Last week, the Bureau of Reclamation, the federal government agency that oversees and manages operations on the Colorado River, announced the authorization of a spring High Flow Experiment (HFE) in the Grand Canyon. This is a big deal since the last time an HFE was conducted was in the fall of 2018, and the last time a spring HFE was executed was in 2008. And with the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon named as America’s Most Endangered River® just last week, we are thrilled that this action is happening to benefit the ecosystem in the canyon.

What is an HFE?

A High Flow Experiment is in essence a simulated flood being conducted through Glen Canyon dam. In practice, the dam releases a high volume of water, usually through both the hydropower turbines and the bypass tubes, which are lower-elevation tubes through the dam that are usually only used for these short duration floods or in other unique situations (like releasing water during the extreme inflows of 1983) over a limited period of time. HFE’s are extremely important to the management of sand in the canyon and the healthy functioning of the Grand Canyon riparian ecosystem overall.

To set the stage even further, let’s go back to the time before the creation of Glen Canyon Dam. The Colorado River traditionally carried millions and millions of tons of sediment down the river each year. Since Glen Canyon was built, most of that sand has been trapped in the upper reaches of Lake Powell – as flows slow down as the river becomes the lake, the sediment drops out and settles (up near Hite and Halls Crossing and then the San Juan as it enters the lake as well.) The result is that the water coming through Glen Canyon dam is very clear, lacking the traditional sediment that would be carried by the river and maintaining beaches and sandbars and the natural ecological benefits of that silty, sediment-laden water throughout the canyon. This clear water erodes sand from beaches and sandbars, and for decades in the 1970’s and 1980’s was causing real problems with the canyon’s ecology. In the 1990’s and early 2000’s, some experiments were conducted to begin to learn how these floods might act and how they might contribute to sand and other ecological functions within the canyon. Then, in 2016, the Long Term Experimental and Management Plan (LTEMP) was completed and set the guidelines for how and how frequently future HFE’s could be conducted.

Now, the Paria River, which is about 17 miles downstream from Glen Canyon dam (and about a mile below the put-in at Lee’s Ferry) is the main source of sediment into the Grand Canyon. When the Paria River flashes (most commonly during the summer monsoon season) it can deposit tons of sand – sometimes more than a million tons of sand – in a summer. This sand is what can be pushed downstream in an HFE to rebuild beaches and sandbars, and aid in the protection of cultural resources throughout the length of the canyon.

One of the elements within these LTEMP guidelines is how and when these HFE’s may be conducted, and how often the program should try to make them happen. Sadly, they have not happened often enough, and the canyon is really suffering because of it. Since the last HFE in 2018, there have been complications with declining water levels across the basin but felt most acutely in Lake Powell as elevations have declined to record lows. Then in 2021 and 2022, the monsoons delivered abundant sand through the Paria into the Colorado River, but unfortunately also caused a lot of erosion of beaches downstream as these monsoon storms ripped across Grand Canyon and the Colorado Plateau.

Today, we are celebrating the decision by the Bureau of Reclamation to use this opportunity to trigger one of these HFE’s to move the volume of sand currently sitting near the mouth of the Paria to rebuild beaches and sandbars, repair the ecology, and aid the protection of cultural resources downstream.

Reclamation was able to make this decision based on several factors. First, due to the drought operations conducted over the past two years, there is a good amount of water parked in Lake Powell to protect the hydropower infrastructure at Glen Canyon dam that had to be moved downstream sometime this year. Second, the sand is there and the damage to the beaches in the canyon is glaring. Third, the water sitting in Lake Powell right near the dam (in an area above the dam called the “forebay”) is quite cold, which could aid aquatic species downstream. And lastly, there is a window of time where Reclamation and the hydropower providers can shift the timing of some needed maintenance at the dam to free up the opportunity to have all 8 hydropower penstocks and some of the bypass tubes available to actually conduct the high flows through the dam.

This week’s HFE will be pretty dramatic, both visually and scientifically. The flow will begin early Monday morning (April 24) and last into Thursday evening (April 27.) The dam will ramp up releases to 39,500 cubic feet per second (CFS) and hold that for 72 hours straight creating a flood that will flow all the way to Lake Mead over a period of about a week, rebuilding sandbars and beaches along the way (and giving rafters in the canyon an exciting ride!) One additional key point to understand is that HFE’s consume no net loss of water in Lake Powell – after the HFE occurs, Glen Canyon dam will release slightly less water than normal over a period of weeks, in order to make up that amount of water that is shot downstream, yet another benefit in the design in these critically important High Flow Experiments.

Again, we applaud the Bureau of Reclamation, the scientists at USGS’ Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center, and everyone else who has been working hard to make one of these HFE’s happen for years. We are looking forward to seeing the great results that will come out of this event very soon.

(To learn more about the Grand Canyon’s history and ecosystem, check out our new story map, Caught in the Middle – we think you will love it!)

The near-failure of Oroville Dam on February 7, 2017 was a major wake-up call regarding the risks posed by dams in California and nationwide.  The January 5, 2023 spillway failure of the North Fork Dam on Pacheco Creek is an unfortunate sign that California has much work to do to ensure dam safety.   

