Protecting Rivers & Your Clean Water
The Fish are Back!
Brian Graber, Director, River Restoration Program, Northeast Region
April 19, 2013 | Dams & Dam Removal
After 200 years, river herring have been spotted in the Mill River above the Hopewell Mills dam. The Division of Marine Fisheries recently set up a video monitoring station at Reed and Barton, and have been recording a stream of video footage.
Read more »Preserving our Fish, Wildlife and Plants in an Uncertain Future
Fay Augustyn, Conservation Associate
April 16, 2013 | Climate Change, Dams & Dam Removal
Since I was a baby, I have spent summers in Colorado. Memories of playing in the rivers and hiking the mountain trails are some of my fondest. I continue to believe there is nothing more liberating than escaping the everyday grind of the city and heading into the great outdoors. However, over the course of the last few years we have seen an increasing number of extreme weather events that are impacting our valuable natural resources. Unfortunately, these impacts are expected to increase with our rapidly changing climate, putting our cherished resources at risk.
Read more »Finding the connection on Amethyst Brook
William Robert (Bob) Irvin, President
April 9, 2013 | Dams & Dam Removal
At American Rivers we like to say that rivers connect us, but how do you reconnect a river? That was the question I was pondering on a cold April day along the banks of Amethyst Brook in western Massachusetts. One of the things that makes American Rivers so effective is that, in addition to advocating laws, policies and practices that protect and restore rivers and clean water, we are also leaders on the ground, working with partners and communities to remove outdated dams, establish Blue Trails, and construct green roofs and rain gardens.
Read more »Under Attack: The Wild and Scenic Merced River
Steve Rothert, California Regional Director
March 7, 2013 | Dams & Dam Removal, Wild and Scenic Rivers
Representatives Tom McClintock and Jim Costa have introduced legislation (H.R. 934) that would roll back protections for nearly a mile of the Wild and Scenic Merced River in order to raise Merced Irrigation District’s 479-ft New Exchequer Dam. The Merced River was protected under the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act in 1992, which prohibits the construction of dams that affect designated rivers.
Read more »River Impossible: The Hazard of Whittenton Dam and the Mill River Restoration
Brian Graber, Director, River Restoration Program, Northeast Region
February 26, 2013 | Dams & Dam Removal, Floods & Floodplains, Wild and Scenic Rivers
In 2005, the Whittenton Dam nearly failed, forcing 2,000 people to evacuate homes and businesses in downtown Taunton, Massachusetts. As the Mill River swelled around the dilapidated dam, senators, a governor, and CNN gathered and assessed the site. The dam was built to power a mill more than a century before, but it hadn’t served that purpose for decades. But like so many other dams, it remained in the river, a hazard that was nearly realized.
Read more »Success on South Carolina's Saluda
Amy Souers Kober, Senior Director of Communications
February 12, 2013 | Dams & Dam Removal
American Rivers is helping secure key clean water protections for South Carolina's Saluda River through the hydropower dam relicensing effort. Check out this video by Andy Maser on the project.
Read more »American Rivers Opposes Raising Shasta Dam
Steve Rothert, California Regional Director
February 7, 2013 | Dams & Dam Removal, Wild and Scenic Rivers
The Bureau of Reclamation has studied the feasibility of raising its 602 ft high Shasta Dam on the Sacramento River to increase the dam’s storage capacity. For several reasons including the two we outline here, American Rivers opposes the raising of Shasta Dam as proposed.
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