Today there are 4 hydroelectric facilites on the Tuolumne.

HISTORY - Fighting Dams

The Trust was founded in a tradition of activists who have questioned whether damage to river habitat and beauty is worth the water and power benefits provided by continued development. In 1901, John Muir (founder of the Sierra Club) unsuccessfully fought the development of Hetch Hetchy - a system of dams and powerhouses on the upper Tuolumne River that supplies drinking water and electricity to the city of San Francisco.

In 1981, a coalition of environmentalists, sports fishermen, campers, whitewater rafters, and local residents formed the Tuolumne River Preservation Trust to fight a new plan to develop a $900 million hydroelectric dam project proposed by the Turlock and Modesto Irrigation Districts. The Trust and its allies defeated the project by securing federal Wild and Scenic Status for the Tuolumne in 1984, permanently protecting 83 miles of the river.

In 1994, the Trust led the effort to derail an economically and environmentally ill-conceived plan from the Turlock Irrigation District to dam the Clavey River (the Tuolumne's most pristine tributary).