How The Largest Dam Removal Of All Time Brought An Entire Ecosystem Back From Extinction!

The largest dam removal in U.S. history took two decades of planning, two dam complexes, the Elwha damn and Glines Canyon Dam located on an important river in Washing state were successfully removed allowing the cold clear waters of the Elwha river to flow freely once again

NOW, after ten years, the results are remarkable, the river is returning to its former glory, fish numbers are steadily bouncing back from near extinction, bears, cougars, bobcats, mink, and other wildlife sustained by the renewed food source have increased in abundance.

Native plants are reclaiming the riverbanks and restored forests are establishing themselves on the emptied reservoirs that were behind the damns

where the river meets the pacific ocean, a new beach has been created by the silt and sand that can now flow freely downstream which had been backed up in the dams for over a century
A new estuary habitat has formed spanning across 120 acres and its increasing year on year

Making the river Elwha dam removal project a true success story and case study in the recovery and restoration of a wild river.

Its only in recent times people are beginning to realize that dams bring more problems than they will solve. They severely damage ecosystems by stopping the movement of migrating fish and blocking silt movements. Hydro-power dams flood large areas, force people to relocate, threaten freshwater biodiversity, disrupt subsistence fisheries, and leave rivers dry – substantially affecting the ecosystem. They can completely destroy the natural ecosystems that hundreds of other species depend on. Embankment and concrete dams have a lifespan of about 100 years, and they become dangerous from the pressure of all the water they contain causing costly repairs that are increasingly hard to justify as seen by the recent catastrophic devastation in Libya when ten of thousands of people lost their lives when two damns failed.

Which is why dam removal is surging all cross the U.S. In 2020 69 dams were removed, reconnecting more than 430 upstream river miles across 20 states and since 1912 at least 2,025 dams have been removed.





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