Why We Believe There Will Be Dam Removal
We have been receiving questions regarding one of our previous emails about the removal of dams with regards to the White River Watershed National Blueway. The Nature Conservancy is one of the NGO’s (Non-Governmental Organizations) supporting the Blueway Designation in the White River Watershed. As you know, this means that the Nature Conservancy will be responsible in-part for managing the Blueway system, unless we stop it. They believe in full restoration of rivers, wildlands, and wetlands. This includes the removal of dams “to benefit nature and people”, as noted in this article written by their president and CEO, Mark Tercek, and posted on their website. It involves Maine’s Penobscot River, but the situation could be the same here in Arkansas.
A direct quote from their article:
As you’ve read in our previous emails, the Blueway designation includes a 180′ buffer around all surface water. Given that the organizations supporting the Blueway feel it necessary to break dams to restore the health of rivers and take over a large amount of land surrounding our waters, this is more proof of an unacceptable land grab.
Other agencies and organizations have the same mindset. Here is a quote from an article by NOAA ( the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration):
“The best way to accomplish full restoration is to remove barriers to natural functioning, such as dams, ditches and other man-made structures, and allow natural hydrology and drainage patterns to re-establish themselves. The benefits of ecological engineering should be shared widely with all agencies and organizations engaged in habitat restoration activities.”
A reminder of what this Blueway will do: it will consolidate existing governing authorities via the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding). This will create a non-governmental Frankenstein of sorts managed by a board of UNelected bureaucrats who don’t answer to the people.
If that doesn’t worry you, it should.
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