The goal of this thesis is to identify the factors which have most significantly contributed to historical dam removals in the United States. The trend of increased dam removals over time is specifically analyzed for evidence that increased scarcity of environmental goods and services is motivating dam removals. A theoretical...
The majority of dam removals are small structures that are governed primarily by state and local bodies. The objective of this study is to characterize and evaluate the governance that has driven recent decisions to remove small dams. In the governance literature on small dam removals, three aspects remain unclear....
Dam removal is an important management tool for addressing aging infrastructure, public and structural safety, restoration of river connectivity for migratory organisms and recreation, and habitat quality. However, planning for dam removals is constrained by the difficulty of cost estimation. To our knowledge, published data on dam removal plans, total...
If two dams on the Elwha River are removed, the ecosystem will be open to the downstream flow of sediments and the upstream flow of marine nutrients in the form of anadromous fish. Nutrient enrichment may influence trophic dynamics of the entire ecosystem, extending beyond the aquatic boundary. I assessed...
Several reports related to dams and dam removal have been released this decade by non-governmental organizations including Dam Removal: Science and Decision Making by The Heinz Center which focused on small dams, since most of the dams removed to date as well as those likely to be removed in the...
Emerging river policy has launched small dam removal as a viable option to meet the ecological and social demands for river restoration. As small dam removals gain precedence as a policy tool in river restoration projects there exists a glaring gap in the social considerations, in particular how small dam...
Management of small dams may have profound implications for the health and integrity of small rivers and freshwater diversity. Global indicators suggest future growth in the small hydropower sector, particularly in developing countries. As a renewable energy source, it is often presumed that small hydropower entails fewer and less severe...
Dam removal is increasingly viewed as a river restoration tool because dams affect so many aspects of river hydrology, geomorphology, and ecology; but removal also has impacts. When a dam is removed, sediment accumulated over a dam’s lifetime may be transported downstream; and the timing, fate and consequences of this...
Retirement is one of the most important transitional events in later life. Despite a large body of research examining the impacts of retirement on health, questions still remain regarding the relationship between retirement timing and subsequent health and survival. Previous research examining the existence, direction, and magnitude of the relationship...
Bar-pool morphology in rivers can provide vital habitat to aquatic species, notably salmonids, which require gravel riffles to bury eggs and pools for hydraulic and cold-water refuge. In some cases, the erosion and subsequent deposition of coarse sediment downstream of a dam removal can modify habitat by inundating bar-pool structure,...