HRC in the news: This opinion piece on the Elwha restoration and the need for more dam removals, written by Tom Kiernan, President and CEO of American Rivers, was published in The Seattle Times.
This week we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Elwha River Restoration project and the commencement of dam removal on the Elwha River. The removal of Elwha Dam and Glines Canyon Dam represents the biggest dam removal effort in the United States; reflecting back on that achievement after a decade has passed we are witness to a river that has made, and continues to make, a remarkable recovery.
Passage of the infrastructure bill represents a vital down payment to bring our nation’s dams into the 21th century, and we applaud the Senate’s bipartisan leadership. Dams are critical infrastructure, and we encourage the U.S. House to move swiftly to pass this bill to revitalize river ecosystems, improve public safety and enhance hydropower’s ability to optimize generation efficiency and output.