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In 1973, Pacific University hosted a symposium on the impending creation of the Scoggins Valley Dam, which would flood a nearby rural valley in order to create a reservoir for Washington County, Oregon. This project came at a time when many area residents were concerned about the rapid development of the county at the expense of prime farm lands. Titled "Man and the Land: Humanistic Perspectives on the Uses of Land," the symposium was funded by a grant from the Joint Committee for the Humanities in Oregon and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Dr. Walter Reif, a professor of philosophy and religion, was the director. The organizers of the symposium intended to bring together a variety of perspectives on the dam project, giving attention to local residents as well as business, development, agricultural, historical and recreational interests. As the grant proposal stated, it was held in order to "afford the citizenry of Washington County the opportunity to learn more about the implications of the dam project and to stimulate discussion around those values toward land found in the humanistic tradition." Approximately 130 people attended.

Contributors to the symposium included: Congressman Wendell Wyatt; the Forest Grove City Planner; the Wildlife Editor of the Oregonian; a biologist from the State Game Commission; representatives from the Oregon Student Public Interest Group (OSPIRG); a speaker from the Washington County Historical Society; an industrial forester; the director of the Oregon Recreation Trails System; numerous Pacific University faculty members; and others. They discussed the pros and cons of the plans to build the dam on Scoggins Creek. This plan, funded by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, was ultimately completed in 1975, displacing residents of Scoggins Valley and creating Henry Hagg Lake.