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American Rivers

grant award: $100,000; year awarded: 2022

US Southeastern rivers hold deep cultural connections to the current and ancestral indigenous stewards of the land and waters; however, climate change is threatening these strong ties. Rain events are becoming more intense and less predictable, causing intense floods and droughts, increased runoff from urban and agricultural areas, and pollution. In response to these changing conditions, aquatic species may migrate to seek conditions that support them, but dams hamper range expansions and genetic flow between populations. The removal of thousands of dams across the Southeast has the potential to allow species to expand into new ranges to survive climate change. American Rivers plans to increase the rate of dam removals that prioritize climate adaptation outcomes. They have developed a framework for all stages of the dam removal process, will train future project managers, and collectively advocate for policy solutions to support this work with the aim of six new dam removal projects being implemented by the end of the grant.