Remnant Populations Hang On
After over 150 years of habitat destruction, nine migratory species—Atlantic salmon, striped bass, shortnose sturgeon, Atlantic sturgeon, American shad, blueback herring, American eel, alewife, and rainbow smelt—all but disappeared above the dam. (The American eel population was largely restored by a commercial eel fishery which has operated above the dam for many years.) However, in testament to the river’s remarkable productivity, all nine species of migrating fish are still present in remnant populations, which migrate as far as the dam and spawn in the small remaining downstream habitat.
New Standards Confront the Dam
In November, 1997, the Edwards Dam made history by being the first dam to have its owners’ license renewal refused by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). A 1986 Federal law requires FERC to balance the environmental impact of a dam against the value of the electricity it produces. Edwards failed the test, and FERC ordered that its owners remove the dam or spend $8.9 million on a fishway and another $1 million on environmental remediation. Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt called the precedent-setting decision to remove the dam “a new chapter in American conservation history.” It marked the first time that the FERC had ever ordered removal of an operating hydropower project in favor of fisheries restoration.
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