7 replies to this topic

[mattknepley]

Southwest Virginia gets a little freer flowin'!

http://www.fws.gov/n...March_Final.pdf

[lilyea]

Matt - thanks for sharing. 

 

Does anyone know if there is an available listing of dams in the US (or by region/state)?  If so, does the list have identifiers like "low impact" or note whether the dams are still economically viable?  Thanks.

[mattknepley]

Not sure. I believe there is a list of dams being evaluated for removal, but not sure why I think that. If the whole water supply/management/mismanagement game interests you, and you have not done so before, read Marc Reisner's Cadillac Desert. It may be a little dated now (published in 1993, I think), but like Leopold's A Sand County Almanac will always be relevant. Surprisingly, it is an easy read, entertaining and sympathetic even, yet it pulls no punches. Here's a link.

http://www.amazon.co...d/dp/0140178244

[lilyea]

Matt - Thank you for the link.  I have a shelf full of water/environmental management and environmental conflict books so I will have to add this title to the list.  

 

Many people believe that all dams are equal (either positive or negative) and have an equal chance of removal (either high or low).  To one degree or another organizations have to deal with the tensions between economic, environmental, and social concerns.  If the dams that have a lesser (or nil) economic impact are identified and the business, environmental, and social case can be made to both government organizations and to the general citizenship for the removal of these specific dams, then momentum can be gained for the dam removal process.

 

A list of dams (with evaluative identifiers) would help to be able to focus social action toward the removal of specific dams and, in turn, potentially benefit the conditions of native fish.

[dmarkley]

Another interesting article on dam removal and not far from Virginia!

 

http://www.post-gaze...es/201501300014

[lilyea]

Dean - thank you for the added link.  I had forgotten about the organization - American Rivers.  Definitely worth a look around their website as well.  Is anyone connected with NANFA also connected with American Rivers?  They seem to be an overlapping but very different organization.

[Josh Blaylock]

Matt - thanks for sharing. 

 

Does anyone know if there is an available listing of dams in the US (or by region/state)?  If so, does the list have identifiers like "low impact" or note whether the dams are still economically viable?  Thanks.

 

Check out:  www.americanrivers.com

They are all about damn removal

[Josh Blaylock]

Also, Matt