This dam failure and lack of funding to address deferred maintenance issues underscore key vulnerabilities in California’s dam safety program despite its reputation as one of the premier programs nationwide.  The safety of California’s extensive dam infrastructure is primarily evaluated based on seismic concerns, leaving room for risks posed by non-seismic issues, such as dam performance observations, loading probabilities, and engineering analyses, to go unnoticed or unaddressed.  DSOD must address key issues highlighted in 2018 by a Technical Advisory Panel (comprised of national dam safety experts), especially considering the American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2019 infrastructure report card gave California dams a C-, mainly based on age and hazard status.  They highlighted the lack of funding as a key hurdle to strengthening the program.  

To prevent disastrous dam failures in the future, American Rivers recommends the following three priorities: 

1. Strengthen and create a climate of compliance.  DSOD has authority over much of California’s extensive and aging dam network, with statutory and regulatory authority to require regular and enhanced inspections and maintenance to address issues identified in that inspection process.  When an issued order requiring specific maintenance actions goes unheeded, the agency may use their enforcement authority, which will increase costs and ultimately reduce instances of non-compliance.  This enforcement mechanism is especially important given the poor condition of California’s dam infrastructure and the size of storms fueled by a changing climate. 

2. Incorporate and adopt recommended dam safety program improvements.  California must increase the pace and scale of dam safety inspections, including the adoption and use of a risk-informed decision-making model that goes beyond seismic concerns.  Current events illustrate what is only the beginning of increasingly extreme climate impacts expected over the next 30-50 years.  Failure to consider what impact multiple consecutive atmospheric rivers could have on a particular dam is an oversight that must be addressed.  California should immediately address the issues highlighted in the 2018 Technical Advisory Panel report. 

3. Increase funding for dam removal and water infrastructure – American Rivers, the National Hydropower Association, and other partners successfully advocated for $1.6 billion to improve dam safety or fund removal.  Dam removal can be the best way to address a dam posing safety risks.  Nationwide, there are tens of thousands of dams that no longer serve their intended purpose and whose removal could eliminate the cost and liability associated with owning a dam. Unless dams are well-maintained, their condition only gets worse every year.  The most cost-effective and permanent way to deal with obsolete, unsafe dams is to remove them. 

The recently released 2023 – 2024 California Budget suggests recognition of the dangers posed by California’s aging infrastructure.  The budget proposes additional appropriations in two key areas relevant to dam safety: (1) Federal Rehabilitation of High Hazard Potential Dams; and (2) Dam Safety Enforcement and Design Oversight.  With combined appropriately directed federal and state funding, DSOD should commit to enhanced oversight through dam re-evaluations, requiring maintenance, where identified as necessary through inspections, and using their enforcement authority, where dam owners flout such orders. 

Today we announce America’s Most Endangered Rivers of 2023.  

From dams and outdated water management to toxic pollution and development projects that would devastate river habitats, this report spotlights ten rivers in the U.S. that are at a crossroads and whose fates will be decided in the coming year. This year’s list underscores how essential rivers are for human health, public safety, and community wellness. 

We at American Rivers have immense gratitude for the leadership, diligence, and immense knowledge from our local partners on the frontlines, without whom this campaign would not be possible. We look to their guidance and leadership as we continue the fight for river protection and water justice across the nation. 

#1 on the list this year is among the seven natural wonders of the world, and one of the greatest natural treasures in the nation: the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. It’s no surprise that the Colorado River holds its place as the number one Most Endangered River for the second year in a row, as outdated water management, over-use, and climate change all pose great risks to this national treasure. This year, however, the Grand Canyon is of specific focus due to severe drought. As critical decisions are made about water management along the Colorado River, decision makers must recognize the environment as a critical component of human health and public safety – absolutely vital for the 40 million people that depend on the river for drinking water. 

“Diné Natural Law tells us that we should treat Mother Earth as we would treat our own mothers. When she is in distress we should respect and nurture her,” said Erik Stanfield, Navajo Nation Historic Preservation Department, commenting on the Most Endangered River listing for the Grand Canyon.  

“Our concern for her should not be a reflection of self-interest, but rather an altruistic endeavor to give back when we have taken. We cannot repay all of her gifts, but we can show her kindness, gratitude, and a willingness to sacrifice when she suffers. This is the ethic that we would like to impart to the world outside of Diné-land. The Colorado River, Tooh in Diné Bizaad, is in deep crisis and needs our kindness, gratitude, and sacrifice to heal.” 

In this same region the Rio Gallinas is also suffering from the adverse effects of climate change. Community-focused, coordinated restoration efforts are imperative in protecting the future of the river. 

For the Ohio, Clark Fork, and Lehigh rivers, pollution threatens the safety and quality of life of local communities. The train derailment that took place in East Palestine, Ohio underscores both the vulnerability of the Ohio River and the value the river serves for the over 5 million people that rely on it for drinking water. A shuttered pulp mill threatens the Clark Fork River, actively leaking toxic chemicals into the groundwater and increasing the risk of catastrophic flooding, while poorly planned development along the Lehigh River threatens water quality and vital fish and wildlife habitat. 

In the Okefenokee Swamp, we must avoid the risk of increased drought and catastrophic fire posed by mining plans. The Okefenokee is a unique wetland and international treasure, but a proposed titanium mine threatens the swamp and ancestral lands of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. 

