Where Dams Fall Rivers Thrive
By Robert Braile
Globe Correspondent

 From Maine's Kennebec to California's Butte Creek, rivers across America have been ecologically and economically revitalized in recent years thanks to the removal of at least 467 dams, according to a report to be released today by environ- mental groups.
Billed by Trout Unlimited, Friends of the Earth, and American Rivers as the most comprehensive examination ever of dam removal in the country, the report found that 43 states have taken down dams since 1912. Signaling a trend, most of those dams have come down since the 1980's, with the most in any given year coming down last year.
As might be expected, nature thrived nearly every time. On Maine's Souadabscook Stream, one of 26 rivers cited as a case study, less than one month after the Grist Mill Dam was removed last October, Atlantic salmon returned to ancestral spawning grounds there for the first time in 200 years, the report found.
But in an effort to diversify the image of America's recent take- down-the-dams crusade, the authors also argued that dam removals have economic and safety benefits, boosting tourism while eliminating the threat of breaks at dilapidated dams. That crusade gained national attention with this year's removal of Maine's Edwards Dam, and has been associated with some of the country"s more strident environmental groups.
The authors also sought to show that while the cry for dam removal has increased recently, led by such influential players as Interior Secretary' Bruce Babbitt, pulling dams out of rivers is neither new nor uncommon. Dams have come down in every decade since 1912, and in many states, frequently'. Wisconsin has removed 73 dams, for instance.
And in deference to the hydropower industry, which just a few decades ago was seen as an ecological solution to global fuel shortages and embargoes, the authors argued that only old, useless, and dangerous dams should come down. Others that are safe, productive, and considerate of migratory' fish and other natural assets should remain. There are an estimated 2.5 million dams in the country, 75,000 higher than six feet.
"There are many people who have a knee-jerk reaction to dam removal, wanting to paint you as really out there, suggesting something that's ludicrous," said Sara Johnson, Trout Unlimited's director of national volunteer operations and a report author. "But what we're suggesting is reasonable. It is based on economic and safety factors as well as eco logical, with dam owners themselves looking for solutions to aging dams."
But critics say that while some dams clearly should come out of rivers, it would be unfortunate if a rush to remove dams resulted in pulling out those that are useful, whether for flood control, hydropower production, recreation, irrigation, navigation, water supply, or other purposes. And a rush, some say, is under\vay.
"There are dams that are forgotten about, abandoned, or that just don't make sense, and it'd be helpful to remove them for the betterment of the environment, especially now, when we're much more aware of the ecological impacts of dams on rivers," said David Tuft, a spokesman for the National Hydropower Association.
"Having said that, we'd be leery of any attempt to capitalize on the controversies we've seen this year on high-profile projects like the Edwards Dam or four dams on the Snake River, and this report is an effort to do just that — capitalize on those projects to put pressure on the industry to remove hydropower dams," Tuft said. Environmentalists have long opposed the dams on the Snake River, which cuts through the Pacific Northwest.
But the report's authors say that is why they were careful to examine in 25 of the case studies dams where they say removal was in the best economic, environmental, and safety interests of the communities involved, and also — in the 26th — a dam whose removal went wrong. The 1973 removal of the 1898 Fort Edward Dam on the Hudson River sent tons of toxic sediment downstream, polluting the river.
Where the removals have gone right, the economic benefits might come in the form of enhanced sport- fishing, as fish runs rebound, or recreation, as the water gets cleaner. Some benefits may also come to the dam owners themselves. Because removing dams usually costs less than repairing them, an owner of several older dams — some productive, some not — would be better off removing the useless ones.
"Dam removal is not necessarily a radical environmental idea," said Matt Sicchio, a conservation assistant at American Rivers. "It can be that... But this report shows that it can also be a very reasonable thing...