Location
Groningen, The Netherlands
Event Website
http://fishpassage.umass.edu/
Start Date
23-6-2015 2:00 PM
End Date
23-6-2015 2:15 PM
Description
Abstract:
Dam Removal is arguably the most effective tool we have for restoring river habitat and fish passage. While some of the more than 80,000 dams in the United States provide important water supply, flood control and recreation functions, most no longer serve the original purpose for which they were built. Many dams are relics of old mills and the industrial revolution and are no longer maintained and in need of repair. The benefits of other larger dams may no longer outweigh the significant impacts to fisheries and river habitat.
If we are to make real gains in the rate of river and fisheries restoration through dam removal, then we need to identify opportunities to impact many dams at once rather than working one dam at a time. Reviewing patterns of dam removal over the last twenty years in the United States, American Rivers has identified key changes in policy that have increased the rate of dam removal. This presentation will outline improvements to wetland regulations and dam safety in the United States as templates that could be replicated elsewhere in order to increase the rate of dam removal and discuss what these changes mean for river restoration and fisheries management.
Session A5: Increasing Dam Removal Through Key Policy Changes in the United States
Groningen, The Netherlands
Abstract:
Dam Removal is arguably the most effective tool we have for restoring river habitat and fish passage. While some of the more than 80,000 dams in the United States provide important water supply, flood control and recreation functions, most no longer serve the original purpose for which they were built. Many dams are relics of old mills and the industrial revolution and are no longer maintained and in need of repair. The benefits of other larger dams may no longer outweigh the significant impacts to fisheries and river habitat.
If we are to make real gains in the rate of river and fisheries restoration through dam removal, then we need to identify opportunities to impact many dams at once rather than working one dam at a time. Reviewing patterns of dam removal over the last twenty years in the United States, American Rivers has identified key changes in policy that have increased the rate of dam removal. This presentation will outline improvements to wetland regulations and dam safety in the United States as templates that could be replicated elsewhere in order to increase the rate of dam removal and discuss what these changes mean for river restoration and fisheries management.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/fishpassage_conference/2015/June23/4
Comments
Presenting Author Bio: Amy works for American Rivers’ River Restoration Program managing dam removal projects and promoting efforts to improve river restoration in New England. Her work is focused on improving river habitat connectivity in the Connecticut River Watershed. She also leads American Rivers’ work on culvert and stream crossing policy and implementation both in New England and nationally. Amy has been with American Rivers since 2009 in a position in partnership with The Nature Conservancy’s Connecticut River Program leading stream connectivity efforts in the watershed. Prior to her current position Amy worked for the Massachusetts state rivers program where she worked as a project manager and outreach coordinator, working statewide to promote river protection and implementation of restoration projects. Amy holds a M.S. in Water Resources Management from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a B.S. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Rochester in New York.