Breaching the Condit Dam on the White Salmon River (Video)

Photo By: American River

This video shows footage of the Condit dam removal on the White Salmon River in Washington State this week. American Rivers, an organization that advocates for healthy free-flowing rivers, calls 2011 The Year of the River because of the White Salmon and Elwha river dam removals, which together with others bring to 1,000 the total number of dams removed in the U.S.

Many dams were built in past generations for power or milling but no longer serve an important function. By removing them, the rivers can flow freely, and fish can migrate to historic spawning grounds. In many cases, dam removal is essential for restoring or saving salmon and other important species.

> Related: Saving the Elwha River by Removing a Dam

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