Dam removals are bringing fish back across the northeastern United States

Since 1912, over 2,300 dams have been removed from U.S. waterways, with most demolitions occurring in the last 25 years, particularly across the northeastern United States. These removals are restoring natural river flows and enabling fish species like American herring to return to spawning grounds that had been blocked for decades or centuries. The trend reflects a shift in how society balances the historical benefits of dams against their ecological costs.