The effects of climate change are happening right now, fueling more severe droughts and floods, and pollution threatens drinking water sources. Unjust policies put the burden of these impacts disproportionately on Black, Latino and Indigenous communities, Tribal Nations and other communities of color. 

The Pearl River, for example—one of the most biodiverse rivers in the country and the primary drinking water source for the predominantly Black community of Jackson, Mississippi—is threatened by the One Lake development project. This project would result in severe environmental injustice by worsening urban flooding, exacerbating the ongoing water crisis, and funneling critically needed resources away from marginalized communities. 

Tribal sustenance, culture, livelihoods, and treaty rights are being threatened on the Snake, Eel, and Chilkat and Klehini rivers. It is imperative that we lean into the knowledge of Tribal Nations who are the original stewards of the land and have lived along these rivers since time immemorial. On the Snake and Eel Rivers, dam removal is necessary to protect vital fish habitat, honor treaties and commitments to Tribal Nations, and improve community health and wellness. For the Chilkat and Klehini rivers, proper permitting requirements are needed to ensure the protection of the entire ecosystem of the Chilkat Valley, which is critical habitat to the largest congregation of bald eagles in the world. 

The threats of climate change, outdated water management, drought, dams, and more put human health, public safety, and community wellness at risk. Rivers are vital community health resources and the lifeblood of our communities, cultures, and livelihood.  

Our rivers need our protection. The time to take action is now. Our health and our futures depend on it. 

We need individuals and communities to stand with American Rivers and our partners to protect and restore the rivers that support all life. We need your help to ensure the protection of this year’s Most Endangered Rivers. Rivers are sacred. Rivers are life. TAKE ACTION TODAY! 

Another successful cleanup in the books! This cleanup was cohosted by True North Energized Sparkling Water and Inland Empire Waterkeeper in Martha McLean-Anza Narrows Park in Riverside in California! It is teams like these that are driving forward the river conservation movement and revitalizing the places we call home, one river at a time. Employee-led cleanup events are a fantastic way for individuals and companies to show up for rivers in their work and community. Read on to discover how a dedicated team at True North worked to restore the beauty and health of Martha McLean Park and the Santa Ana River.  American Rivers is proud to have the support of True North for the last year and are excited to share this first-hand account of their cleanup!

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The year: 2022. The month: September. The temperature: Hot. (Very).

The once-thriving Martha McLean-Anza Narrows Park in Riverside is now a desolate wasteland, filled with spent tires, rusty shopping carts, rotting coyotes, and — inexplicably — a discarded toilet.

Only one team stands in the way of this former utopia falling into irretrievable ruin: True North.

Actually, Martha McLean Park was rather beautiful when we turned up for our volunteer clean-up of the Santa Ana River… but that didn’t mean it couldn’t use a little extra TLC!

On September 29, a 130-strong team gathered at the watershed in the sweltering heat, put on their gloves, and dug in, dragging an estimated 1,200 lbs of trash from the river and its banks!

Besides countless cigarette butts, aerosol cans, and beer bottles, many of the team set their sights on the elusive “Treasure Trash”… and boy did they unearth some. Electric fans, bedsprings, a vacuum cleaner, a microwave, a wooden chair, a shopping cart filled with TVs, a rather nice vase that we’re pretty sure someone took home, and even a Coyote carcass. Some heroes even dived into the raging (ankle-deep) water to dig tires out of the riverbed!

Ultimately, the day was a massive success, capped off with a delicious lunch.

Because True North is an authentic, natural brand that thrives in outdoor adventure, we are dedicated to keeping our rivers clean; we’re not only protecting the spaces we play in but an essential part of our environment.

The Santa Ana River is the largest river entirely within Southern California at 96 miles long, with a drainage basin at 2,650 square miles in size. The Santa Ana Watershed is home to a dazzling array of habitat types, including coastal bluff, riparian woodland, and coastal sage scrub. Humans have lived on the Santa Ana River for at least 9,000 years and it is the ancestral homeland of the Luiseno and Serrano bands of Mission Indians.  Today over 4.8 million people live in the watershed and it has been highly impacted by development and agriculture. Cleanup events like this make a big difference by improving water quality and habitat in the river. Environmental philanthropy is something True North deeply encourages and we’re so glad to have shared this experience with so many caring True North employees.

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Huge congrats and thank you to True North and Inland Empire Waterkeeper for a flawlessly executed event.

This blog was co-written by Corporate Relations Fellow, Kristen Nieves & our partners at True North

American Rivers is celebrating its 50^th anniversary this year with a fresh look, a bold new vision, and a new tagline: Life Depends on Rivers^SM. We are excited to continue championing a powerful river movement within this new framework through National River Cleanup® (NRC), American Rivers’ volunteer engagement program. NRC has supported more than 1 million volunteers to remove over 40 million pounds of litter across thousands of miles of rivers and streams. In 2022, NRC’s cleanup organizer network hosted 244 cleanup events with over 31,000 volunteers resulting in 597,444 pounds of litter being removed from 1,438 river miles.  

