Dam removal for climate and nature [Eastern Canada] – part two

Linda Heron writes: “Most of the dam removal projects with which the Ontario Rivers Alliance has been involved have aimed to increase resilience to climate change by improving water quality, reducing stream temperature, and increasing brook trout habitat. To date, the Ontario Rivers Alliance has worked with…” Continue reading Dam removal for climate and nature [Eastern Canada] – part two

Dam removal for climate and nature [Eastern Canada] – part one

Linda Heron writes: “Ontario is littered with hundreds of old and decaying concrete, log, and earthen millpond dams, hydropower dams, control dams and diversion dams that have blocked stream flow and filled with sediment over the last 100 years or more. There is a myriad of reasons for removing dams from freshwater streams…” Continue reading Dam removal for climate and nature [Eastern Canada] – part one

Rewilding itself: the Union Canal [Northeast USA]

Sally Zaino writes: “Connecting the Susquehanna River to the Schuylkill River with a canal was William Penn’s idea, before 1700—but construction was not begun for another hundred years. The canal was to be known as the “Golden Link”. However, construction suffered many stops and starts, while engineers struggled to create a canal that, from west to east, would rise 92 feet and fall 311 feet, that was prone…” Continue reading Rewilding itself: the Union Canal [Northeast USA]

Life’s revival in a natural harbor [Northeast USA]

Judith S Weis writes: “During much of the previous century, the New York–New Jersey (NY–NJ) Harbor Estuary was severely degraded due to the effects of heavy industry, including the unregulated discharge of raw sewage and all kinds of industrial pollutants into the water, as well as the filling-in of marshes for development (e.g., three major area airports were built in this way). Major…” Continue reading Life’s revival in a natural harbor [Northeast USA]

The Elwha story [Western USA]

Jerry Freilich writes: “Removing the two dams on the Elwha River in Olympic National Park (Washington) was like turning around a giant ocean liner at sea. Although science and economics clearly showed that the dams needed to be removed, it still took 25 years of hard work and tenacity before public and political opinion was turned around making the seemingly impossible – possible…” Continue reading The Elwha story [Western USA]

Beginnings: Nick and Margaret’s Place [Southern USA]

Tom Horton writes: “If I were the Choptank River, it’s on Nick and Margaret Carter’s place I’d want to be born, to meander some 70 miles toward Chesapeake Bay, swelling from a sweetwater trickle old Nick can hop across, to my salty mouth, five miles wide down by Tilghman Island. From the Carters’, above the reach of tides and salt, the river seeps cold and clear and steady from beneath the mossy roots…” Continue reading Beginnings: Nick and Margaret’s Place [Southern USA]