Featured Work
2010 Dam Removals
Our list of 60 dams that were removed in 2010, benefitting hundreds of miles of rivers nationwide.
2011 Dam Removal Resource Guide
This resource guide provides a snapshot of some of the exciting river restoration projects for 2011, and information about the benefits of dam removal.
2012 Dams Removed
Communities in 19 states, working in partnership with non-profit organizations and state and federal agencies, removed 65 dams in 2012, American Rivers announced today. Outdated or unsafe dams came out of rivers across the nation, restoring 400 miles of streams for the benefit of fish, wildlife and people across the country.
Barrier Removals in California
In California, at least 80% of the historic spawning and rearing habitat historically available to salmon and steelhead has been blocked by barriers. Our California program focuses on removing obsolete dams and other barriers to provide fish migration and restore more natural river conditions
Condit Dam, White Salmon River, WA
Removal of the dam began with a breach draining the reservoir on October 26, 2011, and will allow the White Salmon River to once again be home to abundant wild salmon and steelhead runs
Darby Creek Restoration Project, PA
American Rivers is partnering with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission to alleviate localized flooding, improve in-stream habitat, reestablish connectivity for resident and migratory fish (including American shad, hickory shad, alewife, river herring, American eel, bass, shiners, and suckers) , and restore free-flowing conditions along Darby Creek, a direct tributary to the Delaware River.
DVD - Restoring America's Rivers
Communities across the nation are facing increasingly extreme storms that bring damaging floods. These events can strain outdated infrastructure and endanger public safety. Restoring America’s Rivers tells the story of how community leaders around the country are solving these problems by working with nature, not against it.
Eel River, CA
American Rivers is providing funding to California State Parks through our National Partnership with the NOAA Community-based Restoration Program to look at the possibility of dam removal and river restoration to open up over 60 miles of Eel River to salmon. Dam removal would mean there would be no more barriers to salmon on the South Fork of the Eel River. The dam is also a liability and cost to California State Parks and California taxpayers so there would also be financial benefits to removal.
Egg Lake Dam Removal & First River Restoration Project
American Rivers is partnering with U.S. Forest Service with funding support from the state of Minnesota through the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council’s Conservation Partners Legacy Grant program to remove this inoperable dam, reconnect stream habitats and reestablish wetlands at the project site. This project will result in unobstructed flows in at least 2 miles of headwater habitat and will include road decommissioning to remove unneeded access roads.
Elwha River Restoration, WA
The removal of two dams on Washington's Elwha River is one of the most significant river restoration projects of our time.
Feather River, CA
Through the relicensing of the Oroville Dam, American Rivers is helping to restore water flows and temperature, floodplain habitat and expand habitat for salmon and steelhead along the Feather River.
Green River, MA
American Rivers' work on the Green River will remove the first dam on the river, the Wiley & Russell Dam. The dam is a timber crib and concrete dam that is 14-feet high and 165 feet long. The Town is also considering fish passage at the second dam, the Mill Street Dam, and partners will investigate additional options for the two upstream dams once passage is achieved at the lower dams.
Horse Creek Dam, Horse Creek, CA
With our funding support and planning assistance, the Horse Creek dam in the Sisquoc River basin near Santa Barbara was blown up to make way for steelhead.
Klamath River, OR and CA
The Klamath River once supported the third-largest salmon run on the West Coast. Today, salmon and steelhead runs are a fraction of their historic abundance, with some near extinction.
Lower Snake River, ID, OR and WA
The salmon and steelhead of the Snake River are magnificent creatures, traveling over 900 miles from the sea to spawn in Idaho’s high mountain streams. Unfortunately, this icon of the region is threatened with extinction, due in large part to the effects of the four lower Snake River dams.
Marsh Creek Fish Passage Restoration
The fish ladder on Marsh Creek, upstream from Dutch Slough in the Bay Delta, enables salmon to bypass a 6-foot high dam and access 7 miles of salmon habitat upstream.
Mattole River, CA
We have helped fund a local watershed group to remove numerous poorly designed road crossings that prevented coho salmon and steelhead from reaching large portions of the Mattole River watershed.
Patapsco River, MD
American Rivers is working with the Friends of the Patapsco Valley State Park, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to remove several dams on the beautiful Patapsco River.
Penobscot River, ME
The Penobscot River Restoration Trust, of which American Rivers is a founding member, has been working toward removing Penobscot’s outdated dams for many years. Removing the river’s two lowermost dams (Veazie Dam and Great Works Dam) and installing fish passage on two other dams will restore access to roughly 1,000 miles of habitat for the river’s fish, making this project one of the most significant dam removal efforts ever.
Potomac Highlands Restoration Areas Map
Beginning in 2011, American Rivers, in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, will kick off a competitive grant program that provides financial support for a variety of projects to protect and restore the Potomac Highlands ecosystem, while benefiting its human communities.