Seeing “Life Depends on Rivers^SM” in Action 

Participating in river cleanups is a great way to witness your river’s ecosystem in action! Throughout a cleanup, you’ll likely encounter more than just a few scaly friends. Aside from fish, natural river habitats support thousands of plant and animal species. This past year, NRC participants came across a variety of wildlife, including turtles, slugs, coyotes, a family of baby owls, ducks and their ducklings marching down to the river, and multiple bald eagle sightings (talk about American Rivers!). For many people, urban lifestyles create distance between daily living and the natural environment. Participating in local cleanups reminds us that it’s not just humans depending on our rivers for survival, but an entire community of non-human friends as well. 

Championing a Powerful River Movement Through NRC 

NRC does more than just promote clean waterways – it connects people to nature, to each other, and to the greater river movement. And after three long pandemic years, connection is more important than ever. American Rivers is glad to see National River Cleanup® fostering these connections to build an even stronger river movement! Here’s what local organizers and volunteers have said: 

In our community, everything that isn’t picked up ends up in our waterways. […] Trash, littering, and throwing things in the creeks and rivers are a huge problem here and the cleanup is changing people’s hearts and minds!

Kammy Ostrander; 6/12/2021; Leslie County Community Canoe Cleanup, Kentucky Middle Fork River

We had no idea how much local wildlife was here. […] We now have more appreciation for this local habitat.

Volunteer, Mother, local resident (Chicago River Day, Chicago and Calumet Rivers) 

The volunteers had no idea how much trash was in the river and were both appalled by it and ready to do their part to clean it up. They were ready to do cleanups every month.

Liz Metzger; 9/17/2021; Ausable River Clean-up, Ausable River

Our volunteers said that they enjoyed seeing a “hidden gem” in the Village and that the day was “therapeutic”.

Kate Chapel; 6/18/2022; Oakwood Stream Cleanup, Tinker’s Creek (tributary)

[A highlight of the cleanup was] getting to meet new people who are interested in conservation and volunteering.

Zach Fletcher; 7/16/2022; Meramec River Cleanup, Meramec River

Onward! 

Looking forward, NRC is focusing on expanding and diversifying the cleanup organizer network, facilitating more discussions between cleanup organizers, and creating new resources. We will continue engaging volunteers to participate in in-person and virtual litter collection opportunities and collaborating with companies to host employee and public volunteer opportunities. We are excited to continue championing a powerful river movement within American Rivers’ refreshed strategic direction and invite you to join us as we embark on the next 50 years of action for the rivers all life depends on. Onward!

This blog was written by Corporate Relations Fellow, Kristen Nieves

Each year since 1984, American Rivers’ report on America’s Most Endangered Rivers® has been a call to action for 10 rivers whose fates hang in the balance. The national campaign galvanizes thousands around the country to contact decision makers to do the right thing for rivers and the life they support.  

The national spotlight we create with our local partners has spurred successes for rivers from coast to coast. Together, we stopped fracking at the headwaters of the Wild and Scenic Hoback River in Wyoming. We forced a munitions plant on the Holston River in Tennessee to clean up groundwater pollution. And highlighting the threat that dams pose to fish and wildlife in the St. Lawrence River in New York helped spur a plan to improve water quality, support fisheries and bolster the region’s economy. Washington’s Elwha and White Salmon rivers, along with Maine’s Penobscot, which today are nationally recognized dam removal and river restoration success stories, were all once Most Endangered Rivers. So was the Klamath, where the world’s biggest dam removal and river restoration effort kicks off this year. 

When applied at the right moment, America’s Most Endangered Rivers® helps local leaders save their rivers and improve the lives and livelihoods of millions of people.  

In the words of advocate Lin Wellford on the Buffalo National River, “I definitely think Endangered Rivers played a huge part in taking our plight to a national level. Kudos to you and all your staff for helping us finally hit a tipping point that no one thought we would ever hit. Please spread the news far and wide to give all those other river advocates hope that they too may slay the dragons they face.” 

Thanks to our partners and supporters for making these America’s Most Endangered Rivers® victories possible – and may these stories serve as inspiration for others nationwide: 

THE EEL RIVER, CALIFORNIA (2023)

Our Endangered River listing helped expedite consensus on the need for dam removal in the Eel River watershed. Thanks to the work of Congressman Huffman, Round Valley Indian Tribes, local advocates, and American Rivers, in November 2023, Pacific Gas & Electric Company released a draft decommissioning plan that included the removal of both Scott and Cape Horn dams. American Rivers continues its advocacy for an outcome that ensures dam removal while preserving water deliveries essential to stakeholder interests. A final decommissioning plan is due from PG&E in January 2025.

BOUNDARY WATERS, MINNESOTA (2013, 2018, 2021) 

In early 2023, Interior Secretary Haaland ordered a 20-year mineral withdrawal (mining ban) in Superior National Forest lands in the watershed of the Boundary Waters and Voyageurs National Park. American Rivers supported our partners in the Boundary Waters through America’s Most Endangered Rivers in 2013, 2018, and 2021, shining a spotlight on the damage mining would cause to clean water. 

BUFFALO NATIONAL RIVER, ARKANSAS (2017, 2019) 

Thanks to the hard work of local advocates and thousands of people from across the country, Arkansas’ Gov. Asa Hutchinson made a deal to close the industrial hog farm that had been impacting water quality and causing algae outbreaks stretching 70 miles downstream in the Buffalo National River.  

