Not all Dams Should be Torn Down

From American Rivers Inc. , an organization that "protects and restores America's rivers for the benefit of people, wildlife, and nature":

"While hundreds of dams have been removed, that does not mean that all dams should be torn down. In fact, very few of all documented dams in the United States are even being considered for removal. The removal of 400 dams represents just over one-half of one percent of the more than 75,000 dams over six feet tall existing across the country. Many dams continue to serve important public or private functions such as flood control, irrigation, and hydropower generation. In some cases, changing the way a dam operates will provide enough ecological improvements to the river to justify the continued benefits of the dam. In other cases, removing a dam could have adverse ecological effects – such as the release of contaminated sediments – that are too costly to mitigate. And in some cases, dams are retained because they represent a significant aspect of the community’s history."

http://www.americanrivers.org/assets/pdfs/dam-removal-docs/Exploring_Dam_Removal-A_Decision-Making_Guide6fdc.pdf

"Making a final decision, once all of the information is collected, will be affected by many factors, including:

• The ecological circumstances surrounding the case;
• The economic circumstances surrounding the case;
• The complexity of the issues;
• The legal and political context in which a decision must be made;
• The impetus for considering dam removal (e.g., fisheries restoration goal, dam safety concern);
• The identity of the decision makers (e.g., dam owner, state agencies);
• The amount of controversy surrounding the decision; and
• The number, identities, and strength of various stakeholders."


Some who have and continue to hold one sided meetings pushing the agenda of Dam Removal would like these bottom two issues not to exist.

And if we remain silent they won't exist.

Take the time to let these people know that there is a hugh amount of controversy surrounding this; and as abbutters and citizens of the towns affected by this plan we are stakeholders and our strength is growing. We must enter our concerns into the public record NOW.

Send a letter or two, to those decision makers. Other posts will show you how.