- Program Environment
- Program Area Addressing the Freshwater Challenge
- Grant Amount $130,000
- Grant Period September 1, 2004–August 31, 2006
- Location Madison, WI, United States
- Geographic Focus Wisconsin
About this grant
The River Alliance of Wisconsin’s (RAW) Hydropower Dam Policy Project was developed to investigate and encourage the removal of obsolete dams on waterways in the Great Lakes basin. RAW was established in 1993 to promote the protection and restoration of Wisconsin rivers and, in recent years, has emerged as a leading organization working on small dam removal.Multiyear funding will enable RAW to pursue objectives that include expanding a prioritization plan for dam removal into the Lake Superior basin of Wisconsin; institutionalizing the dam removal prioritization process within the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources; participating in three hydropower-relicensing processes; supporting the adoption of a statewide fish passage policy; collaborating on designing and conducting a study to examine the change in property values at dam removal sites; and developing a place-based river restoration demonstration project.Recent accomplishments included assisting 14 communities in restoring river and stream habitat; developing a "Citizens Guide to Dam Removal" with Trout Unlimited; participating in several hydropower relicensing processes; working to remove eight dams on rivers with high ecological value within the Lake Michigan basin; and leading workshops to train citizens to promote dam removal in Michigan and North Carolina.