Damn Dams -- Unlimited dam removal

[Woolly Bugger]

The U.S. government is acknowledging that hydropower dams in the Pacific Northwest have harmed tribes.

A new report from the Interior Department showed that dams built in the early 1900s along the Columbia River blocked fish migration and flooded thousands of acres — including sacred sites and burial grounds.


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-acknowledges-harm-to-tribes-from-pacific-northwest-dams/ar-BB1ox9I5?apiversion=v2&noservercache=1&domshim=1&renderwebcomponents=1&wcseo=1&batchservertelemetry=1&noservertelemetry=1

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KENNEBEC RIVER

The Kennebec is one of Maine's major river systems that reaches from the Gulf of Maine high into the central heart of the state where Moosehead Lake feeds its headwaters. Its almost 6,000 square miles of watershed have sustained human communities for thousands of years. Like many other large coastal watersheds, the Kennebec River watershed supports habitats for all migratory fish species as well as a diversity of resident cold-water fish species. The natural topography and dams have created an important white-water economy on the upper reaches. 

https://www.americanrivers.org/river/kennebec-river/

[Woolly Bugger]

Conservation group offers to buy Kennebec River dams, Maine lawmaker says

An environmental group has reportedly offered to buy four Kennebec River dams long targeted for removal, marking a major step in resolving a long political and economic dispute between conservationists and the owner of the dams.

The Nature Conservancy made an offer for four Kennebec River dams owned by an offshoot of the multinational Brookfield Corp., state Sen. Brad Farrin, R-Norridgewock, said. Before the deal is final, he said the sides need to tackle the water needs of the Sappi North America paper mill in Skowhegan, which relies on the Shawmut Dam between Fairfield and Benton.
https://www.bangordailynews.com/2024/10/11/politics/state-politics/conservation-group-offer-to-buy-kennebec-dams/

[Woolly Bugger]

Salmon return to lay eggs in historic habitat after largest dam removal project in US history

An enormous feminine Chinook salmon flips on her facet within the shallow water and wriggles wildly, utilizing her tail to carve out a nest within the riverbed as her physique glistens within the daylight. In one other second, males butt into one another as they jockey for a superb place to fertilize eggs.

These are scenes native tribes have dreamed of seeing for many years as they fought to convey down 4 hydroelectric dams blocking passage for struggling salmon alongside greater than 400 miles (644 kilometers) of the Klamath River and its tributaries alongside the Oregon-California border.

Now, lower than a month after these dams got here down within the largest dam removing challenge in U.S. historical past, salmon are as soon as extra returning to spawn in cool creeks which were minimize off to them for generations. Video shot by the Yurok Tribe present that a whole lot of salmon have made it to tributaries between the previous Iron Gate and Copco dams, a hopeful signal for the newly freed waterway.

"Seeing salmon spawning above the previous dams fills my coronary heart," mentioned Joseph L. James, chairman of the Yurok Tribe. "Our salmon are coming residence. Klamath Basin tribes fought for many years to make this present day a actuality as a result of our future generations need to inherit a more healthy river from the headwaters to the ocean."

https://vandavasi.in/news/46466/salmon-return-to-lay-eggs-in-historic-habitat-after-largest-dam-removal-project-in-us-history/

[Woolly Bugger]

A dam ignited rare
Tibetan protests. They ended in beatings and arrests, BBC finds

Hundreds of Tibetans protesting against a Chinese dam were rounded up in a harsh crackdown earlier this year, with some beaten and seriously injured, the BBC has learnt from sources and verified footage.
Such protests are extremely rare in Tibet, which China has tightly controlled since it annexed the region in the 1950s. That they still happened highlights China's controversial push to build dams in what has long been a sensitive area.
Claims of the arrests and beatings began trickling out shortly after the events in February. In the following days authorities further tightened restrictions, making it difficult for anyone to verify the story, especially journalists who cannot freely travel to Tibet.
But the BBC has spent months tracking down Tibetan sources whose family and friends were detained and beaten. BBC
Verify has also examined satellite imagery and verified leaked videos which show mass protests and monks begging the authorities for mercy.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1d37zg1549o

