National Dam Removal Community of Practice

Dam removal practitioners are invited to join our National Dam Removal Community of Practice. American Rivers and partners will share resources and expertise to expand and accelerate the practice of dam removal. You will receive email updates on upcoming training opportunities, projects, and other items of interest.  Please note: Joining the Community of Practice will not automatically subscribe you to American Rivers emails, but you can opt-in when signing up. You may opt-out at any time.

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2024 Dam Removal Webinar Series

Rivers and the communities that depend on them face unprecedented threats to their vitality. The impacts of climate change, dams, and habitat fragmentation have created a crisis in the decline of freshwater species and threaten the health and safety of communities. Join American Rivers’ National Dam Removal Program for a series of webinars on expanding dam removal work across the nation, and learn how we can work together to address the climate crisis through river restoration.

American Rivers has set a goal to remove 30,000 dams and reconnect 300,000 miles of river by 2050. We are developing strategies for each sector of our community of practice to achieve this ambitious goal. In this four-part webinar series, we will dive into these transformational strategies and discuss opportunities for how everyone can get involved.

If you have any questions or need assistance registering for the webinars, please contact Katie Schmidt: kschmidt@americanrivers.org

Dam removal along Barren River | Mike Wilkinson

Roadmap to 30,000 — January 24, 2024 3-4pm ET

To reach 30,000 dam removals by 2050, the community of dam removal practitioners in the U.S. need to remove approximately 1,000 dams per year, an average of 20 dam removals per year in each state. This goal is ambitious, but also achievable. By building capacity for practitioners and incentives for dam owners, the roadmap demonstrates actions that will lead to 30,000 dam removals.

Removing the Middle Ford Dam on the Nooksack River | Photo by Brett Baunton

NEW DATE: State of Dam Removals in the U.S. — March 13, 2024 3-4pm ET

The number of dam removals completed in 2023 will be announced in February. Learn about completed projects from the practitioners who led the work around the nation and how the dam removal movement is making headway on the ground.

Bloede Dam during removal, Patapsco River, MD | Jessie Thomas-Blate

50-State Strategy — March 20, 2024 3-4pm ET

In order to remove 30,000 dams by 2050, every state needs to be engaged and active. This webinar will examine what enabling conditions will allow us to reconnect and restore freshwater systems at a significantly faster pace and will introduce American Rivers’ “50-State-Strategy", a national playbook highlighting the important set of policies, programs and funding recommendations for state-level scaling. The national playbook contains recommendations that can be adapted by state-based teams to tackle the most pressing needs of their state.

Federal Policy Agenda for Dam Removal — April 17, 2024 3-4pm ET

Federal policy changes present an opportunity to exponentially grow the number of dams removed nationwide through the funding and implementation of large-scale projects and collaboration. American Rivers has developed a Federal Dam Removal Policy Agenda that partners can engage in to support and expand dam removal opportunities.

Additional Videos

For additional resources on dam removal and river restoration, please Visit our Page: river restoration training resources