GILA RIVER, NEW MEXICO (2019) 

Our Endangered River listing helped kill a harmful diversion project on the Gila, New Mexico’s last major free-flowing stream. Thanks to opposition by New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan-Grisham and Sens. Tom Udall (D-NM) and Martin Heinrich (D-NM), the Department of the Interior declined to extend federal funding for a proposed diversion dam — crippling the project. Upstream, American Rivers and our partners are working to permanently protect the Gila under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. 

GREEN-DUWAMISH RIVER, WASHINGTON (2019)  

In 2020, the King County Flood Control District committed $6.7 million from its 2020 budget to increase salmon habitat and reduce flood risk to nearby communities. The river’s chinook salmon are vital to the Duwamish Tribe and critical to the diet of endangered Southern Resident orcas. However, decades of contamination, floodplain development, and dams have devastated the salmon population. This new commitment will help restore floodplain habitat and protect local communities from increasing flood risks due to climate change. 

HOBACK RIVER, WYOMING (2011, 2012) 

To stop fracking at the headwaters of the Wild and Scenic Hoback, American Rivers and our partners raised almost $9 million to buy back natural gas leases from a Houston-based energy company. The buyout — combined with existing legislation that bans new oil and gas leasing in the Wyoming Range protects clean water, wildlife, and recreational opportunities for generations to come. 

MIDDLE FORK CLEARWATER AND LOCHSA RIVERS, IDAHO (2014)  

Multinational companies wanted to transport massive mining and oil processing equipment, known as “megaloads,” along the narrow, winding highway paralleling these Wild and Scenic rivers. Megaloads can be longer than a football field and weigh a million pounds. A 2017 settlement between the Nez Perce Tribe and the U.S. Forest Service upholds Wild and Scenic safeguards and prohibits megaloads from traveling alongside the rivers. 

RAPPAHANNOCK RIVER, VIRGINIA (2017) 

Rich in American heritage, a healthy Rappahannock River is important to the Chesapeake Bay. But the river has been threatened by fracking. In 2020, the state of Virginia banned fracking in the eastern part of the state, a move that came after a years-long campaign to expose the public health and environmental dangers of fracking, which include contamination of drinking water. 

ST. LAWRENCE RIVER, NEW YORK (2016)  

Our America’s Most Endangered Rivers listing in 2016 shined a spotlight on dams harming fish and wildlife and helped secure a solution: The U.S. and Canadian governments approved a plan in 2017 to restore more than 64,000 acres of wetlands along the St. Lawrence. The plan will improve water quality, support fisheries and biodiversity, control erosion, and bolster the region’s economy. 

SOUTH FORK SKYKOMISH RIVER, WASHINGTON (2012, 2017)  

Thanks to seven years of overwhelming public opposition and determined local activism, a proposed hydropower project at Sunset Falls was canceled by the local public utility district. The facility would have rerouted a 1.1-mile stretch of the South Fork Skykomish, reducing the river to a trickle and devastating the spring migration of steelhead smolts and chinook salmon, which are critical to struggling Southern Resident orcas. 

Our work at American Rivers is rooted in the belief that healthy rivers are for everyone, not just a privileged few. People of Color and Tribal Nations feel the impacts of pollution and other river threats disproportionately due to historical and contemporary policies and practices that maintain inequities. We observe Women’s History Month 2023 with a celebration of authors writing about environmental justice, Indigenous knowledge, life lessons from waters, plants, and animals, the power of imagination, and the future of conservation for people and the planet.  

First, the national bestseller Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by MacArthur ‘Genius’ Grant Winner Robin Wall Kimmerer offers insights into scientific knowledge, Indigenous wisdom, and the teachings of plants.  

“Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, a mother, and a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings—asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass—offer us gifts and lessons, even if we’ve forgotten how to hear their voices.” 

Next, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals is a beautiful mix of poetic sensibility, naturalist observation, and Black feminist insight. Like many of us who draw wisdom from the natural world when we spend time on our favorite rivers, Gumbs translates the submerged wisdom of marine mammals to reveal what they might teach us about humans as a part of nature’s ecosystems and approaches to caring for ourselves and all species on the planet.

Like Gumbs, Kai Cheng Thom’s children’s book From the Stars in the Sky to The Fish in The Sea takes a poetic approach to the many magical possibilities and lessons we can learn from nature’s uniqueness and infinite possibilities. Thom’s beautifully illustrated book invites readers to engage the imagination of their own inner child (I’ve always wanted to be a really big interesting insect!) and features a mother’s loving refrain: 

“whatever you dream of / i believe you can be / from the stars in the sky to the fish in the sea.”

Next, Making Livable Worlds: Afro-Puerto Rican Women Building Environmental Justice by Hilda Lloréns surveys the inspiring work of Afro-Puerto Rican women navigating the multiple ongoing crises that have followed Hurricanes Irma and María. Lloréns highlights the cultural knowledge and daily improvisations that enable frontline communities, and the environmental justice leaders working to sustain them, to survive and thrive.

Finally, author Leah Thomas offers both a guide and a call to action in The Intersectional Environmentalist: How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet. Thomas offers an accessible overview, linking environmentalism, racism, and privilege. This book promotes awareness of the fundamental truth that we cannot save the planet without uplifting the voices of its people — especially those most often unheard.  

