Excessive water withdrawals threaten community access, fish and wildlife
Contact: Amy Merrill, American Rivers, 510-809-8010
Kelly Damian, Bring Back the Kern, 661-333-6695
Washington, D.C. – American Rivers today named the Lower Kern River one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2022, highlighting the threat that excessive water withdrawals pose to the life of the river, including community access and recreation, as well as fish and wildlife.
Decades of excessive water diversions for agriculture have dried up the last 25 miles of the Lower Kern River. Instead of allowing the water to run through the natural river channel, water is transported to water rights holders through an elaborate system of concrete-lined canals, several of which run parallel to the dry riverbed. This denies the community of Bakersfield, California, access to a flowing river and harms the entire web of life, from riverside trees and vegetation to fish, birds and wildlife. Only in years with extraordinary rainfall – when there is more water than irrigation districts need – does water flow in the river. In the more common dry periods, which will become even more frequent with climate change, the river that should be the gem of Bakersfield and a natural asset for roughly 500,000 residents is a lifeless eyesore.
“America’s Most Endangered Rivers is an urgent call to action,” said Amy Merrill with American Rivers. “It’s time to restore some balance to the Lower Kern River. Putting water back in the river will transform what is now a dry, dusty channel into a thriving natural asset for all of the people of Bakersfield.”
American Rivers and its partners called on the California State Water Resources Control Board to bring the river back to life by compelling water districts to establish and adhere to minimum flow requirements, thereby returning water to the river to support local communities, groundwater recharge, fish and wildlife.
“The Kern River being dry is totally unnecessary. Other communities across California have found ways to restore and protect environmental flows on waterways much smaller than the Kern,” said Tim McNeely, a board member of the Kern River Flyfishers Club. “The State Water Board needs to force diverters to restore the river— without this pressure, substantive change won’t happen.”
“Allowing our precious Kern River water to flow in the natural riverbed through Bakersfield will enhance the beneficial use of the river,” said Matthew Mayry, a hydrogeologist and contributor to Bring Back the Kern. “The water will remain in the basin and be available for downstream irrigation diversion, it will be available to recharge the aquifer and it will greatly benefit our community and wildlife.”
“At least some of the Kern’s water needs to flow in the river channel where it will improve quality of life for all residents, provide recreational opportunities for disadvantaged communities and nurture sensitive and threatened ecosystems,” said Bill Cooper, co-founder of the Kern River Parkway Foundation.
Allowing the Lower Kern River to dry out is illegal. Under the Public Trust Doctrine, California is obligated to protect flowing waterways for the benefit of current and future generations. A dry river also does not comply with California Fish and Game Code requiring dam operators to provide steady flows below dams to sustain fisheries. These laws have been used in California to prevent waterways such as Mono Lake, Putah Creek and the San Joaquin River from being sucked dry. Despite success stories elsewhere, the state has never acted to enforce these laws in the allocation and use of Kern River water.
About Most Endangered Rivers
The annual America’s Most Endangered Rivers report is a list of rivers at a crossroads, where key decisions in the coming months will determine the rivers’ fates. Over the years, the report has helped spur many successes including the removal of outdated dams, the protection of rivers with Wild and Scenic designations and the prevention of harmful development and pollution.
The Kern River previously appeared on this list in 1986, 1990 and 1998, due to proposed dams. Also included on the list this year is the Los Angeles River and Colorado River. Other rivers in California listed as most endangered in recent years include the McCloud River (2021), Bear River (2017) and San Joaquin River (2016).
American Rivers reviews nominations for America’s Most Endangered Rivers from local groups and individuals across the country, and selects rivers based on three criteria: 1) the river’s significance to people and wildlife, 2) the magnitude of the threat to the river and communities, especially in light of climate change and environmental justice, 3) a decision in the next 12 months that the public can influence.
America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2022
#1 Colorado River
State: CO, UT, AZ, NV, CA, WY, NM, Mexico
Threat: Climate change, outdated water management
#2 Snake River
State: ID, WA, OR
Threat: Four federal dams
#3 Mobile River
State: AL
Threat: Coal ash contamination
#4 Maine’s Atlantic Salmon Rivers
State: ME
Threat: Dams
#5 Coosa River
State: TN, GA, AL
Threat: Agricultural pollution
#6 Mississippi River
State: MN, WI, IL, IA, MO, KY, TN, AR, MS, LA
Threat: Pollution, habitat loss
#7 Lower Kern River
State: CA
Threat: Excessive water withdrawals
#8 San Pedro River
State: AZ
Threat: Excessive water pumping; loss of Clean Water Act protections
#9 Los Angeles River
State: CA
Threat: Development, pollution
#10 Tar Creek
State: OK
Threat: Pollution
ABOUT AMERICAN RIVERS
American Rivers believes a future of clean water and healthy rivers for everyone, everywhere is essential. Since 1973, we have protected wild rivers, restored damaged rivers and conserved clean water for people and nature. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., and 300,000 supporters, members and volunteers across the country, we are the most trusted and influential river conservation organization in the United States, delivering solutions for a better future. Because life needs rivers. www.AmericanRivers.org
Industrial agricultural pollution threatens clean water, recreation economy
Contact:
Ben Emanuel, American Rivers, 706-340-8868
Justinn Overton, Coosa Riverkeeper, 205-981-6565
Jesse Demonbreun-Chapman, Upper Coosa Riverkeeper/Coosa River Basin Initiative, 706-232-2724
Washington, D.C. – American Rivers today named the Coosa River among America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2022, highlighting the threat that industrial agricultural pollution poses to clean water, communities and local economies.
Millions of tons of chicken feces from billions of chickens is a major threat to the Coosa River’s drinking water supply and overall ecosystem health. The waste is spread on fields, and massive industrial poultry farms discharge their wastewater into municipal sewer systems that are crumbling, where permits are inadequate to protect water quality if they are even enforced at all. Local governments favor industrial operators over the health of Black and low-income communities, forcing them to suffer the consequences of inadequate enforcement.
“America’s Most Endangered Rivers is an urgent call to action. This pollution threatens people and nature and could lead to more dangerous toxic algae outbreaks. Now is the time for everyone who cares about public health and a clean Coosa River to speak up,” said Ben Emanuel with American Rivers.
American Rivers and its partners called on the Environmental Protection Agency to demand that state agencies enforce existing Clean Water Act safeguards to protect clean water, fish and wildlife and public health.
“The unfortunate intersection of heavy nutrient pollution and frequent sanitary sewer overflows leaves the communities and families who live, work and play along the Coosa River vulnerable to the potential of harmful algal outbreaks and a variety of water-borne illnesses,” said Justinn Overton, Coosa Riverkeeper and Executive Director. “Alabamians deserve to have state regulatory agencies who protect water quality, enforce permit limitations and issue heavy fines.”
