Dam Removal Is a Climate Solution

In the Pacific Northwest, four methane-emitting dams are damaging key ecosystems along the Snake River that local communities depend on. Removing these dams can help bring back life to the Snake, repair our climate and honor Indigenous rights in the process.

The science on dams is in. They’re worse than most thought.

We used to think dams were a cheap source of renewable energy. Now we know the dirty truth: Dams and the reservoirs behind them kill mass numbers of fish, create dangerous algae blooms and destroy carbon-storing habitats, turning them into stagnant waterways that emit methane, a potent greenhouse gas. This ecological crisis is unfolding on the lower Snake River, where four dams currently produce annual methane emissions equal to burning 2 billion pounds of coal or driving 400,000 gas-powered cars.

But there’s a proven solution: By removing dams, we can restore rivers, save species from extinction, honor treaty rights and build climate resiliency. Tell Congress to remove the lower Snake River dams. Act now.

Undammed | Watch the film and join the fight to free the Klamath

Dams have blocked the Klamath River since 1925. Now, they’re coming down thanks to the efforts of tribal nations, local communities, conservation organizations and everyday activists. Our new film follows Yurok tribal attorney Amy Bowers Cordalis’s journey to help free the Klamath. “It’s not a test,” she says of the largest dam-removal project in US history. “It will work.” Help restore the Klamath River by supporting Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group.

Find Environmental Groups Near You

Idaho Conservation League

Boise, ID, United States

ICL seeks to ensure that Idaho remains wild and works to protect the values that define it by building a robust conservation community who advocates and takes action for water, air, public lands and wildlife. They operate throughout the state, and have offices in Boise, Ketchum and Sandpoint.

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