Restoring Our Rivers: Communities Taking Action

In September 2024, the Cowlitz Indian Tribe removed Kwoneesum Dam, a 55-foot high, 425-foot long concrete and earthen dam on Wildboy Creek, which flows into the lower Washougal River, a tributary of the Columbia River. The dam was originally built to create a 9-acre recreational pond for a Camp Fire Girls summer camp, but no longer served a purpose after the camp closed in the mid-1980s. Removal of the dam supports the Tribe’s fishery restoration work, eliminates a safety hazard for 21 downstream residences, complements other efforts to revitalize the Washougal River watershed, and opens 6.5 miles of habitat for summer and winter steelhead, as well as coho, listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. This video tells the history of the dam site and documents the removal and restoration processes undertaken by the Tribe and the Columbia Land Trust.

The Cold Water Connection Campaign is a partnership between Trout Unlimited, the Wild Salmon Center, the Coast Salmon Partnership, regional tribes, and state and federal agencies working to prioritize and remove the most impactful migration barriers for salmon, steelhead and other native fish on Washington's Olympic Peninsula. Video courtesy of: Trout Unlimited. Videographer: Liam Gallagher.

Overview of the 2022 removal of Nelson Dam, an eight-foot-high concrete structure that crossed the Naches River, the largest tributary of the Yakima River. The barrier blocked fish passage where the Yakama Nation holds treaty rights to fish for cultural, spiritual, and economic reasons. The removal was a highly collaborative effort that now opens fish passage while still providing water diversions for agriculture and urban uses.

This video from Jeff Chen Productions interviews members of the Native Village of Eklutna who talk about the importance of restoring water to the Eklutna River following the 2018 removal of the 70 foot high Eklutna Dam just outside of Anchorage. They urge the utility companies upstream to release sufficient levels of water from Eklutna Lake into the river to sustain healthy salmon populations.

Produced by Shane Anderson in the spring of 2023, this video showcases the ecological and cultural importance of removing the four aging hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River—Copco #1, Copco #2, Iron Gate, and JC Boyle. The Klamath River Basin is the ancestral home of five Native California Tribes—the Yurok, Karuk, Hoopa, Shasta, and Klamath Tribes—who have led the effort to remove the dams and restore salmon populations to the river.

This video, produced by FLOWPV, provides a post-construction fly-through tour of the Nelson Dam Removal Project, allowing viewers to immerse themselves in the active floodplain and learn about the project elements along the way.

Produced by Jeff Chen, the "Return the Salmon Relay" tells the story of a relay event hosted by the Eklutna River Restoration Coalition in September 2022. Coalition leaders and community members gathered to return the salmon to Eklutna Lake by relaying plush salmon along the Eklutna River. The event brought attention to Coalition and community efforts to return water to the Eklutna River which has run mostly dry for 90 years. The Eklutna Dam was removed in 2018, and in 2021, the utility companies released water to the river for 2 weeks to support scientific studies. This was the first time water was returned to the river in living memory of the community. The Coalition is advocating for a long-term return of water to river to support all five species of salmon who call the Eklutna River home.

Produced by Mezia Creative Media, this video documents the Nez Perce Tribe's efforts to build a renewable energy network that will replace the amount of hydroelectric power supplied by the Snake River Dams. The Nez Perce and other Tribes in the region are working to restore historic salmon runs on the Snake River.  

This video, produced by Open Rivers Fund, tells the story of the Mill Creek Dam removal and restoration of the San Vicente Creek watershed located in the San Vicente Redwoods of Santa Cruz County. The Mill Creek Dam was removed in 2021. The dam - referred to as a 110-year old mistake - was targeted for removal when the San Vicente Creek watershed was federally listed as a high-priority area for Coho salmon recovery efforts. Tribal and nonprofit land trusts, public agencies, and UC researchers all play an essential role in the continued monitoring and recovery of the watershed. The studies in the region are guided by both traditional ecological knowledge and western science. The story of the Mill Creek Dam removal is one that shows how, in the face of climate uncertainty, communities can draw a hard line and stand up for their non-human relatives through reciprocity to the land and between human partners.

Produced by American Rivers, this is the story of the rural town of Craig, Colorado as it faces economic transition away from fossil fuel extraction and toward a possible future that leverages its natural amenities for tourism. Traditionally defined by mining, energy production, and ranching, Craig lies in the high mountain plains above the meandering Yampa River. As the town reckons with the closure of a large coal-fired power plant and surrounding mines, a growing coalition of leaders and community advocates are working to save their town and move from an extraction-based economy to one focused on recreation and tourism, centering the health and well-being of the planet and its inhabitants. Dam removal and restoration of the river are pieces of that puzzle.

