The drawings attracted worldwide attention when plans to build a hydroelectric dam across the Côa Valley threatened to submerge them. Although hydroelectric development was already well underway, outcry from locals, the scientific community and the media led to dam construction being halted in 1995 after a change in the national government following elections.
The sketches received international acclaim when plans for a hydroelectric dam in the Côa Valley were proposed to submerge them. Even though hydroelectric projects had already begun, local opposition, scientific concerns, and media attention resulted in the halt of construction in 1995 following a shift in the national government after elections.