“The Coosa River basin is a remarkable place and deserves robust protection from nutrient pollution. We can’t solve this problem without collecting region-wide data on how nutrient waste is being distributed, and EPA Region 4 is uniquely positioned to collect that data,” said Jesse Demonbreun-Chapman, Executive Director & Riverkeeper at Coosa River Basin Initiative.
The Etowah and Oostanaula rivers join to form the Coosa River in Rome, Georgia. From there, the Coosa River flows 280 miles through Alabama supporting one of North America’s largest and most significant biodiversity hotspots and helps form the Alabama River, then the Mobile River, before flowing into the Gulf of Mexico.
The annual America’s Most Endangered Rivers report is a list of rivers at a crossroads, where key decisions in the coming months will determine the rivers’ fates. Over the years, the report has helped spur many successes including the removal of outdated dams, the protection of rivers with Wild and Scenic designations and the prevention of harmful development and pollution.
The Coosa River previously appeared on this list in 1999 and 2010. The Mobile River is also listed as endangered this year due to toxic coal ash pollution. Other rivers in the region listed as most endangered in recent years include the South River and Turkey Creek (2021), Big Sunflower River (2020 and 2018), Okefenokee Swamp and St. Marys River (2020) and Apalachicola, Chattahoochee and Flint rivers (2016).
American Rivers reviews nominations for America’s Most Endangered Rivers from local groups and individuals across the country, and selects rivers based on three criteria: 1) the river’s significance to people and wildlife, 2) the magnitude of the threat to the river and communities, especially in light of climate change and environmental justice, 3) a decision in the next 12 months that the public can influence.
America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2022
#1 Colorado River
State: CO, UT, AZ, NV, CA, WY, NM, Mexico
Threat: Climate change, outdated water management
#2 Snake River
State: ID, WA, OR
Threat: Four federal dams
#3 Mobile River
State: AL
Threat: Coal ash contamination
#4 Maine’s Atlantic Salmon Rivers
State: ME
Threat: Dams
#5 Coosa River
State: TN, GA, AL
Threat: Agricultural pollution
#6 Mississippi River
State: MN, WI, IL, IA, MO, KY, TN, AR, MS, LA
Threat: Pollution, habitat loss
#7 Lower Kern River
State: CA
Threat: Excessive water withdrawals
#8 San Pedro River
State: AZ
Threat: Excessive water pumping; loss of Clean Water Act protections
#9 Los Angeles River
State: CA
Threat: Development, pollution
#10 Tar Creek
State: OK
Threat: Pollution
ABOUT AMERICAN RIVERS
American Rivers believes a future of clean water and healthy rivers for everyone, everywhere is essential. Since 1973, we have protected wild rivers, restored damaged rivers and conserved clean water for people and nature. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., and 300,000 supporters, members and volunteers across the country, we are the most trusted and influential river conservation organization in the United States, delivering solutions for a better future. Because life needs rivers. www.AmericanRivers.org
Contact:
Jessie Thomas-Blate, American Rivers, 202-243-7030
Brett Ciccotelli, Downeast Salmon Federation, 207-812-0288
Landis Hudson, Maine Rivers, 207-831-3223
John Burrows, Atlantic Salmon Federation, 207-415-6637
Washington, D.C. – Maine’s Atlantic salmon rivers were today listed among America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2022. This designation highlights antiquated dams on the Kennebec, Union and Penobscot rivers— all owned by international energy giant Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE: BEP) (TSX: BEP-UN)— that are threatening the extinction of critically endangered Atlantic salmon in the United States.
In the 1990’s and early 2000’s a number of dams were removed from Maine’s rivers, spurring a dam removal movement that revitalized waterways across the country. However, remaining dams continue to restrict fish passage, impair water quality and impede restoration efforts on Maine’s salmon rivers.
“The future of Atlantic salmon now hangs in the balance. If we do not address the harmful impacts of these dams, we will lose these iconic fish forever. America’s Most Endangered Rivers is a call to action. Now is the time for everyone who cares about healthy rivers and salmon to speak up,” said Jessie Thomas-Blate with American Rivers.
“Brookfield needs to be held accountable for the devastating impacts that their dams inflict on the life of our rivers. No amount of greenwashing can cover up this reality. Across many rivers, one company is responsible for leading Atlantic salmon to extinction and that company needs to be called out,” said Landis Hudson, Executive Director of Maine Rivers.
“Brookfield is being sued for unlawfully killing endangered Atlantic salmon on the Kennebec River and has been denied a key water quality certificate for its dams on the Union River after failing to meet water quality standards. They are also facing challenges from anglers, paddlers, local communities and other NGOs for how they do business on other rivers in Maine,” said John Burrows, Executive Director of U.S. Operations for the Atlantic Salmon Federation. “While today we call on our state and federal agencies to take action on the Kennebec, Penobscot and Union, we must also not forget Maine’s other salmon rivers—from the Saco to the St. John—that suffer from the impacts of dams and industrial activities.”
American Rivers and its partners called on the state of Maine and federal agencies to use their authority under the Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act and Federal Power Act to restore river health and connectivity. Providing safe fish passage on these rivers and removing any obsolete, harmful dams will ensure a bright future for fish, wildlife and people who depend on them. Brookfield’s dams must meet legal safeguards if they are to continue operating on Maine’s rivers.
“For decades, Mainers have worked hard to protect and restore Maine’s salmon rivers by breaching dams, repairing fishways, protecting habitat and restocking rivers. For that work to pay off we need to make sure these critically endangered fish can get safely to and from their spawning beds,” said Dwayne Shaw, Executive Director of the Downeast Salmon Federation. “We’ve demonstrated successful conservation hatchery techniques that can restore wild salmon once rivers are fixed. Brookfield literally stands in the way of that work.”
Dams on the Kennebec, Penobscot and Union Rivers routinely kill salmon and other native species and hinder restoration efforts by blocking passage both upstream and downstream. The dams also severely limit efforts to restore other co-evolved species, like river herring, sea lamprey, American eel, Atlantic sturgeon and American shad.
Restoring passage to Maine’s rivers will help save Atlantic salmon, recharge commercial marine fisheries, bring ecological and economic rebirth to the Gulf of Maine and set the stage for even more restoration efforts. Rejuvenated fish runs in these rivers will also help fulfill long ignored sustenance fishing and treaty promises made to the Indigenous people of Maine, who both rely on and care for these rivers.
The annual America’s Most Endangered Rivers report is a list of rivers at a crossroads, where key decisions in the coming months will determine the rivers’ fates. Over the years, the report has helped spur many successes including the removal of outdated dams, the protection of rivers with Wild and Scenic designations and the prevention of harmful development and pollution.
