When Dams Come Down, Salmon and Sand Can Prosper

elwha-dam-sediment
Sediment trapped, Elwha river. Photograph: © SAF — Coastal Care

Excerpts;

Studies of dam-removal projects show that migratory species like salmon respond quickly to improved conditions once a dam is removed. But the removal of a dam on the Elwha River in northern Washington State — the largest such project in the United States — is demonstrating that there can be another beneficiary: the beach…

Read Full Article, The New York Times

Elwha, The Grand Experiment (11-12-2012)

Dams – Cutting off our Beach Sand; By Gary Griggs (12-19-2014)

Tracking Sediments’ Fate In Largest-Ever Dam Removal (03-2013)
Scientists tracking the aftermath of the largest dam removal in U.S. history say the dismantling of a dam in northwestern Washington state has unleashed about 34 million cubic yards of sediment and debris that built up for more than a century…

“River Reborn: Elwha Flows Wild and Free Once Again,” NBC News

Movement to Take Down Thousands of Dams Goes Mainstream, National Geographic (01-29-2015)

Sediment Trapped Behind Dams Makes Them ‘Hot Spots’ for Greenhouse Gas Emissions (08-2013)

DamNation; a Documentary That’s Testing the Waters of Corporate Social Responsibility; Produced by Stoecker Ecological and Felt Soul Media” and presented by Patagonia.

Let’s Talk About Sand: “Sand Wars” Film Director Denis Delestrac, At TEDxBarcelona

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