We are excited to share that the Twenty-First Century Dams Act was introduced this month on July 15, 2021. This bill would invest $21.1 billion to enhance the safety, grid resilience benefits, and power generating capacity of America’s dams and provide historic funding to remove dams that are no longer necessary.
Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) introduced the bill.
According to the press release from Senator Feinstein’s office, “in the United States there are more than 90,000 dams, including 6,000 ‘high-hazard’ dams that have poor, unsatisfactory or unknown safety ratings that without rehabilitation would pose a threat to human life if they fail. Many dams that generate hydropower are aging and need upgrades to continue providing an essential baseload source of renewable energy. Additionally, some of the nation’s dams have outlived their useful life and should be removed to restore rivers to their natural state.”
For us at CalTrout, part of the Hydro Reform Coalition, we are thrilled to see legislation like this. Reconnecting habitat is one of our key initiatives in our effort to return native fish to resilience. The objectives include removing barriers to fish passage and getting obsolete dams out. The removal of dams that have outlived their functional lifespan outweighs leaving them in place when considering ecosystem and economic benefits.
Learn more about CalTrout’s work with dam removal at www.caltrout.org/damsout.
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Peter Moyle is the Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology and Associate Director of the Center for Watershed Sciences, at UC Davis. He is author or co-author of more than 240 publications, including the definitive Inland Fishes of California (2002). He is co-author of the 2017 book, Floodplains: Processes and Management for Ecosystem Services. His research interests include conservation of aquatic species, habitats, and ecosystems, including salmon; ecology of fishes of the San Francisco Estuary; ecology of California stream fishes; impact of introduced aquatic organisms; and use of floodplains by fish.
Robert Lusardi is the California Trout/UC Davis Wild and Coldwater Fish Researcher focused on establishing the basis for long-term science specific to California Trout’s wild and coldwater fish initiatives. His work bridges the widening gap between academic science and applied conservation policy, ensuring that rapidly developing science informs conservation projects throughout California. Dr. Lusardi resides at the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences and works closely with Dr. Peter Moyle on numerous projects to help inform California Trout conservation policy. His recent research interests include Coho salmon on the Shasta River, the ecology of volcanic spring-fed rivers, inland trout conservation and management, and policy implications of trap and haul programs for anadromous fishes in California.
Patrick Samuel is the Conservation Program Coordinator for California Trout, a position he has held for almost two years, where he coordinates special research projects for California Trout, including the State of the Salmonids report. Prior to joining CalTrout, he worked with the Fisheries Leadership & Sustainability Forum, a non-profit that supports the eight federal regional fishery management councils around the country. Patrick got his start in fisheries as an undergraduate intern with NOAA Fisheries Protected Resources Division in Sacramento, and in his first field job as a crew member of the California Department of Fish & Wildlife’s Wild and Heritage Trout Program.
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Often stagnant water is warming water, while moving water is cleaner and cooler. And opening migration paths for fish is a good thing.