Program to Establish and Enforce Performance Standards for Hydropower Dams to Restore Aquatic Diversity

About this grant

The operating licenses for hydropower facilities extend for 30-50 years, so the process of renewing licenses presents unique opportunities to include new provisions geared toward ecosystem restoration. The Natural Heritage Institute, a national organization using interdisciplinary research and legal skills to solve environmental problems, provides its expertise to conservation and community groups engaged in relicensings. With Mott support since 2001, the institute has assisted such groups in the Great Lakes and southeastern United States, helping to achieve many improvements in the operation of hydropower dams in both regions. Continued support from Mott will enable the institute to sustain its work, primarily in the Southeast where several major relicensings are moving toward completion.