The next Rachel Carson Forum on the Future of the Environment features a program on dam restoration problems and opportunities on May 18 at noon in the second floor auditorium of the Rachel Carson State Office Building in Harrisburg.

The speaker will be R. Scott Carney, Chief of the newly established Division of Habitat Management with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission. Carney is one of the leaders of modern dam removal in Pennsylvania, having created the Commission’s highly successful Consultation and Grant program for Fish Passage and Habitat Restoration 10 years ago.

He has raised more than $6 million to date and helped to remove more than 100 dams statewide, and has partnered with a large number of federal, state, nonprofit, municipal and private-industry partners.

Pennsylvania currently leads the nation in the removal of unwanted dams, with more than 120 dams removed over the past decade. With an estimated 5,000 dams still in the state, there is still plenty to do.

The presentation looks at the issues surrounding dam removal, particularly ecological and economic considerations. Though still controversial, dam removal has gained a good measure of acceptance in the past 10 years as an efficient and effective means of stream restoration.

Dam removal can also be a catalyst for developing long-term partnerships, for citizen monitoring and restoration efforts, and for larger ecosystem restoration projects. Learn the issues behind dam removal, the biological impacts, and the partnership opportunities involved with removal projects.

The program will also address habitat restoration efforts being developed by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and partnership opportunities open to DEP, DCNR and other groups.

Questions about this series should be directed to Don Brown, Pennsylvania Consortium for Interdisciplinary Environmental Policy, at brownd@state.pa.us .

5/12/2006