Produced by Swiftwater Films, “Bring the Salmon Home” is a story about the Klamath River Tribal communities as they host a 300+ mile run from ocean to headwaters to cultivate support for the removal of the four lower Klamath River dams. The Klamath Salmon Run was started by local youth in 2003, a year after dams, diversions, and drought led to a traumatizing fish kill that littered the banks of the Klamath with dead salmon for miles. The event has become an important way for the many small communities along this remote river in far northern California to find solidarity in the struggle to protect their salmon and their way of life. With regulators poised to approve dam removal plans later this year, runners are now racing into a future of hope and optimism.

The Tulalip Tribe Natural Resources Department leads the way in a fish restoration project in Carnation, WA. Natasha Coumou Assistant Restoration Ecologist explains why.

Film by California Trout showcases the benefits of the Potter Valley Project to communities, farms and fish on the Eel and Russian Rivers. The project calls for the removal of Scott Dam, which blocks access for salmon and steelhead to nearly 300 miles of prime spawning and rearing habitat, and construction of new facilities to enable continued diversion of water from the Eel to the Russian River.

Scenes from the first water release on the Eklutna River after the removal of the lower dam. The release was temporary and symbolic, but an important moment nonetheless in the long effort to restore the river.    

Film by California Trout, provides overview of the effort to remove Rindge Dam and restore Southern California Steelhead.

Nooksack Dam was removed in the summer of 2020, opening 17 miles of habitat for fish, including Chinook salmon, an important part of the culture and diet of the Nooksack and Lummi tribes. Removal also reduces safety risk and maintenance costs to the City of Bellingham, while ensuring long-term reliable water supply and providing jobs. The project is a win-win-win for salmon, Puget Sound orca whale populations, and the community.

Removal of Nelson Dam on the Naches River tributary to the Yakima River will open 309 miles of habitat for coho and Chinook salmon, improve kayaking and fishing, provide irrigation water for the City of Yakima, stimulate the economy with hundreds of new jobs, and reduce flood risk.

Film by American Rivers and Swiftwater Films: Indigenous leaders share why removing four dams to restore a healthy Klamath River is critical for clean water, food sovereignty and justice. “Guardians of the River” features Frankie Joe Myers, Vice Chair of the Yurok Tribe, Sammy Gensaw, director of Ancestral Guard, Barry McCovey, fisheries biologist with the Yurok Tribe, and members of the Ancestral Guard and Klamath Justice Coalition.

Film by the Conservation Fund, in partnership with the Alaska Native Village of Eklutna. Eklutna Dam, in south central Alaska, was built in the late 1920s to provide hydropower to the growing city of Anchorage. Located in traditional Eklutna Dena’ina Territory, the dam has blocked salmon runs for almost 100 years. The dam was decommissioned in the 1950s after sediment filled the reservoir and removed in 2017.  

Rattlesnake Dam was removed in the summer of 2020. Its removal restores migratory fish passage to historic spawning grounds on Rattlesnake Creek for the first time in 115 years. The project improves habitat for fish and other animals, adds new recreation opportunities, and offers other benefits to the community and Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes.

Video produced by the Bureau of Reclamation: the Lewiston Orchards Water Exchange and Title Transfer Project is a comprehensive solution to water issues in the Lapwai watershed. Deep wells are being built to provide water to the Lewiston Orchards community, leaving water in-stream for ESA-listed steelhead.

The Watershed Education Network engages community members in Missoula, Montana to monitor Rattlesnake Creek and gather scientific data that informs creek restoration efforts.

Produced and directed by Ryan Peterson AlaskanistStories.com, in partnership with SusitnaRiverCoalition.org, with support from patagonia.com. A salmon in Alaska makes an unlikely journey on "the Mount Everest of rivers" - the Susitna - as residents consider the costs/benefits of a mega-dam.  

The removal of McKinley Dam in the Rattlesnake Wilderness in Montana is a milestone in the restoration of the Rattlesnake Creek watershed near Missoula. This video documents the dam removal process undertaken by project partners to enhance the wilderness character and ecological and recreational benefits of this remote landscape.

