Undammed - by Tara Lohan (Hardcover)

About the Book

Free-flowing rivers in the United States are an endangered species. We've dammed and diverted almost every major river, straightening curves and blocking passage for fish and other aquatic animals, pushing many to the brink. Now a heartening new movement is helping to demolish harmful or obsolete structures, restoring new life to rivers and communities that depend on them. In doing so, it offers a pathway to undoing environmental harm to nature--and to ourselves.

In Undammed, environmental journalist Tara Lohan makes a case for the unexpected benefits of dam removal. By restoring rivers, she argues, we're protecting our own communities by increasing climate resilience, improving water quality, enhancing public safety, and boosting fish populations that feed people and restore rights for Native American Tribes. Undammed is an inspirational look at our changing relationship with the natural world, showing the cascade of benefits that come when we no longer turn our backs on rivers.

Book Synopsis

Free-flowing rivers in the United States are an endangered species. With more than 500,000 dams in place, we've dammed and diverted almost every major river, straightening curves and blocking passage for fish and other aquatic animals, pushing many to the brink. Now a heartening new movement is helping to demolish harmful or obsolete structures and restore new life to rivers and the communities that depend on them. In doing so, it offers a pathway to undoing environmental harm to nature--and to ourselves.

In Undammed, environmental journalist Tara Lohan takes a clear-eyed look at the unexpected benefits of dam removal after centuries of dam-building. In helping to restore rivers, she argues, we're protecting our own communities by improving water quality, enhancing public safety, and boosting fish populations that feed people and restore rights for Native American Tribes. Lohan chronicles the removal effort of four dams on the Klamath River in northern California and southern Oregon, the largest dam-removal and river-restoration project in the world. In the Northwest, she walks readers through the politically heated debate over potential removal of dams on the Lower Snake River in Washington to help restore salmon and orcas. And she visits the Kennebec and Penobscot rivers in Maine where time is running out to save Atlantic salmon. In the Southwest, Lohan considers the need to rethink the concrete monoliths on its largest rivers in the face of longer droughts, higher temperatures, and overallocated resources. And in Ohio, she highlights how removing unneeded dams is helping the once lifeless Cuyahoga River bounce back, benefitting urban communities in innumerable, tangible ways. In other efforts across the country, she shows why removing deadbeat and small dams can have big impacts and is helping drive action beyond our borders. In Europe, where river barriers occur almost every half-mile, the US movement is spurring a rival effort to restore natural flow to rivers degraded by obstructions.

Undammed is an inspirational look at our changing relationship with the natural world, showing the cascade of benefits that come when we no longer turn our backs on rivers. And in helping to restore rivers, we're helping ourselves.

Review Quotes

"[Lohan] provides numerous vivid accounts of dam removal in the United States, sharing her enthusiasm for the resultant eco­logical and human benefits. It is a good read for anyone wanting to explore the possibilities for restoring wild rivers and streams, and to learn what values can be restored."
-- "Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences"

"Lohan weaves a compelling narrative and gives voice to the communities--human, aquatic, and even avian--dam removal can benefit. She sheds light on stories of recovery and hope as she traverses the country--a much needed balm in this day and age."
--Serena S. McClain, Senior Director, National Dam Removal Program, American Rivers

"Tara Lohan's book brought tears of joy to my eyes with her beautiful descriptions of the need for--and the growing success of--river restorations and the restoration that happens to our souls when we take down old, unsafe, and damaging dams and let our rivers run free once more."--Peter H. Gleick, cofounder and President Emeritus, Pacific Institute

"The best journalists know the most important stories are often found by hanging back after a big event. Brilliantly tracking rivers after dams come down, Lohan fishes up untold stories of renewal and connection--for water, wildlife, and people. Undammed is the rare uplifting environmental book that proves we can mend the world."--Cynthia Barnett, author of "The Sound of the Sea"

About the Author

Tara Lohan is an environmental journalist who has been writing about the confluence of water, energy, and biodiversity for nearly two decades. Her work has appeared in The Nation, The American Prospect, Grist, Salon, High Country News, and The Revelator. She's the editor of two books on the global water crisis, Water Matters and Water Consciousness. She holds a master's degree in literary nonfiction and lives in Bend, Oregon.