The Tailwaters Workgroup of the National Leadership Council serves to help TU volunteers advocate for salmonid populations in tailwater fisheries. The workgroup explores issues, challenges and threats to tailwater fisheries and recommends direction and actions for TU staff and volunteers to take to advocate for these waters.
The following resources are designed to help your chapter, council and volunteers begin the process of learning, studying, and advocating for your local tailwaters.
General Resources
HydroPower Reform Coalition – www.hydroreform.org
Founded in 1992, the Hydropower Reform Coalition is a diverse consortium of more than 160 national, regional, and local organizations with a combined membership of more than one million people. TU volunteers, chapters and councils can tap into this powerful network for a wide range of resources related to hydropower dams and advocating for rivers.
Tailwaters Workgroup Resources
- Tailwaters Workgroup Mission Statement
- Tailwaters Workgroup Annual Meeting Presentation
- Tailwaters Best Practices by Topic
- Tailwaters Best Practices by Region
- Tracking FERC Relicensing
- Running A Coldwater Meeting Guidance Document
- Lower Saluda River – South Carolina Case Study
Scientific Papers for Research & Citation
The following scientific papers represent some of the best research available on the impacts of tailwater dams on river health downstream. These papers can provide information to help your chapter, council and volunteers learn more about the issues and impacts of tailwaters, provide ideas on areas where local scientific inquiry might help you build your case, and improve the power of your advocacy through reference and citation in your documents, testimony and more.
- Ecological Effects of Rapidly Varying Flows Downstream from Hydroelectric Facilities
- Flow Management for Hydropower Extirpates Aquatic Insects Undermining River Food Webs
- Survival of Juvenile Salmonids Through Dams and Reservoirs
- Development of Representative Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration
- Systematic Screening of Dams for Environmental Flow Assessment and Implementation
- Environmentally Enhanced Hydropower Turbines
- Dam Invaders: Impoundments Facilitate Biological Invasions Into Freshwaters
- Thermal Effects of Dams in the Willamette River Basin, Oregon
- The Ecology of Dam Removal
- Exploring Dam Removal
- Removing Small Dams – A Basic Guide for Project Managers – American Rivers