Dam Removals Are Bringing Fish Back Across the Northeastern United States

Commenters discussed dam removals in the Northeast as a conservation tool, with several praising rewilding efforts that recreate fish nurseries and reconnect spawning habitat. goda90 described a rewilding project that mimics seasonal flooding to protect hatchlings, and glenstein highlighted the recent sale of four Kennebec River dams that could restore Atlantic salmon as an important precedent. Others noted that many obsolete 19th-century mill dams are low-hanging fruit for removal because they’re silted, in disrepair, or no longer serve flood-control or agricultural needs (galago, lukeify). metalman and anti-dam activists emphasized entrenched interests and legal water-rights wealth that complicate remediation, while practical concerns about removal costs and property borders were raised.

Opposing or cautious views centered on water storage, energy, and heritage. m_herrlich argued dams can store runoff as snowpack declines and produce clean power, preferring fish ladders to removal; threethirtytwo warned lost hydropower may be offset by fossil generation. ddxv and others pointed to dams’ recreational and community roles (Lake Pillsbury example) and notabotiswear and chihuahua criticized historical-preservation arguments used by both opponents and proponents. Debate even touched on aesthetics over a converted bridge in Plymouth (wiether versus csallen) and whether dams ultimately increase or decrease river resilience as climates warm (cyberax vs evolve2k).