Caitlin
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Partnership Prompts First Effort by Federal Agency to Permanently Manage a Dam to Benefit Wildlife
Campbellsville, KY ? For the first time, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has decided to permanently change the way it operates one of its dams to benefit wildlife. The Corps and The Nature Conservancy announced today that a three year experiment to help restore the ecologically significant Green River in Kentucky is now standard practice. Water releases out of the Green River Dam have been permanently changed to meet the needs of people and the plants, animals and fishes that rely on the Green.
?The Green River is blessed with natural beauty and an incredible array of rare mussels and fish species, even though we?ve lost a lot of what we once had,? said Mike Turner, Chief, Environmental Resources of the Army Corps Louisville District. ?By returning the Green to a more natural flow, we can help the river recover. We?ve also shown that we can do so without any adverse effect on flood storage or recreation at Green River reservoir.?
Brian Richter, director of the Conservancy?s Sustainable Waters Program and co-author of Rivers for Life, praised the Army Corps? decision.
?This is a landmark event in our relationship with the Army Corps,? Richter said. ?Our collaboration on the Green River has evolved from a pilot project into a lasting partnership that is helping transform the way dams are operated, not only in the U.S. but internationally.?
Collaboration between the Conservancy and the Army Corps on the Green River led to the creation of the Sustainable Rivers Project ? a joint effort to restore rivers by returning them to a more natural flow pattern. Since 2002, the project has grown to involve 26 Corps dams on nine river systems. The ultimate goal of the Sustainable Rivers Project is to see ecological sustainability incorporated into the operation of all 630 Corps dams, more than a third of which are located on rivers identified as conservation priorities by the Conservancy. The Sustainable Rivers Project is the centerpiece of the partnership between the Corps and the Conservancy, which are respectively the world?s largest conservation organization and the world?s oldest and one of the largest water management agencies.
About the Green River Project
The Green River harbors one of the most diverse assemblages of fish and freshwater mussels in the United States. More than 150 fish species and more than 70 mussel species have been found in the river, which is also connected to and supports a host of cave-adapted species within Mammoth Cave National Park, the world?s most extensive known cave system.
?More than one-third of the fish species in the Green River are considered rare, threatened, or endangered at the state or federal level,? said Richie Kessler, project director for The Nature Conservancy?s Green River project. ?In fact, fourteen mussel species have disappeared from the river in recent decades. This decline in freshwater species is in part attributed to the lock and dam structures on the river.?
Built in 1969 to provide flood control and recreational benefits, the 43-meter-high Green River Dam completely plugs the river, controlling every drop of water moving downstream from almost 800 square miles above the dam. The Corps' dam operators then release water out of the reservoir through a multi-level outlet works and concrete conduit.
An analysis by Conservancy scientists revealed that the Corps was releasing water from the reservoir in a way that resembled natural flows during much of the year. But during the autumn, a considerable volume of water was being released in order to prepare to capture winter floods and this was not a part of the natural cycle on the Green River.
Conservancy scientists believed that the flow and related water temperature alterations associated with the dam were causing serious problems for the Green River's mussels and fishes. During a time when the river's flow would naturally have been low and the water?s temperature warm, the large dam releases in autumn created a sustained high flow in the river, nearly filling its channel, with unseasonably cold water. Conservancy scientists were concerned that these prolonged, out-of-season high flows were harmful to fish spawning and mussel reproduction occurring during this time.
The Corps and the Conservancy agreed to change dam operations to improve conditions for aquatic life while continuing to meet human demands for water. They began by raising the level of the reservoir in the winter by about a meter. By reducing the difference between the summer and winter levels, there was no need to capture as much water in the spring or release as much in the autumn. This collaborative solution met the needs of multiple stakeholders. Downstream landowners were not adversely affected as reservoir releases during crop season remained unchanged. Moreover, certain flood control benefits were improved and the recreational period on the reservoir has been extended by six weeks. Fishing is also expected to improve downstream of Green River Dam as the river returns to a more natural state.
The Future of the Green River
Although the long-term ecological effect of the dam?s re-operation is still being studied, one promising sign has been an increase in the abundance and diversity of native mussels found at a site close to the dam. In addition, National Park Service scientists are also encouraged by improved hydrological conditions seen downstream within Mammoth Cave. Since the Green River feeds into through the Mammoth Cave System, the health and flows of the river have a direct influence on the cave?s aquatic communities.
J.P. Woodley, Assistant Secretary for the Army Corps, who toured the Green recently, summarized the collaboration between the Conservancy and the Army Corps. ?We know so much more now about how healthy rivers function than we did decades ago when this country built most of its dams. This collaboration on the Green River demonstrates the work we need to do across the country to sustain the national treasures that are our rivers.?
About The Green River
The Green River is Kentucky's crown jewel of river systems and a national treasure of biodiversity. Located in south central Kentucky, the Green River Bioreserve consists of the upper Green River, its tributaries, and portions of Mammoth Cave National Park, comprising a watershed of about 1,350 square miles. Since 1998, the Conservancy has been working on the Green River to improve water quality and aquatic habitat through community-based conservation efforts and various local, state, federal and private partnerships.