Previously, the Penobscot appeared on this list from 1989 through 1996 due to the impact of dams. The Kennebec and Union rivers have never been featured before. Other rivers in the region listed as most endangered in recent years include the Ipswich River (2021) and Merrimack River (2016).
American Rivers reviews nominations for America’s Most Endangered Rivers from local groups and individuals across the country, and selects rivers based on three criteria: the river’s significance to people and wildlife; the magnitude of the threat to the river and communities, especially considering climate change and environmental justice; and a decision in the next 12 months that the public can influence.
America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2022
#1 Colorado River
State: CO, UT, AZ, NV, CA, WY, NM, Mexico
Threat: Climate change, outdated water management
#2 Snake River
State: ID, WA, OR
Threat: Four federal dams
#3 Mobile River
State: AL
Threat: Coal ash contamination
#4 Maine’s Atlantic Salmon Rivers
State: ME
Threat: Dams
#5 Coosa River
State: TN, GA, AL
Threat: Agricultural pollution
#6 Mississippi River
State: MN, WI, IL, IA, MO, KY, TN, AR, MS, LA
Threat: Pollution, habitat loss
#7 Lower Kern River
State: CA
Threat: Excessive water withdrawals
#8 San Pedro River
State: AZ
Threat: Excessive water pumping; loss of Clean Water Act protections
#9 Los Angeles River
State: CA
Threat: Development, pollution
#10 Tar Creek
State: OK
Threat: Pollution
ABOUT AMERICAN RIVERS
American Rivers believes a future of clean water and healthy rivers for everyone, everywhere is essential. Since 1973, we have protected wild rivers, restored damaged rivers and conserved clean water for people and nature. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., and 300,000 supporters, members and volunteers across the country, we are the most trusted and influential river conservation organization in the United States, delivering solutions for a better future. Because life needs rivers. www.AmericanRivers.org
Coal ash pollution threatens clean water, public health
Contact:
Ben Emanuel, American Rivers, 706-340-8868 Carol Adams-Davis, Sierra Club, 702-496-5050,
Cade Kistler, Mobile Baykeeper, 251-433-4229
Keith Johnston, Southern Environmental Law Center, 205-745-3060
Joe Womack, Africatown-CHESS (Clean, Healthy, Educated, Safe, Sustainable), 251-404-9558
Ramsey Sprague, (MEJAC) Mobile Environmental Justice Action Coalition, 682-556-0553
Charline Whyte, Sierra Club- Beyond Coal, 205-253-4235
Haley Lewis, GASP Group, 205-701-4272
Washington, D.C. – American Rivers today named the Mobile River one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2022, highlighting the threat that coal ash pollution poses to clean water and public health.
The river is threatened by a leaking coal ash pond at Alabama Power’s Plant Barry, which contains more than 21 million tons of toxic coal ash. Alabama Power’s federal groundwater monitoring shows arsenic and other pollutants are already leaking from the ash pond. This pollution threatens the health of the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, Mobile Bay, the historic African-American community of Africatown, the city of Mobile and the Port of Mobile.
“America’s Most Endangered Rivers is an urgent call to action. Unless we speak up and demand action now, toxic, cancer-causing pollution will threaten communities along the Mobile River for decades to come,” said Ben Emanuel with American Rivers.
American Rivers and its partners called on the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to enforce the removal and remediation of coal ash from the Plant Barry site and the banks of the Mobile River.
“Coal ash pollution is a serious public health crisis; it poisons the water that communities rely on. Plant Barry’s coal ash ticking time bomb is an example of what happens when regulatory agencies like ADEM focus on protecting industry instead of the communities they are supposed to serve,” said Jonathan Levenshus, Sierra Club Director of Federal Energy Campaigns. “Unfortunately, the coal ash at Plant Barry is only one of the sites in the United States that has millions and millions of tons of coal ash that are contaminating waterways. The EPA needs to step in and enforce federal regulations clearly stating that coal ash cannot be in contact with groundwater. Alabamians deserve protection from pollution, and if ADEM won’t step up to the plate, the EPA must act.”
“Recent clarifications of the coal ash rule by EPA reinforce that Alabama Power’s current plan to cap 21 million tons of coal ash in a leaking unlined pit beside the Mobile River and Mobile-Tensaw Delta is not only foolhardy, it is illegal,” said Cade Kistler, Mobile Baykeeper. “Instead, Alabama Power should follow the lead of utilities in other southeastern states like the Carolinas, Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia where utilities are removing and/or recycling 250 million tons of coal ash. If our neighbors around the southeast can find a way to clean out coal ash pits to protect public health, the environment and the economy, Alabama can too. Now EPA and ADEM need to require Alabama Power to comply with the law and protect Mobile River and Mobile Bay by requiring coal ash removal at Plant Barry.”
Coal ash is the concentrated by-product of burning coal and contains contaminants such as radium, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, selenium and other carcinogens. For decades, Alabama Power’s Plant Barry has dumped 21 million tons of toxic coal ash into a 597-acre unlined pit only supported by earthen berms— allowing heavy metals and other toxins to contaminate groundwater and migrate into the Mobile River watershed. Plant Barry is surrounded on three sides by the Mobile River and sits in a floodplain of the river next to the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta, a hotspot for diverse plants, fish, birds and wildlife. Federal law now bans coal ash ponds located in these types of locations.
The annual America’s Most Endangered Rivers report is a list of rivers at a crossroads, where key decisions in the coming months will determine the rivers’ fates. Over the years, the report has helped spur many successes including the removal of outdated dams, the protection of rivers with Wild and Scenic designations and the prevention of harmful development and pollution.
The Rivers of Mobile Bay were previously included on this list in 2017. Also included on this year’s list is the Coosa River, due to the threat of pollution from industrial poultry farms. Other rivers in the region listed as most endangered in recent years include the South River and Turkey Creek (2021), Big Sunflower River (2020 and 2018), Okefenokee Swamp and St. Marys River (2020), and Appalachicola, Chattahoochee, and Flint rivers (2016).
American Rivers reviews nominations for America’s Most Endangered Rivers from local groups and individuals across the country, and selects rivers based on three criteria: 1) the river’s significance to people and wildlife, 2) the magnitude of the threat to the river and communities, especially in light of climate change and environmental justice, 3) a decision in the next 12 months that the public can influence.