This year, American Rivers introduced a new tagline for the organization: Life Depends on Rivers. It could not be a more appropriate description of the threats rivers face and the importance of our work. Fortunately, rivers and human systems are dynamic in their ability to heal. Enabling rivers to heal is our best hope to address climate change, protect freshwater species, and equitably provide the benefits of healthy rivers and clean water to everyone. 

The Wild and Scenic Rivers Coalition set out to advocate in Washington DC for rivers the week of March 6th. Approximately 40 coalition members were able to divide and conquer, ultimately meeting with more than 80 congressional offices, promoting 16 different campaigns. American Rivers is a founding member and an active participant in the coalition. It was a full and successful week and as individuals embarked on their journeys home to varying states, the resounding message remains on Capitol Hill- For the rivers!

The following bills and campaigns were amplified during the week’s meetings:

WASHINGTON

                Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act

OREGON

                River Democracy Act

                Smith River National Recreation Area Expansion Act S.162

                Oregon Recreation Enhancement Act S.440

CALIFORNIA

                Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation, and Working Forests Act

                Central Heritage Protection Act

                San Gabriel Mountains Foothills and Rivers Protection Act

COLORADO

                Dolores River National Conservation Area and Special Management Area Act

                Crystal Wild and Scenic River (Emerging)

                Deep Creek Wild and Scenic River (Emerging)

NEW MEXICO

                M.H. Dutch Salmon Greater Gila Wild and Scenic River Act

MONTANA

                Montana Headwaters Legacy Act

MASSACHUSETTES

                S.4631 Deerfield River Wild and Scenic River Study Act

VERMONT

                H.R. 1063 Nulhegan and Paul Stream Wild and Scenic River Designation

ALABAMA

                Little Wild and Scenic River (Emerging)

ARIZONA

                Upper Verde Wild and Scenic River (Emerging)

NORTH CAROLINA

                Nolichucky Wild and Scenic River (Emerging)

It’s a familiar scenario: Rising rivers are pinched off from the flood plains that could have spread, slowed, and stored the sudden abundance of water. Floodwaters break through levees and leave destruction and heartbreaking loss in their wake. Renewed frustration and fury enter the public dialogue about “wasted” water.  

I could be describing the recent events in California, where footage of fast-moving rivers carrying floodwaters out into the Pacific Ocean baffled some who have been preoccupied (and rightfully so) with drought and dire predictions about the fate of California’s water supply. But it’s also the story of the Mississippi River in the aftermath of the 1849 flood of New Orleans. And the 1927 flood in New Orleans. And California’s Central Valley floods of 1964, 1982, 1995, 1997, 2017, and, of course, this past month. Over the past 150 years of river management, floods have been framed as “wasted water,” falsely pitting the environment against the economy, ignoring the self-inflicted consequences of rivers constrained by levees, and overlooking the opportunities healthy rivers provide to support people and ecosystems. It is time (again) to take a more holistic approach, recognizing that the health of our rivers is central to our state’s future. Flowing rivers are working rivers, and they benefit us all. 

River managers use the term “environmental flows” to describe the water that’s allowed to stay in rivers to nurture the ecosystem, as opposed to water diverted or stored for farms, cities or hydropower. While I worked at the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences, we dove in deep on environmental flows, calculating an environmental flow management strategy for every major tributary to the San Joaquin River, which nourishes the valley that bears its name. We modeled two environmental flow policies being considered by the state and how each affected a watershed’s hydropower production, flood control, and water supply. 

The first provides a percentage of natural flows, ranging from 30% to 50%.

The second focuses on restoring specific pieces of annual flow patterns that support ecologically valuable functions (e.g., seasonal floods or spring snowmelt). 

The big takeaway? Healthy, flowing rivers benefit people. We learned that environmental flows can enhance the state’s hydropower production, rather than create an additional constraint to competing water demands. We learned that water was available for storage when we focused on the relationship between flow quantity and ecological quality. We recognized that, above a certain point, more water was not necessarily better.  

But we also learned that, even if we committed to environmental flows tomorrow, we’ve pinched our rivers so tightly between a maze of levees that they don’t have space to carry even modest historical floods, let alone what we’re likely to see with climate change.

In 2015, Erin McCombs of American Rivers invited the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to join the North Carolina Aquatic Connectivity Team (ACT), a group focused on river connectivity and dam removal. This was an unusual move as regulators do not often get invited to participate in such groups — but the brilliant approach of the ACTs was to invite all voices to the table. My colleague and I hopped in a car and headed to North Carolina, unsure what – if anything – we could bring to the table. We were surprised when Erin urged us to consider how the regulatory/permitting process could be an obstacle to river restoration. I thought, “Clarifying the regulatory process in North Carolina was surely something we could do. How hard would that be?” As it turns out, it would take 7 years. But along the way, we would learn a lot and we now celebrate three dam removal handbooks completed in three years! But I’m jumping ahead.

For the past 14 years, I served as technical lead for addressing pollution from hydrologic alteration, such as dams, diversions, and surface and groundwater withdrawals for the Southeast. This was sometimes an area of great controversy, but over the years, removing dams to restore the natural infrastructure of rivers and streams emerged as a concept on which almost everyone agreed. Dam removal restores connectivity for fish and other aquatic life, enables threatened and endangered species to thrive, re-establishes thermal and sediment regimes, and restores dissolved oxygen and could accelerate long-delayed land building in the coastal zone. Dam removal could enhance local economic development, restore safe river recreation, and remove public safety hazards. Where appropriate, the EPA supported these restoration projects, published dam removal success stories, and provided EPA grants.

