Our Common Waters - Dam Nation...

Cut here to enjoy a fresh free-flowing river. Matilija Dam, Ventura County, California. BEN KNIGHT

Cut here to enjoy a fresh free-flowing river. Matilija Dam, Ventura County, California. BEN KNIGHT

Cut here to enjoy a fresh free-flowing river. Matilija Dam, Ventura County, California. BEN KNIGHT

No one knows how many dams there are in the United States, not even the Army Corps of Engineers. Estimates are as many as two million. Even the Corps agrees that as many as 26,000 of these dams are hazardous, obsolete or otherwise derelict. Think of them as jalopies in the backyard, eyesores, but worse because they break healthy rivers, ruin habitat and destroy fish migration. 

Matilija Dam pictured above no longer serves any useful purpose and blocks steelhead migration on the Ventura River in California in Patagonia’s own backyard. We bet there’s a useless dam or two in your backyard. It’s time to take them out. Please join us and American Rivers in removing 100 obsolete dams in 2012.

Help remove 100 obsolete dams in 2012


Since 1973, American Rivers has fought to protect and restore more than 150,000 miles of rivers through advocacy efforts and on-the-ground projects.




Patagonia’s current environmental campaign  spotlights the need to balance human water consumption with that of animals and plants.
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