To save endangered salmon, US panel approves largest dam demolition in history

In 2019, the state lawmakers passed some of the country’s strongest clean energy legislation, aiming to cut coal power by 2025, and move to 100 per cent clean and renewable electricity by 2045. Removing the dams would make it more challenging to meet those goals.

In a bid to restore habitat for endangered salmon fish, the United States on Thursday approved a plan to demolish four dams. The demolition in California, which is said to be the largest dam removal and river restoration project in the world when it goes forward, will open up hundreds of miles of salmon habitat. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) was reported to have issued an order surrendering the dam licences and approving removal of the dams. The project has long been a goal of several native tribes whose ancestors have lived off the salmon for centuries. The decision was termed as “momentous” and “historic” by the commissioners.

A dam on the lower Klamath River known as Copco 2. (AP)

Dam removal is expected to improve the health of California's second-largest river - Klamath River. This is the route that Chinook salmon and endangered coho salmon take from the Pacific Ocean to their upstream spawning grounds, and from where the young fish return to the sea, news agency Reuters reported.

Implications of dam removal on hydroelectric power

Located in the western US, the state of Washington relies heavily on hydroelectric power generated through dams, the New York Times had reported earlier in August. Further, the state lawmakers - in 2019 - passed some of the country’s strongest clean energy legislation. These litigations aim to cut coal power by 2025, and move to 100 per cent clean and renewable electricity by 2045.

Removing the dams would make it more challenging to meet those goals. However, experts believe that these structures have contributed to the depletion of the salmon population, which is critical to the river basin’s ecosystem. “Some people might ask in this time of great need for zero emissions, ‘Why are we removing the dams?’ First, we have to understand this doesn’t happen every day … a lot of these projects were licensed a number of years back when there wasn’t as much focus on environmental issues,” FERC Chairman Richard Glick told news agencies. “Some of these projects have a significant impact on the environment and a significant impact on fish," he added.

(With inputs from Reuters and AP)