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The Ten Most Endangered Rivers of 2010 - Plus 22 Success Stories!
June 2, 2010 | Protecting Rivers, Most Endangered Rivers, Water Supply, Wild and Scenic Rivers, Dams & Dam Removal, Floods & Floodplains, Restoring Rivers
Amy Souers Kober
Senior Director of Communications
There are tens of thousands of rivers and streams across our country, and each year only ten make it on to the America’s Most Endangered Rivers list. For 25 years America’s Most Endangered Rivers has been our most highly anticipated report. The 2010 list, released today, spotlights rivers facing a multitude of threats from New York to Iowa to California -- rivers that need your action now.
The number one river on the list this year is the Upper Delaware River, where gas drilling threatens the drinking water supply for 17 million people in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. With the oil spill in the Gulf as a horrific wake-up call, isn’t it high time we put key safeguards and restrictions in place for the oil and gas industry?
A handful of other threats stand out this year. Mining puts West Virginia’s Gauley and Oregon’s Wild and Scenic Chetco at risk. New water supply dams threaten rivers like North Carolina’s Little and Idaho’s Teton. And outdated flood management imperils public safety and river health on Iowa’s Cedar and California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin, listed for the second year in a row.
But luckily, there’s some good news when it comes to the health of our rivers. In fact there is a lot of good news. Over the past 25 years the endangered rivers report has helped spur great victories for many rivers and the people who depend on them. The 2010 report features 22 endangered river success stories.
By raising the profile of urgent threats like dams, sewage pollution and mining, we have helped put the Klamath, Elwha, Penobscot, Blackfoot, Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone, Susquehanna, Neches, Big Sunflower, and many other rivers on the path to recovery.
With your help, we can make today’s endangered rivers the success stories of tomorrow. Please take action – together we can save these rivers.
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Comments List
Submitted by Fishawk at: June 2, 2010
The Chetco River has a wild steelhead and salmon run that is the backbone of hundereds of thousands of visits per year from guides, sport fishermen, campers, kayakers, and supports a robust economy for the surrounding communities. It is the only source of clean drinking water for the local communities. We have worked very hard to keep the River a sustainable resourse that many segments of our community can enjoy.
Submitted by gradyavant at: June 2, 2010
Thank you for the work that you do and the awareness you bring to the issues. A test well is slated to begin on the property behind my home in NE Pennsylvania - the prospect of this is truly terrifying to me and a majority of our community. Hopefully your message will help others understand the potential impact on the environment.