Mistake," and Robert W. Righter author of "The Battle Over Hetch Hetchy: America's Most Controversial Dam and the Birth of Modern Environmentalism." Carl Pope, Former Executive Director of the Sierra Club, will moderate the discussion. Righter and Brower will tell the epic story of the longest running environmental controversy in America, its impact on the modern environmental movement and the opportunity to bring Hetch Hetchy Valley back to life.

·         The Battle Over Hetch Hetchy: Centennial of the Raker Act takes place at The Huntington Library in Pasadena on Wednesday, October 2nd and features Robert W. Righter, author of The Battle Over Hetch Hetchy: America's Most Controversial Dam and the Birth of Modern Environmentalism." Righter will look back at the environmental battle surrounding the 1913 congressional decision that granted San Francisco the right to build a dam in Yosemite National Park.

Kenneth Brower’s work has appeared in The Atlantic, Audubon, National Geographic, Canadian Geographic, The Paris Review, Reader’s Digest, Smithsonian, Sierra, Islands, and numerous other magazines. He is the author of the books The Starship and the Canoe, Wake of the Whale, A Song for Satawal, Realms of the Sea, The Winemaker’s Marsh, Freeing Keiko, and many more.

Robert W. Righter is a research professor of history at Southern Methodist University, In addition to “The Battle Over Hetch Hetchy: America's Most Controversial Dam and the Birth of Modern Environmentalism," he has published seven books on national park subjects and wind energy, as well as numerous pamphlets, articles and book reviews.

The mission of Restore Hetch Hetchy is to return the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park to its natural splendor - while continuing to meet the water and power needs of all communities that depend on the Tuolumne River.

For more information about the events go to www.HetchHetchy.org or call 415.956.0401

Media Relations
Melanie Webber, mWEBB Communications, (424) 603-4340 (tel:%28424%29%20603-4340), melanie@mwebbcom.com