Currently browsing… dam removal
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FERC plans sells Kennebec’s endangered Atlantic salmon short
This week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission released a Draft EIS affecting four hydroelectric dams on Maine’s Kennebec River. The FERC recommendations amount to incremental improvements over what is now a dire situation for Atlantic salmon in the Kennebec. We have tried the incremental approach before on rivers like the Connecticut, Merrimack, Saco, and Androscoggin.…
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Free the Eklutna River
The Eklutna People envision a thriving fishery accessible by all. Right now, we have the power to return a salmon producing stream back to Southcentral Alaska. The effort to restore the Eklutna River has reached a pivotal moment, with the operators of the Eklutna Hydroelectric Project now accepting public comments on their draft Fish and…
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Klamath Reservoir Drawdown Begins
The world’s largest dam removal project takes another step forward as the reservoirs behind Iron Gate, Copco 1 and JC Boyle Dams begin to be drained In the middle of January, early in the morning on a cold winter’s day, the process to reconnect the Klamath River took another huge step forward. Crews opened the…
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Hello to a River
For those of us born of water, sky, forest and meadow, for whom nature and the natural experience is not only a desired condition, but a necessary one, good writing about this world fuels our souls. The best authors are well-known, Rachel Carson, Edward Abbey, Wallace Stegner, Aldo Leopold, Wendell Berry and, of course, Henry…
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The True Cast – The REAL Secret to Catching More Fish
It’s the oldest marketing “hook” in the fishing book. “This is going to help you catch more, bigger fish… guaranteed!” From baits and flies to rods and lines… hooks to books and videos, “catch more fish” are the three magic words (some would say for better or worse). Now, whether those things live up to…
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NOAA biological opinion unrealistic for Kennebec River recovery
Atlantic salmon runs in U.S. waters have endured blow after blow over the past two centuries. They just received another one. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) this week released a Biological Opinion (BiOp) on an energy giant’s proposed solutions to improve fish passage infrastructure at four hydroelectric dams on Maine’s Kennebec River, one…
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Maine’s Atlantic salmon on the brink
Removing the four lower dams on Maine’s Kennebec River may be the best hope to save Atlantic salmon in the U.S. The Hydro Kennebec Dam is one of four dams on the Kennebec River that block migratory fish from moving upstream. Spring was a time of renewal and reward in Maine in the pre-industrial age. Hardened…