Tag: Dam Removal

By Greg Walcher | Commentary, GregWalcher.com A Montana friend reminded me of an old cowboy adage: “Before you take down a fence, you ought to pause long enough to ask why it was put there.” It’s a principle called “Chesterton’s Fence,” coined by writer G.K. Chesterton who cautioned against acting rashly. He wrote, “a ‘modern reformer’ says of the fence, ‘I don’t see the use of this; let us clear it away.’ But someone more intelligent refuses until learning why it’s there.” It is the perfect analogy for today’s debate about removing dams, a popular global trend for the past few years. Chesterton’s 1929 book, The Thing, explains the logic that should prevail: “This paradox rests on the most elementary common sense. The gate or fence did not grow there. It was not set up by somnambulis...