[Onslow]

A dam ignited rare
Tibetan protests. They ended in beatings and arrests, BBC finds

Hundreds of Tibetans protesting against a Chinese dam were rounded up in a harsh crackdown earlier this year, with some beaten and seriously injured, the BBC has learnt from sources and verified footage.
Such protests are extremely rare in Tibet, which China has tightly controlled since it annexed the region in the 1950s. That they still happened highlights China's controversial push to build dams in what has long been a sensitive area.
Claims of the arrests and beatings began trickling out shortly after the events in February. In the following days authorities further tightened restrictions, making it difficult for anyone to verify the story, especially journalists who cannot freely travel to Tibet.
But the BBC has spent months tracking down Tibetan sources whose family and friends were detained and beaten. BBC
Verify has also examined satellite imagery and verified leaked videos which show mass protests and monks begging the authorities for mercy.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1d37zg1549o

  The world's largest is being proposed here.  This river is a river like no other.

[Woolly Bugger]

Local groups seize rare opportunity to save crucial businesses: 'Multiple generations are going to either benefit or not'
"There's other alternatives and that is what is being considered."

A hydropower dam in Brunswick, Maine, could soon work better for both fish and people, as local groups push for improvements during its upcoming federal review, reported Maine Public.

The dam creates enough electricity to power 13,500 homes. But its outdated fish passage system blocks thousands of native fish, such as Atlantic salmon and shad, from swimming upstream to lay their eggs. In 2023, only 91 shad made it past the dam, though sonar showed 10,000 waiting below.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and multiple generations are going to either benefit or not benefit from the decisions made in the next five years around this relicensing," said Chip Spies, an organizer with Free the Andro, a new coalition of conservation groups.

The dam's operator, Brookfield Renewable, wants to keep running it after its license expires in 2029. The company recently agreed to study ways to help more fish travel upstream, including modifying or replacing the existing passage system.

Maine's Department of Marine Resources supports the push for better fish passage. The department has already invested in restoring upstream habitats, including the Sabattus River. However, those efforts need an upgraded dam to succeed.

"The current fishway has numerous issues that prevent the restoration of sea-run fish and currently limit meaningful recreational and commercial fisheries above the project," said Sean Ledwin, who directs the department's Bureau of Sea-Run Fisheries and Habitat.



https://www.thecooldown.com/outdoors/brunswick-maine-dam-improvements-fish-passage/

[Woolly Bugger]

New studies may lead to removal of Snake River dams

Time is running out to save Pacific Northwest wild salmon and steelhead, but studies conducted by tribes and the states of Washington and Oregon are providing data needed to preserve them and the ecosystems and economies that depend on them.

In February 2024, a joint agreement between Pacific Northwest tribes and the Biden administration commenced a new approach to recovering salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River Basin. Parties agreed to consider breaching the four lower Snake River Dams, which have long been contentious for their part in decimating fish populations. To remove the dams, which provide energy, irrigation and transportation routes, data on the feasibility of replacing their infrastructure was needed.

he Washington Department of Ecology and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation conducted the first study, which showed that the removal of the lower Snake River Dams would not affect the river's capacity to supply water for irrigation or for municipal and industrial purposes.

By providing three options for service replacement, the research was meant to give the public and decision makers baseline data that could inform future actions – with water service replacement estimated to cost between $1.7 and $3.5 billion. According to Kayeloni Scott, executive director of the Columbia and Snake River Campaign, the studies were geared at finding out if dam removal was even possible.