The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.
Campbellsville, KY ? For the first time, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has decided to permanently change the way it operates one of its dams to benefit wildlife. The Corps and The Nature Conservancy announced today that a three year experiment to help restore the ecologically significant Green River in Kentucky is now standard practice. Water releases out of the Green River Dam have been permanently changed to meet the needs of people and the plants, animals and fishes that rely on the Green.
?The Green River is blessed with natural beauty and an incredible array of rare mussels and fish species, even though we?ve lost a lot of what we once had,? said Mike Turner, Chief, Environmental Resources of the Army Corps Louisville District. ?By returning the Green to a more natural flow, we can help the river recover. We?ve also shown that we can do so without any adverse effect on flood storage or recreation at Green River reservoir.?
Brian Richter, director of the Conservancy?s Sustainable Waters Program and co-author of Rivers for Life, praised the Army Corps? decision.
?This is a landmark event in our relationship with the Army Corps,? Richter said. ?Our collaboration on the Green River has evolved from a pilot project into a lasting partnership that is helping transform the way dams are operated, not only in the U.S. but internationally.?
Collaboration between the Conservancy and the Army Corps on the Green River led to the creation of the Sustainable Rivers Project ? a joint effort to restore rivers by returning them to a more natural flow pattern. Since 2002, the project has grown to involve 26 Corps dams on nine river systems. The ultimate goal of the Sustainable Rivers Project is to see ecological sustainability incorporated into the operation of all 630 Corps dams, more than a third of which are located on rivers identified as conservation priorities by the Conservancy. The Sustainable Rivers Project is the centerpiece of the partnership between the Corps and the Conservancy, which are respectively the world?s largest conservation organization and the world?s oldest and one of the largest water management agencies.
About the Green River Project
The Green River harbors one of the most diverse assemblages of fish and freshwater mussels in the United States. More than 150 fish species and more than 70 mussel species have been found in the river, which is also connected to and supports a host of cave-adapted species within Mammoth Cave National Park, the world?s most extensive known cave system.
?More than one-third of the fish species in the Green River are considered rare, threatened, or endangered at the state or federal level,? said Richie Kessler, project director for The Nature Conservancy?s Green River project. ?In fact, fourteen mussel species have disappeared from the river in recent decades. This decline in freshwater species is in part attributed to the lock and dam structures on the river.?
Built in 1969 to provide flood control and recreational benefits, the 43-meter-high Green River Dam completely plugs the river, controlling every drop of water moving downstream from almost 800 square miles above the dam. The Corps' dam operators then release water out of the reservoir through a multi-level outlet works and concrete conduit.
An analysis by Conservancy scientists revealed that the Corps was releasing water from the reservoir in a way that resembled natural flows during much of the year. But during the autumn, a considerable volume of water was being released in order to prepare to capture winter floods and this was not a part of the natural cycle on the Green River.
Conservancy scientists believed that the flow and related water temperature alterations associated with the dam were causing serious problems for the Green River's mussels and fishes. During a time when the river's flow would naturally have been low and the water?s temperature warm, the large dam releases in autumn created a sustained high flow in the river, nearly filling its channel, with unseasonably cold water. Conservancy scientists were concerned that these prolonged, out-of-season high flows were harmful to fish spawning and mussel reproduction occurring during this time.
The Corps and the Conservancy agreed to change dam operations to improve conditions for aquatic life while continuing to meet human demands for water. They began by raising the level of the reservoir in the winter by about a meter. By reducing the difference between the summer and winter levels, there was no need to capture as much water in the spring or release as much in the autumn. This collaborative solution met the needs of multiple stakeholders. Downstream landowners were not adversely affected as reservoir releases during crop season remained unchanged. Moreover, certain flood control benefits were improved and the recreational period on the reservoir has been extended by six weeks. Fishing is also expected to improve downstream of Green River Dam as the river returns to a more natural state.
The Future of the Green River
Although the long-term ecological effect of the dam?s re-operation is still being studied, one promising sign has been an increase in the abundance and diversity of native mussels found at a site close to the dam. In addition, National Park Service scientists are also encouraged by improved hydrological conditions seen downstream within Mammoth Cave. Since the Green River feeds into through the Mammoth Cave System, the health and flows of the river have a direct influence on the cave?s aquatic communities.
J.P. Woodley, Assistant Secretary for the Army Corps, who toured the Green recently, summarized the collaboration between the Conservancy and the Army Corps. ?We know so much more now about how healthy rivers function than we did decades ago when this country built most of its dams. This collaboration on the Green River demonstrates the work we need to do across the country to sustain the national treasures that are our rivers.?
About The Green River
The Green River is Kentucky's crown jewel of river systems and a national treasure of biodiversity. Located in south central Kentucky, the Green River Bioreserve consists of the upper Green River, its tributaries, and portions of Mammoth Cave National Park, comprising a watershed of about 1,350 square miles. Since 1998, the Conservancy has been working on the Green River to improve water quality and aquatic habitat through community-based conservation efforts and various local, state, federal and private partnerships.
The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.