America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2022
#1 Colorado River
State: CO, UT, AZ, NV, CA, WY, NM, Mexico
Threat: Climate change, outdated water management
#2 Snake River
State: ID, WA, OR
Threat: Four federal dams
#3 Mobile River
State: AL
Threat: Coal ash contamination
#4 Maine’s Atlantic Salmon Rivers
State: ME
Threat: Dams
#5 Coosa River
State: TN, GA, AL
Threat: Agricultural pollution
#6 Mississippi River
State: MN, WI, IL, IA, MO, KY, TN, AR, MS, LA
Threat: Pollution, habitat loss
#7 Lower Kern River
State: CA
Threat: Excessive water withdrawals
#8 San Pedro River
State: AZ
Threat: Excessive water pumping; loss of Clean Water Act protections
#9 Los Angeles River
State: CA
Threat: Development, pollution
#10 Tar Creek
State: OK
Threat: Pollution
ABOUT AMERICAN RIVERS
American Rivers believes a future of clean water and healthy rivers for everyone, everywhere is essential. Since 1973, we have protected wild rivers, restored damaged rivers and conserved clean water for people and nature. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., and 300,000 supporters, members and volunteers across the country, we are the most trusted and influential river conservation organization in the United States, delivering solutions for a better future. Because life needs rivers. www.AmericanRivers.org
Four dams driving salmon to extinction, violating treaties with Northwest tribes
Contact:
Amy Souers Kober, American Rivers, 503-708-1145
Zachary DeWolf, Washington Environmental Council, 206-631-2629
Washington, D.C. – American Rivers today named the Snake River one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2022, highlighting the threat that four federal dams pose to the future of Tribal Nations and Northwest salmon across the region.
Wild salmon returns plummeted by over 90 percent following the construction of four federal dams – Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose and Lower Granite – on the lower Snake River in eastern Washington state. Today, thirteen salmon and steelhead runs in the Columbia and Snake rivers are listed under the Endangered Species Act. In spring 2021, researchers with the Nez Perce Tribe Department of Fisheries Resource Management predicted that by 2025, 77 percent of wild Chinook populations will be functionally extinct, meaning they have passed a biological threshold of long-term viability. Scientists believe all four salmon and steelhead runs in the Snake River Basin will go extinct without the removal of the four lower Snake dams and restoration of a free-flowing lower Snake River.
“America’s Most Endangered Rivers is an urgent call to action. We have a chance to do something extraordinary here in the Pacific Northwest. We can save salmon from extinction and revitalize the rivers that are the beating heart of this place we call home. We can honor commitments to tribes and invest in a future of abundant salmon, clean energy and thriving agriculture,” said Wendy McDermott, Northwest Regional Director with American Rivers.
American Rivers and its partners called on the Northwest congressional delegation and the Biden administration to work together to pass legislation that restores healthy and harvestable salmon runs, honors commitments to tribes and invests in clean energy and much needed transportation upgrades that will benefit the entire region.
The four lower Snake dams, built between 1955 and 1975, turned 140 miles of cool, free-flowing river into a series of slow-moving reservoirs, leading to lethally high water temperatures for salmon, impeding migration of salmon to and from the Pacific Ocean and killing young salmon attempting to pass through the dams to the ocean. The threat
posed by the dams is exacerbated by climate change, which is warming up the Snake River and making conditions even more dire for salmon. Additionally, the reservoirs are releasing methane into the atmosphere, a greenhouse gas 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide. While the dams are heating up the mainstem of the Snake River below Lewiston, Idaho, climate models project that the thousands of miles of streams above the dams will continue to provide clean, cold water owing to their high elevation and pristine condition. Scientists estimate that by 2080 the Snake River Basin will provide two-thirds of the coldest, most climate-resilient stream habitats for salmon and steelhead on the West Coast.
The dams on the lower Snake River are an ongoing source of injustice for Tribal Nations. The loss of salmon is violating the rights of Tribal Nations ensured by treaty with the U.S. government. The dams and reservoirs submerged or impacted between 600 and 700 important tribal cultural sites along the lower Snake and its tributaries, thousands of acres of treaty-based hunting and gathering places and countless graves of loved ones and sacred and ceremonial places. According to the report, Tribal Circumstances and Impacts of the Lower Snake River Project on the Nez Perce, Yakama, Umatilla, Warm Springs and Shoshone Bannock Tribes, loss of salmon threatens culture, community connection and well-being and is a major factor in health and income disparities.
The annual America’s Most Endangered Rivers report is a list of rivers at a crossroads, where key decisions in the coming months will determine the rivers’ fates. Over the years, the report has helped spur many successes including the removal of outdated dams, the protection of rivers with Wild and Scenic designations and the prevention of harmful development and pollution.
The Snake River was America’s #1 Most Endangered River in 2021. Other rivers in the region listed as most endangered in recent years include the South Fork of the Salmon River (2018-2021), Willamette River (2019) and Smith River (2018).
American Rivers reviews nominations for America’s Most Endangered Rivers from local groups and individuals across the country, and selects rivers based on three criteria: 1) the river’s significance to people and wildlife, 2) the magnitude of the threat to the river and communities, especially in light of climate change and environmental justice, 3) a decision in the next 12 months that the public can influence.
America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2022
#1 Colorado River
State: CO, UT, AZ, NV, CA, WY, NM, Mexico
Threat: Climate change, outdated water management
#2 Snake River
State: ID, WA, OR
Threat: Four federal dams
#3 Mobile River
State: AL
Threat: Coal ash contamination
#4 Maine’s Atlantic Salmon Rivers
State: ME
Threat: Dams
#5 Coosa River
State: TN, GA, AL
Threat: Agricultural pollution
#6 Mississippi River
State: MN, WI, IL, IA, MO, KY, TN, AR, MS, LA
Threat: Pollution, habitat loss
#7 Lower Kern River
State: CA
Threat: Excessive water withdrawals
#8 San Pedro River
State: AZ
Threat: Excessive water pumping; loss of Clean Water Act protections
#9 Los Angeles River
State: CA
Threat: Development, pollution
#10 Tar Creek
State: OK
Threat: Pollution
ABOUT AMERICAN RIVERS
American Rivers believes a future of clean water and healthy rivers for everyone, everywhere is essential. Since 1973, we have protected wild rivers, restored damaged rivers and conserved clean water for people and nature. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., and 300,000 supporters, members and volunteers across the country, we are the most trusted and influential river conservation organization in the United States, delivering solutions for a better future. Because life needs rivers. www.AmericanRivers.org
Climate change, overallocation threatens water source for seven states, 30 Tribal Nations and Mexico
Contact: Matt Rice, American Rivers, 803-422-5244
Washington, D.C. – American Rivers today named the Colorado River the #1 Most Endangered River in the country, highlighting the threat climate change and outdated water management pose to 30 federally-recognized Tribal Nations, seven states, Mexico and the drinking water for 40 million people. Also threatened is vital habitat for wildlife, as the Basin is home to 30 native fish species, two-thirds of which are threatened or endangered, and more than 400 bird species.
