America's Most Endangered Rivers 2011

Eleven rivers make the 2011 list compiled by American Rivers. See how mining, development and damming could affect some of the best-known and most-loved rivers in the U.S. — and what you can do to help. By Dan Shapley

Yuba River

Salmon runs are so abused in the Pacific Northwest that fishing for the famed fish made The Daily Green's list of most endangered vacations last year. American Rivers is recognizing the threat in 2011 by placing the Yuba River, home to "one of California's last refuges for spring-run Chinook salmon" on its list of most endangered rivers because two hydroelectric dams block 120 miles of steelhead and salmon habitat upstream. The key to helping the species, according to American Rivers, is in the hands of the Army Corps of Engineers, which is empowered to order the dams to build fish-passage infrastructure like ladders or elevators to help spawning fish reach upstream habitat. Without such action, these salmon runs, like many before them, will inch closer to extinction.