America's Most Endangered Rivers of 2003

Recently, American Rivers released its 18th annual report, America's Most Endangered Rivers. These 10 rivers face imminent threats in the coming year -- and they need your voice to survive.

From Mississippi's Big Sunflower, to the Rio Grande, to the Snake, that great river of the West traveled by Lewis and Clark, these waters run through our shared story as Americans.

Please speak out today against the foolhardy flood control projects, dams, unnecessary water schemes and reckless development that endanger these national treasures. Click on the links below to learn more and get involved.

#1 - Big Sunflower River
Location: Mississippi
Threat: Flood control projects

Mississippi's Big Sunflower River is threatened by a pair of misbegotten flood control projects cooked up by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and rashly supported by its Congressional patrons.

Unless the Bush administration's Environmental Protection Agency vetoes the Yazoo Pumps, the Corps will drain seven times more wetlands than private developers damage in a year nationwide.

Without firm opposition from the EPA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Corps will also scour 100 miles of the Big Sunflower's riverbed, destroying even more wetlands and stirring up a toxic stew of pesticides that has accumulated at the bottom of the river.

#2 - Klamath River
Location: California, Oregon
Threat: Irrigation withdrawals, hydropower dams, pollution

The federal Bureau of Reclamation is irresponsibly maximizing irrigation in the Klamath River basin, depleting the river and wreaking havoc on imperiled wildlife, imposing tremendous hardships on Native American and fishing communities.

Unless Congress and federal agencies bring water commitments back into balance with what nature can sustain, the nation can expect more tragedies like the staggering die-off of more than 33,000 salmon that occurred last September.

#3 - Ipswich River
Location: Massachusetts
Threat: Groundwater pumping and excessive water consumption

Because of excessive groundwater pumping and municipal water consumption, especially in the summer, portions of Massachusetts' Ipswich River run dry every year.

If the state of Massachusetts fails to enforce existing regulations and act on opportunities to improve water conservation in the coming months, the Ipswich faces a future in which it will more frequently resemble a dirt road than a river.

#4 - Gunnison River
Location: Colorado
Threat: Inadequate flow, water exports

In drought-plagued Colorado, pressure is growing to use more water from the Gunnison River to fuel sprawling development near Denver on the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains.

Unless the Department of the Interior asserts the public's right to an adequate flow of water, the roar of the river may soon cease to echo off the walls of the spectacular Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.

#5 - Rio Grande
Location: Colorado, New Mexico, Texas
Threat: Excessive diversion and over-consumption of water

Although the Rio Grande has failed to reach the Gulf of Mexico for much of the past two years, this troubled river could take a further turn for the worse in coming months, as Albuquerque, N.M., and Brownsville, Texas, close in on new withdrawals, and federal agencies determine how to manage their dams that control water levels throughout much of the river.

If the cities succeed in securing more river water and federal agencies stick with status quo operations, more stretches of the river could run dry and the last of the Rio Grande's native minnows could disappear forever.

#6 - Mattaponi River
Location: Virginia
Threat: Proposed water supply reservoir

A proposed new water supply reservoir for the sprawling cities in Virginia's Lower Peninsula region threatens the ecological integrity of the Mattaponi River, one of the most pristine coastal river systems on the eastern seaboard.

Unless state and federal agencies resist political pressure to rubber-stamp permits for this flawed project, the King William Reservoir will inundate hundreds of acres of wetlands and tribal sites, and up to 75 million gallons of water per day will be siphoned out of the river.

#7 - Platte River
Location: Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska
Threat: Irrigation and water supply development

Across the drought-stricken plains of Wyoming, Colorado, and Nebraska, the quest for more irrigation water is threatening to undermine an agreement to secure adequate flows in the Platte River and to protect its adjacent wetlands.

Unless the Interior Department and state governments stick to their commitments and resist pressure for reckless new water development, migratory birds of the Central Flyway may lose their most important stopover and the Platte River basin could become the scene of water conflicts that rival those along the Klamath or the Rio Grande.

#8 - Snake River
Location: Idaho, Washington, Oregon
Threat: Hydropower dams

The fate of the Snake River and its wild salmon runs is increasingly in doubt as federal efforts to recover the imperiled fish falter and hydropower operators put short-term revenues ahead of salmon protection.

Unless the federal agencies and Congress step up their commitment to restore the endangered fish and Idaho Power Company improves operation of its Hells Canyon hydroelectric dams, it may soon be too late to save the salmon first documented in Lewis and Clark's journals.

#9 - Tallapoosa River
Location: Alabama, Georgia
Threat: Hydropower and water supply dams; overallocation

Although Alabama Power Company's R.L. Harris dam already has transformed a section of the Tallapoosa River into an ecological desert, more dams could be on the way as the sprawling Atlanta metro area seeks to develop municipal water supplies in the river's pristine headwaters.

Unless Alabama Power reforms its abusive hydropower operations and Georgia and Alabama take up the call to use their water more efficiently, the river's unparalleled collection of aquatic wildlife is at risk.

#10 - Trinity River
Location: Texas
Threat: Flood control and floodplain development

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the city of Dallas are poised to unleash their bulldozers along the Trinity River, intending to knock down 34,000 trees to construct new levees, drainage swales, and toll roads that many ostensible beneficiaries don't want.

Unless the public can persuade civil servants and elected officials to revise their vision for the city's riverfront, a remarkable urban oasis will be transformed into just another concrete cacophony.

©Copyright 2007 Paddling.net, Inc. (View Privacy Policy)
Questions, Additions or Corrections please contact us.