Dam Removal Funding Gets Federal Boost

Efforts to remove obsolete dams may get a big boost as Congress considers record-setting appropriations for national programs that promote the removal of aging structures to improve fish passage. 

Earlier this year, the Bush administration proposed $6 million for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s new “Open Rivers Initiative,” a grant program unveiled last year as the government’s first-ever program specifically aimed at supporting dam removals. In a lesser-noticed move, the administration in its proposed 2007 budget also sought an additional $10 million for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Habitat Improvement Program (WHIP), which would be specifically targeted to support dam removal and fish passage projects. Both programs have been working their way through the Congressional appropriations process. Nationwide, more than 2 million obsolete dams—many only a few feet high—act as barriers to fish migration. http://www.bayjournal.com/article.cfm?article=2835