Rising temperatures and drought driven by climate change, combined with outdated river management and overallocation of limited water supplies, threaten the entire region. In March 2022, water levels at Lake Powell fell to the lowest point since the lake first filled in 1980 and have continued dropping. The Colorado River system is already operating at a deficit, and climate change is expected to further reduce the river’s flow by 10 to 30 percent by 2050.
“The Colorado River Basin is ground zero for the climate and water crisis. America’s Most Endangered Rivers® is an urgent call to action,” said Matt Rice, Director of the Southwest Region for American Rivers. “The seven Basin states and the Biden administration must work with Tribal Nations and Mexico to act urgently. Failure is simply not an option, given all that depends on a healthy Colorado River.”
“As the region learns to live with the river that we have, it is critically important that we continue to work together on equitable solutions for a healthy river, productive farms and thriving communities. I fear that if we dig into our corners and pursue litigation over collaboration, we will not be able to meet the challenge,” said Rice
“Collaboration is the only path to avoid catastrophic water shortages for people and nature,” said Jennifer Pitt, Colorado River Program Director for National Audubon Society. “We know how it works — ten years ago, the United States and Mexico modernized Colorado River management, collaborating to share the Colorado River’s water proportionately, while boosting cross-border investment in water conservation and beginning to restore the Colorado River in its delta.”
In 2023, mandatory cutbacks triggered by water shortage will cause Arizona to lose more than 500,000 acre-feet in Pinal County alone (roughly the drinking water supply for nearly 1.5 million households).
“What we’re facing now is the permanent warming and drying of the American Southwest,” said Brad Udall, Senior Water and Climate Research Scientist/Scholar at Colorado State University. “Scientists have a new term for this, called ‘aridification’. What we’re seeing here is anything but normal, because normal implies predictability. And unfortunately we don’t have predictability — climate change has ‘change’ in it for a reason. We’re going to need to apply some serious pressure to decision makers because we are running out of time to solve this problem.”
The river is the lifeblood for some of the country’s largest cities including Denver, Salt Lake City, Albuquerque, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego and Phoenix, and supports a $1.4 trillion economy. Yet many Tribal Nations across the Basin, despite holding significant senior water rights, suffer from a lack of modern water infrastructure, due to systemic inequities and historic disinvestment and continue to be marginalized in Basin-wide policy making. Forty-eight percent of tribal homes do not have access to reliable water sources, clean drinking water or basic sanitation.
American Rivers called on the seven Basin states and the Biden administration to engage with the Basin’s tribes to address this emergency. The administration and the seven Basin states must work together to allocate funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to implement proven, equitable solutions that prioritize river health and water security.
The Ten Strategies for Climate Resilience Report is one example of a road map for investment of federal infrastructure dollars in the Colorado River Basin as well as innovative practices to keep more water flowing in the Colorado River and reduce the pressure on the regional water supply. The old approaches of the past – more dams, diversions and concrete – are not the answer now. Natural infrastructure solutions, such as those outlined in the Ten Strategies report, are necessary at every scale across the Basin to ensure a future of healthy rivers and flexible, durable water supplies for all people.
“On the Colorado River and nationwide, the climate crisis is a water crisis,” said Tom Kiernan, President and CEO of American Rivers. “Just, equitable solutions for rivers and clean water are achievable and are essential to our health, safety and future.”
The annual America’s Most Endangered Rivers report is a list of rivers at a crossroads, where key decisions in the coming months will determine the rivers’ fates. Over the years, the report has helped spur many successes including the removal of outdated dams, the protection of rivers with Wild and Scenic designations and the prevention of harmful development and pollution.
The Colorado River previously received this designation in 1991, 1992, 2004 and 2013 (with portions of the river designated in 1997, 2010, 2014 and 2017). Arizona’s San Pedro River is also included on the list this year due to excessive groundwater pumping and rollbacks of the Clean Water Act. Other rivers in the region listed as most endangered in recent years include the Pecos River (2021) and Gila River (2019).
American Rivers reviews nominations for America’s Most Endangered Rivers from local groups and individuals across the country, and selects rivers based on three criteria: 1) the river’s significance to people and wildlife, 2) the magnitude of the threat to the river and communities, especially in light of climate change and environmental justice, 3) a decision in the next 12 months that the public can influence.
America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2022
#1 Colorado River
State: CO, UT, AZ, NV, CA, WY, NM, Mexico
Threat: Climate change, outdated water management
#2 Snake River
State: ID, WA, OR
Threat: Four federal dams
#3 Mobile River
State: AL
Threat: Coal ash contamination
#4 Maine’s Atlantic Salmon Rivers
State: ME
Threat: Dams
#5 Coosa River
State: TN, GA, AL
Threat: Agricultural pollution
#6 Mississippi River
State: MN, WI, IL, IA, MO, KY, TN, AR, MS, LA
Threat: Pollution, habitat loss
#7 Lower Kern River
State: CA
Threat: Excessive water withdrawals
#8 San Pedro River
State: AZ
Threat: Excessive water pumping; loss of Clean Water Act protections
#9 Los Angeles River
State: CA
Threat: Development, pollution
#10 Tar Creek
State: OK
Threat: Pollution
ABOUT AMERICAN RIVERS
American Rivers believes a future of clean water and healthy rivers for everyone, everywhere is essential. Since 1973, we have protected wild rivers, restored damaged rivers and conserved clean water for people and nature. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., and 300,000 supporters, members and volunteers across the country, we are the most trusted and influential river conservation organization in the United States, delivering solutions for a better future. Because life needs rivers. www.AmericanRivers.org
Calling for a new federal Mississippi River initiative from headwaters to the gulf, groups say it’s time to restore the river and support resilient river communities
Contact:
Olivia Dorothy, American Rivers, 217-390-3658
Kelly McGinnis, Mississippi River Network, 708-305-3524
*Please see below for additional quotes and contacts for each state as well as special topical contacts
Washington, D.C. – American Rivers today named the Mississippi River one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2022, highlighting the threats that habitat destruction and pollution, combined with climate impacts, pose to millions of people across the basin.
Nearly 40 percent of land in the continental United States drains into the Mississippi River, which faces urban and agricultural runoff, habitat loss and intensifying storms. The climate crisis is compounding these threats – more frequent and severe floods carry excess sediment and pollution off the land and into the river.
American Rivers and its partners called on Congress to pass legislation authorizing a new federal Mississippi River Restoration and Resilience Initiative (MRRRI) to coordinate and increase resources for restoration and resilience opportunities up and down the Mississippi River corridor. The bill was introduced by Representative Betty McCollum of Minnesota and original co-sponsors Rep. Cori Bush (MO-01), Rep. John Yarmuth (KY-03), Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09) and Rep. Bennie Thompson (MS-02).
