THE SPORTSMANS CORNER: Fifty-eight dams to be removed
By Gary Roussan, The Willits News
Posted: 12/04/2009 10:45:59 AM PST

American Rivers released its annual list of 58 dams in 16 states that have
been removed, or are slated for removal, in 2009.
Thanks to the removal of these outdated dams, communities across the country
have the opportunity to enjoy better water quality, improved public safety
and flood protection, and more abundant fish and wildlife.
A list of these projects is available at:
http://www.americanrivers.org/assets/pdfs/dam-removal-docs/2009-dam-removals.pdf

While some dams are beneficial to society, many have outlived their
usefulness and continue to age and deteriorate as development both upstream
and downstream of dams increases. These dams can increase flood risks for
communities, and old or poorly maintained dams are at risk of failure. If
left in place, dams threaten the lives of boaters and swimmers, degrade
water quality, and block migrating fish and wildlife.
That is why, for more than 10 years, American Rivers has led a national
effort to restore rivers through removal of dams that no longer make sense.
The organization's expertise and advocacy have contributed to the removal of
more than 200 dams nationwide.
States on this year's list include California, Connecticut, Illinois,
Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New
Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, and
Wisconsin.
"It is time to rethink our nation's water infrastructure. These dam removals
are an example of how our communities can

reap multiple benefits when we work with nature instead of against it," said
Rebecca Wodder, president of American Rivers. "Streams, wetlands, and
floodplains give our communities essential services, like clean water, flood
protection, and abundant fisheries. When we help rivers we are actually
helping ourselves."
For example, in Pennsylvania, the dilapidated Saucon Park Dam was built in
the 1920s for recreational purposes, but most recently it only served to
exacerbate localized flooding and stream bank erosion. American Rivers
worked with the town and other partners to remove it this year and restore
Saucon Creek, a tributary to the Lehigh River. The project also reconnected
three miles of important spawning habitat for fish such as American shad,
American eel, alewife, blueback herring, hickory shad, brown trout, brook
trout, redbreast sunfish, and white sucker. This strategy is integral to the
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's efforts to rebuild depleted fish
stocks in the Delaware and Lehigh river basins.
In Washington, the 80-year-old, 26-foot high Hemlock Dam on Trout Creek, a
tributary of the Wind River, harmed fish populations and was a public safety
hazard.
American Rivers provided funding assistance through their national
partnership with the NOAA Restoration Center to help remove the dam this
summer and restored a safer, healthier Trout Creek. The removal opened up 15
miles of upstream habitat and many more miles of seasonal habitat on
tributaries to fish, including the currently threatened Lower Columbia
steelhead, and eliminated the risk of swimmers being swept over the dam and
into its dangerous hydraulic.
"Our communities can't afford to waste money, especially now. Dam removal
can be the cheapest way to make our communities safer, while also
eliminating future maintenance costs and improving the environment," said
Wodder. "Plus, each dam removal project supports, on average, 10 to 12
jobs-a figure that can't be taken lightly in this fragile economy."
More than 700 dam removals have been recorded nationwide. While motivation
for removing dams may vary, these communities show us that restoration
projects provide a multitude of benefits and often breathe new life into
river communities and a renewed appreciation for free-flowing, healthy
streams.