Dam, Dam, Dam

Two things inspired this song. The first was a joke a student made when I played at his school. "What did the fish say when he hit his head? Dam!" The second thing was the removal of the Bloede Dam in 2018 - 2019 on the Patapsco River in Maryland's Patapsco Valley State Park.

Since 1988, the Chesapeake Bay Program (a partnership of federal, state, and local governments and non-governmental organizations) has opened over 30,526 miles to fish passage through dam removals and other projects. The program focuses on opening up river miles for fish migration and spawning, with the goal of opening 132 miles every two years. Most of the 2.5 million dams in the United States aren’t needed anymore. Their ongoing maintenance is more expensive than their removal would be.

Removing dams reconnects up and downstream ecosystems. It opens up essential migration paths for fish, especially anadromous fish, and helps improve water quality. It restores river continuity and aquatic habitats. Rivers become cooler and more oxygen-rich. Once a dam is removed the river restores itself.