Just as the bill’s cosponsors represent the river’s extensive geography, so do the groups lining up to support it.
“Organizations in each of the ten riverfront states are rallying behind this,” said Kelly McGinnis, the national Mississippi River Network (MRN) executive director. MRN is a lead organization in a collaborative effort, already 50 groups strong, backing the initiative.
“To address the multitude of inter-related environmental issues along the Mississippi River, we need a coordinated, holistic approach,” said Olivia Dorothy, American Rivers restoration director in East Moline, Illinois. “At the moment, the restoration and resilience programs on the Mississippi River are disjointed and poorly coordinated.”
“Other iconic water bodies have federal programs that support comprehensive restoration efforts, but not the Mississippi River,” said Dorothy. “The Mississippi River is America’s most famous and culturally significant river, and it is degrading due to climate change, habitat loss, invasive species and water pollution. This has real impacts on local economies, public safety and quality of life.”
If passed, the MRRRI Act would authorize an estimated $300 million or more annually in funds to federal, state, tribal and community agencies and organizations to improve water quality, restore habitat and natural systems, reduce aquatic invasive species and build local resilience to natural disasters in and along the Mississippi River.
At least 25 percent of annual funding would be directed to projects in communities of color or low-income communities disproportionately impacted by ecological degradation, with an additional 10 percent directed to communities that experience persistent poverty.
Proponents cannot yet point to specific projects that the new federal initiative will support. And this, they say, is a good thing.
“People from throughout the ten river states and Tribal Nations will make these decisions together,” said McGinnis.
While the bill calls for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to helm the new headwaters-to-Gulf program, it is not a regulatory program. MRRRI requires the EPA to work closely with other federal agencies, state and local decision makers, scientific advisors, communities and the public to craft an action plan that guides investments according to publicly expressed and research-backed priorities.
According to the National Park Service, the Mississippi supports 879 wildlife species, and roughly 18 to 20 million Americans rely on it for drinking water. Green Lands Blue Waters researchers working throughout the Mississippi River Basin estimate that Delta wetlands, forests, coastal areas and agricultural lands provide flood and hurricane protection, fishery and recreation services worth anywhere from $12 to $47 billion annually in the Delta area alone.
The annual America’s Most Endangered Rivers report is a list of rivers at a crossroads, where key decisions in the coming months will determine the rivers’ fates. Over the years, the report has helped spur many successes including the removal of outdated dams, the protection of rivers with Wild and Scenic designations and the prevention of harmful development and pollution.
The Mississippi River has previously appeared in this report in 1992, 1994 through 1996, 2001, 2004 and 2011. Other rivers in the region listed as most endangered in recent years include the Upper Mississippi River (2019 and 2021), Lower Missouri River (2021), Big Sunflower River (2018 and 2020), Mississippi River Gorge (2018) and Buffalo National River (2017 and 2019).
About the MRRRI Collaborative
The Mississippi River Restoration & Resilience Initiative (MRRRI) Collaborative comprises local, regional, state and national organizations committed to working together to create a federally-funded initiative focused on the Mississippi River. Currently, 90+ organizations publicly support MRRRI.
Additional resources and contacts:
Press package from U.S. Representatives McCollum, Bush, Yarmuth, Cohen and Thompson
Mississippi River Restoration and Resilience Initiative (MRRRI) Act
Quotes and press contact lists by state
Special topic contact, Agricultural runoff: Trevor Russell, Water Program Director, Friends of the Mississippi River, 612-388-8856
Special topic contact, Natural infrastructure, Dead Zone and dredge-related issues: Matt Rota, Senior Policy Director, Healthy Gulf, 504-525-1528 x206 Supplemental information is available at http://mississippiriver.org/mrrri/
America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2022
#1 Colorado River
State: CO, UT, AZ, NV, CA, WY, NM, Mexico
Threat: Climate change, outdated water management
#2 Snake River
State: ID, WA, OR
Threat: Four federal dams
#3 Mobile River
State: AL
Threat: Coal ash contamination
#4 Maine’s Atlantic Salmon Rivers
State: ME
Threat: Dams
#5 Coosa River
State: TN, GA, AL
Threat: Agricultural pollution
#6 Mississippi River
State: MN, WI, IL, IA, MO, KY, TN, AR, MS, LA
Threat: Pollution, habitat loss
#7 Lower Kern River
State: CA
Threat: Excessive water withdrawals
#8 San Pedro River
State: AZ
Threat: Excessive water pumping; loss of Clean Water Act protections
#9 Los Angeles River
State: CA
Threat: Development, pollution
#10 Tar Creek
State: OK
Threat: Pollution
ABOUT AMERICAN RIVERS
American Rivers believes a future of clean water and healthy rivers for everyone, everywhere is essential. Since 1973, we have protected wild rivers, restored damaged rivers and conserved clean water for people and nature. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., and 300,000 supporters, members and volunteers across the country, we are the most trusted and influential river conservation organization in the United States, delivering solutions for a better future. Because life needs rivers. www.AmericanRivers.org
Proposed package will support river conversation, hydropower development and expand authority for Tribal Nations
Contact:
LeRoy Coleman, National Hydropower Association, 202-413-4605
Amy Souers Kober, American Rivers, 503-708-1145
Washington, D.C. (April 4) – Conservation organizations, hydropower industry groups, and Tribes today sent a package to Congress and the White House to improve hydropower licensing, relicensing and license surrender processes. Specifically, the package proposes amendments to the Federal Power Act to enhance cooperation, improve clarity, restore autonomy and self-determination for Tribal Nations, and retain states’ decision-making authority. In doing so, the package would help address climate change, better protect the health of the nation’s rivers, and provide Tribes long-sought authority over their lands and waters.
The package is supported by American Rivers, National Hydropower Association, Skokomish Tribe, Upper Skagit Indian Tribe, Midwest Alliance of Sovereign Tribes, Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Union of Concerned Scientists, Hydropower Reform Coalition, California Outdoors, Friends of the River, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, American Whitewater, New England FLOW, Idaho Rivers United, Foothill Conservancy, Gravity Renewables, Rye Development, Natel Energy, and Nelson Energy.
The Federal Power Act (FPA), enacted in 1920, authorizes the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to issue licenses to build, operate, maintain and remove dams. The proposed updates would significantly improve cooperation among FERC and resource agencies in the hydropower licensing process.
Proposed changes include:
- Improving coordination between FERC, federally recognized Tribal Nations and resource agencies in the hydropower licensing, relicensing and license surrender processes
- Expanding the authority of federally recognized Tribal Nations to protect their lands, waters, other resources and treaty-protected rights
- Addressing climate change in the hydropower relicensing process
- Improving the processes for surrendering licenses and removing non-operating dams
- Providing opportunities to expedite licensing for powering existing non-powered dams and building closed-loop pumped storage hydropower projects
- Improving the evaluation of projects during the licensing process
Click here for an expanded summary of proposed changes.