In 2016, I was offered an opportunity to pull together a team to develop national guidance on how dam removal is viewed under the Clean Water Act. It was an opportunity to clarify the ecological and water quality benefits of removal, as well as co-benefits to public safety, economic development, connectivity, river recreation, and more. Keeping in mind Erin’s request, we sought to clarify the permitting process. One obstacle was instantly clear – the process was different in every state – and in each of the 38 Army Corps of Engineers Districts. We could not fully clarify the process in a national document.

To clarify the process at the state level, we started with a group from the Georgia Aquatic Connectivity Team including state and federal regulators, natural resource agencies, the University of Georgia, utilities, dam owners, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), determined to capture the information needed for any project manager or dam owner interested in removal.  It was not as straightforward as we hoped – there is no one agency that is fully over all dams or the process of dam removal. Through productive conversations, we drafted language collaboratively and outlined regulatory processes without promising regulatory outcomes. In June 2020, the Georgia Dam Removal Handbook was published – a state and US Army Corps of Engineers-specific guide for dam removal. The document has been downloaded hundreds of times. One email we received in response stated, “…check out the contributors on this document. Can you believe all of these people worked together?”

The following year, American Rivers asked us to pull together a Regulatory Committee for the South Carolina ACT to create a state- and Corps-specific Handbook. This time, we were prepared to hear all of the voices and urged them to tell their story of dam removal – which was different than Georgia’s. We spent six months learning each other’s processes and in December 2021, published the South Carolina Dam Removal Handbook.

I decided to retire in October of 2022. I had a lot to wrap up, but it troubled me that I had never fulfilled my promise to Erin to clarify the regulatory process for dam removal in North Carolina. Erin gave me a hard nudge. We pulled together an experienced group of state and federal regulators, state and federal natural resource agencies, and NGOs with extensive experience in dam removal who agreed to work together in record time to create a Handbook. North Carolina is one of the most successful southern states for dam removals and we wanted to tell North Carolina’s story from the mountains to the sea. For the first time, we included the tribal perspective on dam removal thanks to the input and perspective from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Eleven days before retiring, we turned over the NC Dam Removal Handbook final draft to Erin. We completed three state- and Corps-specific dam removal handbooks for the Southeast ACTs in three years. I hope the publications, and the relationships formed along the way, will help to significantly remove regulatory barriers to the restoration of rivers and streams through dam removal in the Southeast. Thank you to all who contributed to this Handbook. And special thanks to American Rivers, The Nature Conservancy, and Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership (SARP), for creating collaborative platforms through the ACTS bringing disparate voices together to have meaningful collaborations – and for not being afraid to invite a regulator to the table.

This is a guest blog written by Lisa Perras Gordon, (retired) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

With all the conversation going on around falling water levels in Lake Powell, one issue that has garnered less press is how small mouth bass are passing through Glen Canyon dam and into Grand Canyon. Certainly, there have been some stories, but not to the degree that maybe the issue deserves, given the severity of the concern for the sheer disruption it could cause in the aquatic ecosystem of Grand Canyon.

Small mouth bass is the most recent, and alarming, arrival among a number of non-native fish that have been identified in the Colorado River below Glen Canyon dam. There is evidence that green sunfish, carp, and a few other species exist in Grand Canyon, and all these fish are, in one way or another, a threat to the delicate balance that exists in the canyon for native fish, some of which are on the Endangered Species list. Humpback chub is the Grand Canyon fish that states and the federal government have spent the most effort and money to recover over the past few decades, and recent data shows that the canyon’s humpback chub population has staged quite a comeback.

Green sunfish were discovered in Grand Canyon in 2015, and their presence in the canyon has generally been from being pulled through the hydropower generation tubes in Glen Canyon Dam, and to a lesser degree from being flushed into the canyon during flash floods that race down the Little Colorado River. Small mouth bass were introduced into Lake Powell in 1982 and thrive in the warm water layers near the top of the lake. Small mouth bass (and green sunfish) are both voracious feeders, and adults can grow to between 12-22 inches long. Humpback chub is also a reasonably sized fish, with adults getting up to about 20 inches in length. They can live to be up to about 30 years old in the wild and are uniquely adapted to surviving in their whitewater habitat.

Small mouth bass pose an urgent two-pronged threat that could put the decades of work (and investment) that has gone into recovering humpback chub populations in real jeopardy. First, small mouth bass would prey on the much younger humpback chub juveniles, creating a “generational” problem with mature humpback chub getting older over time with a lot fewer young chubs coming up behind them. The second problem, which sets small mouth bass apart from green sunfish, is that the small mouth bass’ “gape” or ability to open its mouth really wide, is considerably larger than the green sunfish, making it possible for the bass to eat even adult humpback chub. So, the threat of decimating the population of chub actually exists for both juveniles and adults.

