When you hear that Tuesday’s guest advocates tearing down Glen Canyon Dam and doing away with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, you might imagine a monkey-wrenching environmentalist. But Daniel Beard is a former commissioner of the bureau, and he’s convinced we need new approaches to the water crisis he sees in the West. Beard is in Utah. He joins Doug to talk about the politics and economics he says add up to failed water policy and about his recommendations for dealing with drought and demand.

Daniel P Beard is the author of Deadbeat Dams: Why We Should Abolish the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and Tear Down Glen Canyon Dam. [Indiebound|Amazon]

Appearances in Utah

Tuesday, March 31, 7:00 p.m., Reading at Ken Sanders Rare Books in downtown Salt Lake City [details]

Wednesday, April 1, 7:30 p.m., “Saving the Colorado River: A New Perspective,” Hosted by Glen Canyon Institute. Dumke Auditorium, Museum of Fine Arts, University of Utah, Salt Lake City.

Thursday, April 2, 6:30 p.m., Reading and Discussion, Back of Beyond Books in Moab. [details]

Friday, April 3, 9:00 a.m., Reforming Western Water Policies: A Different Perspective," Charles Redd Center for Western Studies, Brigham Young University in Provo [details]

At VideoWest ...

What's it look like when a dam is removed and the river flows again? This week on VideoWest, we're featuring an excerpt from filmmaker Mark Titus' documentary THE BREACH. It shows Washington's Elwha River Dam coming down. Watch it here