"These pieces of information are critical for moving forward," said Scott. "The studies were meant to find out what would need to be replaced, what actions would need to be taken, and what it would cost."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/new-studies-may-lead-to-removal-of-snake-river-dams/ar-AA1BxyAw?ocid=UCPNC2

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Maine fishermen optimistic about removal of two dams in Yarmouth

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Two dams in Yarmouth on the Royal River are expected to be removed by the year 2028 at a cost of nearly $6 million.

https://fox23maine.com/news/local/a-couple-dams-expected-to-be-removed-in-yarmouth-within-the-next-few-years-maine-royal-river

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Largest Dam Removal Project In The World Triggers Return Of Salmon After Years Of Campaigning
Four dams on the Klamath river have been removed, helping to restore the ecosystem.

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The largest dam removal project in US history, and likely the world, was completed at the end of last year, with the removal of four huge dams. But with the Klamath River now running free, the river's restoration is only just beginning. The project is featured in the new season of the BBC's Our Changing Planet, and we spoke to presenter Liz Bonnin about traveling to the US to discover more about the scale of the demolition and how the impact of the dams has affected the river and the tribal communities that live along the Klamath.

The Klamath River has a winding, approximately 414-kilometer journey (257 miles) between Oregon and California's north coast, where it flows into the Pacific Ocean. It once supported a healthy population of fish, including Chinook salmon, coho salmon, and steelhead trout that helped to feed the Yurok and Karuk tribes, as well as many other Indigenous tribal groups that live along the river and rely on the salmon as a mainstay of their diets. 

I underestimated just how far reaching the effects of the dams had been to the wider environment... how a population of killer whales had been affected by the depletion... impacting all the way to the sea lions and seals that the orcas eat.

Liz Bonnin

However, between 1903 and 1962, hydroelectric dams were built across the length of the river, by the electric utilities company PacifiCorp. The goal was to generate enough electricity to power nearby homes but the dams had unintended consequences for both the Indigenous communities, and the fish that called the river home.

https://www.iflscience.com/largest-dam-removal-project-in-the-world-triggers-return-of-salmon-after-years-of-campaigning-79086

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[Woolly Bugger]

Washington Dam Removal Opens Lower Columbia River Tributary for Salmon and Steelhead
July 08, 2025

NOAA is supporting the Cowlitz Indian Tribe to remove the Kwoneesum Dam and restore 6.5 miles of fish passage and 1.3 miles of in-stream habitat on Wildboy Creek in the Washougal River subbasin.

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In Southeast Washington, NOAA funding is supporting the Cowlitz Indian Tribe's goal of restoring 30 percent or more of the salmon and steelhead habitat on its traditional lands in the lower Columbia River watershed. NOAA Fisheries' Office of Habitat Conservation awarded the Tribe $3.3 million to remove the 55-foot-tall, 425-foot-long Kwoneesum Dam on Wildboy Creek. The dam, which was removed in 2024, blocked upstream salmon and steelhead migration on the creek for almost 60 years.

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/washington-dam-removal-opens-lower-columbia-river-tributary-salmon-and-steelhead

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Young indigenous kayakers about to complete historic river journey, after 'largest dam removal in US history'

https://www.cnn.com/travel/klamath-river-indigenous-paddle-c2e-spc

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Planning underway for Mayo Mill Dam removal

The multi-year process to remove the Mayo Mill Dam on the Piscataquis River in downtown Dover-Foxcroft has begun.

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The co-managers of the dam removal project, The Nature Conservancy Freshwater Restoration Manager Eileen Bader Hall and Atlantic Salmon Federation Piscataquis River Project Manager Jon Viti, gave an update to the select board during an Oct. 27 meeting.

The two organizations have worked with the town for multiple years.


https://observer-me.com/2025/10/31/news/planning-underway-for-mayo-mill-dam-removal/

[Onslow]

https://www.carolinacanoeclub.org/content/the-removal-of-lockville-dam-and-the-future-of-the-deep-river/

The Lockwood dam near Moncure will be demolished by 2030.

I hope invasives below Jordan lake won't fubar the lower Deep and the Rocky,