Debate Over Dam Removal

There are more than 19 thousand dams in the Northeast. Many are small, dating back to the time when early industry harnessed the power of rivers.

But today, environmentalists and government agencies want to restore rivers back to their natural flow for the benefit of both migrating fish and people.

As part of a collaboration among Northeast public radio stations, Nancy Cohen from WNPR in Hartford reports on the debate over taking dams down.

Northeast environmental reporting is made possible in part by a grant from United Technologies.