FREE RIVERS - THE STATE OF DAM REMOVAL IN THE UNITED STATES

Map of number of dams removed by state from 1912 through 2021 California has significantly grown in the number of dams removed over the last four years, in large part resulting from the work of the Cleveland National Forest and the programmatic approach (known as the Trabuco District Dam Removal Project) they took to remove barriers from U. [...] The hydropower from the Klamath dams should never have been considered “clean” or “green” given the devastation these dams cause to salmon and water quality, and the staggering injustice and harm the dams impose on the river’s Tribal Nations. [...] The removal project included measures to protect archaeological resources, removal of sediment upstream of the dam, removal of the dam minus the abutments supporting the mill building, removal of the stacked-stone grist mill foundation, stabilizing the banks upstream, and planting a native tree buffer. [...] As a head-of-tide dam and first significant barrier along the mainstem of the Ipswich River, the Ipswich Mills Dam has interrupted the ecology of the river for almost 400 years. [...] This project would increase the climate resiliency of a river in need and be a triumph and testament to the hard work and dedication of the community, local and state government, and the multitude of organizations who have contributed to advancing this project.