Julie Turrini

Kwoneesum Dam

Partnership and Vision Restoring Abundance to Tomorrow’s Rivers

In the last few years, we’ve witnessed what is becoming a profound change across the American West. Obsolete dams are coming down. Streams are being restored. Tribes are reconnecting with the fish runs of their ancestors. Irrigation diversions are easier to manage. And water is cleaner.   If one follows the water through our nation’s rivers, the removal of these dams might look like isolated incidents. But the individual acts are adding up to a significant whole, and momentum is growing. Change like this doesn’t happen overnight. It takes careful planning, prudent investment, smart partnerships, and effective tools.   Thanks to…

Missoula offers momentum on Rattlesnake Dam removal

With work to remove Missoula’s Rattlesnake Creek Dam now underway, it’s a good time to call attention to the inspiring local partnerships that led to this. There are lessons that can apply across the West. The 60-foot-long dam, in place since 1904, will be removed and the creek restored, giving bull trout, westslope cutthroat and other species renewed access to miles of spawning habitat. While dam removals are occurring with increasing frequency, this project is remarkable in how it came about and what may come of it. My colleagues and I at Resources Legacy Fund have had the good fortune…