Department of the Interior Awards $110 Million to Remove 40 Obsolete Dams and Restore Salmon Rivers

WASHINGTON, DC — The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced $110 million in competitive grant allocations through the National Fish Passage Program, funding the removal of 40 obsolete, high-hazard dams and the replacement of 150 restrictive culverts across 18 states.

Reconnecting Spawning Corridors for Salmon, Trout, and Migratory Fish

The funding packages provide capital to dismantle derelict industrial mill dams and replace undersized road culverts with natural bottom arch bridges in Maine, Oregon, Washington, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. The river restoration projects will reconnect over 1,200 miles of historic upstream river spawning habitat for endangered Atlantic salmon, Pacific steelhead, and native brook trout while eliminating structural dam failure flood hazards for downstream municipal communities.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland stated that removing obsolete dams revitalizes free-flowing rivers, strengthens native fish populations, and reduces local flood risks.

American Rivers and Commercial Fishing Coalitions Praise

American Rivers and Trout Unlimited praised the investments as transformative for watershed biodiversity and ecological connectivity.

Tribal nations in the Pacific Northwest and New England celebrated the restoration of ancestral cultural salmon fishing runs.

Engineering and Deconstruction Timeline

Dam deconstruction engineering and river sediment stabilization will commence during low-flow river windows in summer 2027.