“This is a package of smart, strategic updates to make the process work better for everyone,” said Tom Kiernan, President of American Rivers. “Healthy rivers are essential to all life. By improving the process for licensing, relicensing and decommissioning dams, and by restoring autonomy and self-determination to Tribal Nations, we will improve outcomes for rivers and communities nationwide.”
“Hydropower is critical to achieving the goal of a reliable, zero-carbon electricity grid, and this package would strengthen the licensing process, improve environmental outcomes and restore authority to Tribal Nations” said Malcolm Woolf, CEO & President of the National Hydropower Association. “The existing regulatory process is unnecessarily time consuming and expensive. With this proposal, we can enhance collaboration, efficiency and better decision making, and we urge Congress to pass this much needed reform.”
“This proposed package is an important next step in recognizing Tribal sovereignty over Tribal lands, and trust resources,” said Mary Pavel, partner at the firm Sonosky, Chambers, Sachse, Endreson & Perry, LLP and former staff director of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. “Indian Reservations and Tribal trust resources have unduly borne the burden of hydroelectric power development in this Country, and this package would give Tribes a true seat at the table to ensure that this does not continue to happen.”
The Uncommon Dialogue on hydropower and river conservation was convened in 2018 by Stanford University’s Woods Institute for the Environment and Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance and also the Energy Futures Initiative. This package represents the third agreement by a subset of the Uncommon Dialogue parties. In October 2020, a subset of Uncommon Dialogue parties came together to issue a joint statement and commit to working on the “3Rs” of the nation’s more than 90,000 dams: rehabilitate some for safety, retrofit some for power, and remove some for conservation. In April 2021 another subset of Uncommon Dialogue parties joined in an effort that resulted in more than $2.3B for the “3Rs” in the federal bipartisan infrastructure bill.
“It is gratifying to see this coalition take yet another step in advancing climate, conservation and Tribal imperatives involving thousands of the nation’s dams,” said Dan Reicher, Senior Scholar at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Energy, who initiated this Uncommon Dialogue.
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March 3, 2022
Contact: Amy Souers Kober, 503-708-1145
In response to President Biden’s nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court, American Rivers President and CEO Tom Kiernan made the following statement:
“We applaud and support the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court. Judge Jackson is exceptionally well qualified, with legal expertise and experience that will strengthen the nation’s highest court, one of democracy’s most vital institutions. If confirmed, Judge Jackson will make history as the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court. Her nomination comes at a critical moment. We must follow science and facts to ensure a livable future in an era of climate change. We must uphold and strengthen just, equitable safeguards for rivers, clean water and communities. And our government, including the courts, only works if it reflects the diversity of our country. We congratulate Judge Jackson on her achievements and we urge swift confirmation by the Senate.”
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March 3, 2022
Contact: Amy Souers Kober, 503-708-1145
In response to President Biden’s nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court, American Rivers President and CEO Tom Kiernan made the following statement:
“We applaud and support the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court. Judge Jackson is exceptionally well qualified, with legal expertise and experience that will strengthen the nation’s highest court, one of democracy’s most vital institutions. If confirmed, Judge Jackson will make history as the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court. Her nomination comes at a critical moment. We must follow science and facts to ensure a livable future in an era of climate change. We must uphold and strengthen just, equitable safeguards for rivers, clean water and communities. And our government, including the courts, only works if it reflects the diversity of our country. We congratulate Judge Jackson on her achievements and we urge swift confirmation by the Senate.”
P R E S S R E L E A S E
Karuk Tribe • Yurok Tribe• American Rivers
Trout Unlimited • Institute for Fisheries Resources • California Trout
Sustainable Northwest • Salmon River Restoration Council • Native Fish Society • Northern California Council, Flyfishers International • Friends of the Shasta River • Save California Salmon • Mount Shasta Ecology Center • American Whitewater • International Rivers • Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 25, 2021
Media Contacts:
Craig Tucker, Karuk Tribe: 916-207-8294
Amy Kober, American Rivers: 503-708-1145
Brian Johnson, Trout Unlimited, (415) 385-0796
Glen Spain, PCFFA: 541-689-2000
Environmental Review Confirms the Benefits of Dam Removal
Washington, DC – Today the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) released its draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) on the proposed removal of the lower four Klamath River dams. The public is now invited to comment on the DEIS which describes the impacts and benefits of the project.
“Once again, a thorough analysis by experts reveals dam removal as key for restoring Klamath fisheries and improving water quality” notes Yurok Vice Chairman Frankie Myers. “Our culture and our fisheries are hanging in the balance. We are ready to start work on dam removal this year.”
In comparing the impacts of dam removal to current conditions, the DEIS concludes that dam removal provides significant economic, environmental, and cultural benefits to northern California and southern Oregon. This conclusion is consistent with the findings of two other Environmental Impact Studies that evaluated dam removal over the past two decades.
For California and Oregon commercial salmon fishermen, dam removal is key to revitalizing their industry. “Dams have decimated salmon returns on the Klamath River which means fewer harvest opportunities for family-owned commercial fishing vessels. Dam removal has the potential to save our industry and thousands of jobs in California and Oregon ports,” explains Glen Spain with Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations.
In recent years, as many as 90 percent of juvenile salmon sampled tested positive for a disease called Ceratomyxa shasta. The disease flourishes in the areas where water quality and flows are most affected by the dams. “The dams are a key factor in the diseases that are wiping out entire generations of salmon,” says Spain.
Brian Johnson, California Director of Trout Unlimited, acknowledges that dam removal is but one significant component of the environmental restoration work that is needed throughout the Klamath Basin to support the recovery of fish like salmon and steelhead trout. “We still need to balance water use and restore wetlands in the Upper Basin,” said Johnson. “But dam removal remains the single biggest thing we can do to restore Klamath fisheries and water quality right now.”
Benefits of dam removal include reintroducing salmon to over 400 miles of historical habitat, eliminating reservoirs that host toxic algae blooms each summer, and eliminating poor water quality conditions that allow fish disease-causing parasites to flourish. Because the cost of relicensing the dams would exceed the cost of removal under the plan, removal is also the best outcome for PacifiCorp customers.
“This is the biggest salmon restoration project in history,” notes Russell ‘Buster’ Attebery, Chairman of the Karuk Tribe. “And it’s desperately needed. Fewer and fewer salmon return each year. If we don’t act now, we may lose them all. Dam removal gives me hope that my grandchildren will be able to fish for the family dinner the way I did when I was a kid.”
