In the 168 years since Michigan became a state, our natural landscape has changed dramatically. Forests were cleared, swamps and wetlands were drained and cities were built. Even the landscape linked with our rivers has been changed by the construction of dams. Hundreds of them.

On virtually all our largest rivers, engineers constructed huge dams to provide hydroelectric power to area communities. Most of these dams were built between 1900 and 1955, with construction activity reaching its peak in 1914.

The last hydro dam in the Lower Peninsula was constructed in 1948, and the last one in the U.P. was built in 1953.

Today, many of these dams have deteriorated because of age, erosion, poor maintenance, flood damage and poor designs. And many of them no longer serve any useful purpose.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division believes dam removal is an integral component of successful river management and provides substantial river restoration benefits.

“Removal eliminates the expenses of future maintenance and repairs, improves public safety and provides several ecological benefits,” said Sharon Hanshue, manager of the Fisheries Division’s Habitat Management Unit.

Hanshue said the Fisheries Division routinely provides support and technical assistance to dam owners interested in dam removal because it is an excellent way to improve water quality, fisheries habitat and recreational use.

Dams cause significant adverse impacts to the ecology of rivers and streams by blocking migration of fish to upriver spawning habitat; warming water temperatures in impoundments well above downstream conditions and accumulating sediment, which degrades water quality and often buries high quality fisheries habitat.

Dam removal, on the other hand, restores the natural flowing character of a stream and restores essential ecological processes in the river. Large segments of previously inaccessible water may be open to use by a variety of fish species. In addition, dam removal and sediment management can restore buried fish spawning habitat and other critical stream habitat.

Chris Freiburger is the supervisor of the DNR’s FERC program, which guides natural resource protection recommendations for hydropower plants during license review. Most hydroelectric dams in Michigan are regulated by the federal government under the Federal Power Act, which is administered by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

“Those dams that are no longer operational, that stand in disrepair, or are not removed are at significant risk of failure, particularly during high flow events,” Freiburger said.

A good example, he said, is the Elm Street Dam on the Battle Creek River in Battle Creek.

Just last month, the DNR partnered with numerous organizations to finally remove the dam, which was built in the 1910s by Consumers Energy to provide water to cool the turbines at a coal-fired power plant at the site. Although the power plant was removed many years ago, the dam remained even though it no longer served any useful purpose.

“Removal of the dam restores continuity of the lowermost section of the Battle Creek River with the Kalamazoo River allowing upstream and downstream fish passage for approximately 20 miles,” Freiburger said. “It allows the natural transport of water and sediment which are needed to maintain a healthy and properly functioning river system.

Another example is Stronach Dam, the only dam on the Pine River, built in 1912. Located approximately three miles upstream of the Manistee River and Pine River confluence, the river above the dam carried a high bedload of sand because of its steep, sandy banks and the logging operations that took place there in the late 1800s. This sand gradually filled the original reservoir behind the dam, and the dam was decommissioned in 1953.

“The removal of Stronach Dam was negotiated as part of an alternative licensing agreement for Consumers Energy’s Tippy Dam hydroelectric project on the Manistee River,” Freiburger said. “A staged removal process began in 1996 to allow the Pine River to gradually restore its channel in the areas upstream of the dam while causing the least amount of downstream environmental impact. The final stage of dam removal was completed in 2003.”

Built in 1919, Sturgeon Dam on the Sturgeon River near Norway in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula was operated as a hydroelectric project by We Energies. During relicensing, We Energies, federal and state resource agencies, and nongovernmental organizations accepted removal of Sturgeon Dam as partial mitigation for the continued operation of other company projects on the Upper Menominee River system. Removal of the dam is part of the Wilderness Shores Settlement Agreement signed in 2001.

“The removal plan calls for the 50-foot dam to be removed in two stages over a period of three years,” Freiburger said. “The staged removal began in 2003 and is expected to be complete by the end of this summer.”

By removing the dam in stages, Freiburger said it will allow the 248-acre reservoir and associated sediment to stabilize, thereby reducing fish and wildlife impacts.

“There are numerous benefits associated with the removal of Sturgeon Dam, including the restoration of over 1.5 miles of the Sturgeon River and improved water quality.”

Over the years, the DNR has assisted in the removal of many old dams that either were abandoned or sold to the state.

“But Michigan currently has more than 2,500 dams, over 300 of which are municipally owned,” Sharon Hanshue said. “The DNR and federal government together own about 360 dams, but, by far, the majority of dams are privately owned, almost 1800. So it’s going to be a very long and very expensive process to get rid of all those dams that serve no purpose, are old and unsafe and too expensive to keep.”

“The great news is that a river returns to a more natural condition very rapidly after a dam is removed, if done properly,” Hanshue added. “It’s not unusual to hear of fish returning to use a stream within weeks of it being opened up after a dam removal. It’s fantastic to see people using the river again too.”