Across the United States, some rivers are beginning to flow through places where dams once stood. In 2020, 69 dams were removed across 23 states, reopening hundreds of miles of waterways that had been blocked for decades. Some structures had outlived the purpose for which they were built, while others had become expensive to maintain or posed growing safety concerns. For fish and wildlife, the changes could be significant, restoring access to stretches of river that had long been cut off. The work continued even as the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted construction and restoration projects across the country.
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