“Dam removal works. We have only to look at the Elwha River restoration to see just how quickly an entire ecosystem can recover,” said Brian Graber, senior director of river restoration for American Rivers. “The Klamath is significant not only because it will be the biggest dam removal and river restoration effort in history, but also because it is a story of righting historic wrongs, illustrating how the futures of rivers and communities are inextricably linked.”
Some in the agricultural community see dam removal as a way to improve fish populations, making resolution of water disputes easier. “What it comes down to is what’s good for fish is good for farms. Taking dams out will benefit fish, people and agriculture. Dam removal is a huge step towards bringing the Klamath Basin back into balance,” Kelley Delpit, third generation farmer in the Klamath Basin.
FERC will accept public comments on the DEIS until April 18, 2022. Before dam removal can commence, FERC will need to issue a final EIS and approval. Dam removal advocates hope FERC will issue a final approval this summer will dam removal activities to begin soon after.
# # #
Editor’s note:
FERC dEIS can be found here.
A table summarizing effects of dam removal to the no-action alternative can be found on page xlii (table ES-2) of the dEIS.
Links to more information:
Background on the grassroots movement behind dam removal at bringthesalmonhome.org.
Information on the coalition of groups supporting dam removal and Klamath restoration at Reconnect Klamath.
Detailed information on dam removal plan at Klamath River Renewal Corporation.
57 dams removed in 2021
25 “dam removals to watch” for 2022 and beyond
February 22, 2022
Contact: Amy Souers Kober, 503-708-1145
Removing dams has tremendous benefits for river health, public safety and climate resilience, according to Free Rivers: The State of Dam Removal in the U.S. released today by American Rivers. 57 dams in 22 states were removed in 2021, reconnecting more than 2,131 miles of rivers. In addition, American Rivers is highlighting 25 dam removals to watch for 2022 and beyond.
“We had a good year in river restoration in 2021, but there is a growing urgency to accelerate our efforts to improve river health and resilience.” said Tom Kiernan, President and CEO of American Rivers. “The related crises of climate change, racial injustice, and biodiversity loss are further degrading our rivers and require us to accelerate river restoration through dam removals nationwide.”
“Congress, the administration, and the river restoration community need to significantly accelerate dam removal efforts nationwide if we are to prevent further declines in river health, prevent extinction of fish and wildlife, enhance communities, and safeguard the public from failing dams,” Kiernan added.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law late last year is an important step, committing $2.4 billion for the removal, retrofit and rehabilitation of dams. American Rivers urged Congress to includethe 21st Century Dams Act, a bill introduced in 2021, in the upcoming Water Resources Development Act. This will provide programmatic authority and funding authorization for the removal of dams with willing owners, funding to increase capacity of state dam safety programs and resources to support dam retrofits to improve hydropower productivity.
Healthy, free-flowing rivers are essential to life, yet hundreds of thousands of dams block rivers across the U.S. Dams turn rivers into stagnant reservoirs that release methane, a greenhouse gas 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide. While many dams serve useful purposes and should remain in place, many no longer provide any benefits and are causing more harm than good.
Outdated, obsolete dams threaten public safety: 85 percent of the nation’s dams are more than 50 years old, which is the average life expectancy of a dam. Aging dams are at increased risk of failure, particularly during increasingly severe storms and flooding fueled by climate change. Since 2015, at least 87 dams have failed in South Carolina during storms and hurricanes.
Dam removal is a proven tool to restore river health, improve public safety, revitalize fish and wildlife populations, safeguard cultural values and reconnect communities to their rivers. River restoration also benefits the economy — every $1 million invested in restoring watersheds generates 16 jobs and up to $2.5 million for the economy.
As part of its leadership in river restoration, American Rivers tracks dam removal trends and maintains a national dam removal database. A total of 1,951 dams have been removed in the U.S. since 1912.
In 2021, the states leading in dam removal were:
- Vermont, Pennsylvania and Oregon (7 removals each)
- New Jersey (6 removals)
- Wisconsin (4 removals)
Successes from 2021 include:
- Public safety (Hammel Woods Dam on DuPage River, Illinois)— This low-head dam was removed by the Will County Forest Preserve District because three people had drowned at the dam in recent years. This project is complemented in the broader watershed by the neighboring Forest Preserves of Cook County who have been working to remove unsafe and ecologically harmful dams on the Des Plaines and North Branch Chicago River (see our “projects to watch” list for more information).
- Access and recreation: (Hyde Dam on White River, Vermont)— This project involved the removal of a former mill dam from a site that had a dam as early as the 1700s. Upon completion of the dam removal project, partners will develop the historic site as a public access area for angling, swimming and boating. This project builds upon the momentum of the Vermont Dams Task Force as one of seven dam removals for Vermont in 2021.
- Fish and wildlife habitat (Ward Mill Dam on Watauga River, North Carolina)— Built in 1890, this hydropower dam ranked first in the North Carolina barrier assessment tool to increase aquatic connectivity. American Rivers led this project that improved habitat for resident fish and wildlife like the Eastern hellbender (the largest salamander in the U.S.) in partnership with MountainTrue, Blue Ridge Resource Conservation and Development and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
American Rivers also released a list of 25 dam removal projects to watch for 2022 and future years.
“There are thousands of dams that need to come down in the U.S., and there are opportunities for river restoration at every size and scale,” said Kiernan.
The “projects to watch” list is not exhaustive. It is meant to illustrate examples and highlight opportunities. The projects range from small dams with willing owners where river restoration will deliver important local benefits, to bigger dam removal efforts that are vital to saving species from extinction and addressing longstanding injustices across entire regions.
Highlights include removal of Walton’s Mill Dam on Maine’s Temple Stream, a tributary of the Kennebec River, which will begin this year. Dam removal will restore more than 52 miles of important habitat for wild Atlantic salmon and other native fish. The project is part of a broader effort over the past several decades to restore endangered Atlantic salmon and other sea-run fish to the Kennebec River, an effort ignited by the successful removal of Edwards Dam in 1999.
The list also spotlights critical ongoing dam removal efforts, including four federal dams on the Pacific Northwest’s lower Snake River which are driving salmon runs toward extinction. The 573 tribes of the National Congress of American Indians have called for the removal of these four dams to address injustice and recover salmon. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and Washington Governor Jay Inslee are spearheading an effort examining how to replace the services the dams provide.
About American Rivers
American Rivers believes a future of clean water and healthy rivers for everyone, everywhere is essential. Since 1973, we have protected wild rivers, restored damaged rivers and conserved clean water for people and nature. With headquarters in Washington, D.C., and 300,000 supporters, members and volunteers across the country, we are the most trusted and influential river conservation organization in the United States, delivering solutions for a better future. Because life needs rivers. www.AmericanRivers.org