A logical question then might be – “how are these fish getting into Grand Canyon when they have never been there before?” The answer points directly back to lake levels in Lake Powell. Take a look at the chart below…

What this chart shows is the temperature of the water from the lake’s surface to the depths, by year. Lake elevation is the vertical axis, with time on the horizontal axis from the year 2000 on the far left to 2023 on the far right. The big change is within the big red circle on the upper right – showing how the warmer temperature water has steadily declined past the black line that identifies the elevation of the “penstocks” or the tubes through the dam where water flows to produce hydropower. As the lake has fallen, small mouth bass have been pulled lower and lower in their comfy warm layer until they can pass through the hydropower tubes, through the dam, into Grand Canyon.

Additionally, since that water is so warm, once they get below the dam they have a new playground (and breeding ground) that is warm and full of food. And this is where the real concern is – both that small mouth bass can now reproduce in that warm water and have an abundant food source in both young brown and rainbow trout (in the usually cold waters just below the dam – a very productive trout fishing destination) and native fishes like humpback chub.

Concern has been raised over the past couple of years as lake levels have fallen, but it wasn’t until last spring that there was evidence that the fish had passed through the dam. But now they are there, and the National Park Service, Arizona Game & Fish, Bureau of Reclamation, and other stakeholders are all trying to figure out the best way to address this issue. Upon discovering that the fish were actually in the canyon, officials began poisoning the fish to try to tamp down the population, but that solution is not a long-term answer, and is highly troubling for tribal people who object to the taking of life.

Currently, the Bureau of Reclamation is conducting an assessment is exploring four different proposals for how to flow more cold water through the dam to hopefully discourage the small mouth bass from reproducing. In the meantime, there are other proposals for how to screen or block the fish from getting close enough to the dam to be pulled through the hydropower tubes. The public can comment until March 10 by submitting your comments to this email address.

It’s a complicated issue, and one that many people are trying to figure out the best path forward. Millions of dollars have been spent recovering humpback chub and other native fish in Grand Canyon. We must figure out ways to sustain the native fish population within the canyon and help keep that ecosystem in balance.

This is a guest blog written by American Rivers’ partner, Friends of the Cheat. Since 1994, Friends of the Cheat have been working to restore, preserve, promote the outstanding natural qualities of the Cheat River watershed in West Virginia.

The Albright Power Dam is significantly closer to removal, thanks to a $1 million boost from the 2022 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The West Virginia dam is one of American Rivers’ 25 Dams to Watch in 2022—a list that highlights noteworthy dam removal projects across the United States. Once completed, this project will open 75 miles of the Cheat River and hundreds of miles of tributaries, offering tremendous benefits to the local communities and ecosystems.

American Rivers has been a lead partner on the efforts to remove the dam since 2018, providing critical guidance and mentorship to Friends of the Cheat’s staff. Serving on the project implementation team, American Rivers is helping partners find creative solutions to move the project forward.

Removing the dam will have positive impacts on the local ecosystem and community. Nearly 40 fish species will once again be able to migrate up and downstream to secure habitat and food. Also, for the first time in 70 years, local community members will be able to recreate in this section of the Cheat River.

A History of Pollution, Followed by Restoration

Since then, Friends of the Cheat has been working to restore the river. The Albright Power Dam was originally built to feed the cooling towers of the coal-fired Albright Power Station, which was decommissioned in 2012. The decommissioning created a new opportunity for Friends of the Cheat to work toward the dam’s removal to further improve conditions for the ecosystem, recreation, and the community. 

Opening Up the Cheat for Fish and Wildlife

“I’m excited to see a wild river flowing unobstructed, especially for walleye and other fish populations to grow and return to their native habitats,” Madison Ball, Friends of the Cheat conservation program director.

Healthy river ecosystems have a variety of prey and predator fish species, each with their own specific roles and habitat preferences, and they provide great recreational fishing opportunities.

The lower Cheat River has recently seen the return of pollution-sensitive species, such as walleye and smallmouth bass. The upper Cheat has a robust smallmouth bass fishery, but walleye have not been re-established here after pollution eliminated them from this part of the river. 

Now that the river is no longer impaired, removing the Albright Power Dam will reconnect these reaches, allowing walleye to move upstream and increasing angling opportunities. In addition to having access to major tributaries, connection back to Cheat Lake will be important for walleye and other species’ long-term success. 

Other aquatic wildlife will benefit from the dam removal. Eastern hellbender, an indicator species, and the largest of U.S. salamander species will have more habitat to help their struggling populations. And freshwater mussels, which help filter water, are also expected to thrive with a free-flowing river.

Removing a Safety Hazard, Improving the Local Economy

“Low head dams like the Albright Power Station Dam are most dangerous to recreationalists,” Jim Snyder, Cheat River whitewater enthusiast.

The water around Albright Power Dam can be deceiving. The water pooling behind it may appear calm, but as it spills over the dam it can create currents that drown people, even those wearing life jackets. The age of the structure and recent trends towards increased rain and more common flooding events across the region are all cause for concern if it is not removed.

There is also no established portage route around the Albright Power Dam, greatly limiting recreation opportunities in the area. Removing the dam will help people access this area safely, benefiting them and the economy with a new stretch of river open for paddlers and fishing opportunities.

Federal funding for the project came from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Fish Passage Program. Partners at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation also supported the project with a $460,000 in grant and matching funds through the Central Appalachia Habitat Stewardship Program.