Produced by Crystal Nichols, formerly of the Rogue River Watershed Council, this video details the 2023 demolition of Lovelace Dam along Slate Creek, a key spawning tributary of the Applegate River in the Rogue Basin in Josephine County. It features remarks from WaterWatch's Southern Oregon Program Director Jim McCarthy and other key stakeholders. An important dam earmarked for demolition on Oregon's Fish Passage Priority list, the removal of Lovelace Dam not only builds upon earlier successful dam removals, but has improved access to some 26 miles of spawning and rearing habitat for salmon and steelhead. It was the first dam in the nation to be removed with funding from NOAA Fisheries under the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Annie Creek runs 15 miles south from its headwaters in Crater Lake National Park to join the Wood River as it flows into Upper Klamath Lake. The upstream portion of Annie Creek is pristine, but the lower reach has been impacted by eight irrigation diversion dams that block fish passage and entrain juvenile fish. This video tells the story of how removing these small irrigation dams and further restoration of the Klamath Basin is likely to show the highest rate of return for native fisheries on the Pacific Coast.

The Open Rivers Fund has partnered with the Rogue River Watershed Council, Rogue Basin Partnership, Applegate Partnership, and others to capitalize on the mainstem Rogue River dam removals by removing the many barriers on the smaller Rogue tributaries. In its first six years, Open Rivers Fund has removed 18 dams in the Rogue Basin, opening 157 miles of rivers and creeks for people and fish.

This Open Rivers Fund video shows how a push-up dam was transformed into a fish-passable roughened channel on Williams Creek, less than a mile from its confluence with Applegate River. The newly installed headgate allows nearby farmers to continue irrigating, with less maintenance and more efficiency.

This Open Rivers Fund video details the removal of an old push-up dam on Salt Creek and the installation of a headgate to facilitate ongoing irrigation diversions while allowing fish passage to cool-water habitat.

This Open Rivers Fund video details the transformation of an outdated agriculture diversion into a modernized system that diverts water with less effort and maintenance and allows fish passage and recreation access.

This video from Open Rivers Fund provides an overview of efforts to restore Montana's Upper Clark Fork River, which has been contaminated by long-time mining operations. Clark Fork Coalition, Trout Unlimited, and others are partnering to update eight dams with solutions that benefit communities, local economies, and fish.

Watch a timelapse of the removal of the Nooksack Middle Fork Dam Removal Project, which took place in July 2020. Removal of the dam is listed as one of NOAA Fisheries’ top recommended actions to recover Puget Sound Chinook salmon populations.

The Smith-Meyer-Roper diversion dam was built in the early 1900’s to provide irrigation water. The structure blocks coho and steelhead from accessing spawning and rearing habitat. The dam was removed in 2019 and replaced with a roughened channel and headgate that continues to allow landowners to divert water for irrigation, while also allowing fish passage. “We really like to think of this project as being win-win-win in terms of salmon habitat, land management goals, and helping out the local economy,” says Alexis Larsen, Project Manager, Rogue River Watershed Council.

Beeson-Robison Dam was an inefficient irrigation structure located on Wagner Creek, a tributary to Bear River, that was removed in 2017. Replacing the dam with a roughened channel and headgate system allows salmon and steelhead to access cool-water spawning and rearing habitat, while providing a more efficient irrigation structure that saves irrigators time and money. “There really is no negative,” says Bob Hackett, landowner on Wagner Creek.

Water is meant to move, to flow, to meander. Tanna Engdahl, spiritual leader with the Cowlitz Indian Tribe, travels to the former confluence of three creeks at the headwaters of the Washougal River. Tanna takes stock of what was lost when this confluence was dammed to form a lake for a summer camp in the 1950s, and what Columbia Land Trust and the Cowlitz Tribe stand to regain by conserving the surrounding forest, removing the dam, and restoring the Washougal River system for salmon, steelhead, wildlife, and people alike. Video produced for Columbia Land Trust by Zach Putnam Productions.

Film courtesy of Wahoo Films and the Warner Basin Aquatic Habitat Partnership partners: The Western Native Trout Initiative is helping the Warner Basin Aquatic Habitat Partnership fund 10 projects over 6 years to benefit water users in this critically important watershed while also benefiting Warner Lakes Redband Trout and Warner sucker.

Video produced by California Trout: California Trout ranks Matilija Dam, located in the Ventura River watershed, as one of the top 5 dams to remove in California. Originally designed for water storage and flood control, Matilija has filled with sediment over the years, reducing water storage and rendering the dam obsolete. Removing Matilija Dam will reconnect access to critical spawning and rearing habitat for the endangered Southern California steelhead.

Rich Reid’s documentary Watershed Revolution asks the question “What is a Watershed?” The answer is explored through interviews with concerned citizens working to protect and preserve the Ventura River watershed while stunning high definition cinematography highlights the beauty of the river. The unique challenges faced by a river that is the sole source of water for a thirsty community are brought to life and will change forever your definition of a watershed.