10 Most Endangered Rivers

American Rivers is the only national organization standing up for healthy rivers so our communities can thrive. Through national advocacy, innovative solutions and our growing network of strategic partners, we protect and promote our rivers as valuable community assets that are vital to our health, safety and quality of life. Founded in 1973, American Rivers has more than 65,000 members and online supporters nationwide, with offices in Washington, DC and the Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, Midwest, Southeast, California and Northwest regions..

#5 White Salmon River (Washington): For almost a century, Condit Dam in Washington State has cut off salmon and steelhead from an important Columbia River tributary. With the facility producing only a small amount of power, dam owner PacificCorp has agreed to remove it, but the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has yet to approve the deal. With so much hanging in the balance, the White Salmon is one of the Most Endangered Rivers of 2007.

#6 Neches River (Texas): One of the last wild rivers in Texas is facing destruction at the hands of state lawmakers, the city of Dallas, and a Texas state agency that are poised to erase millions of dollars in economic activity, hunting heritage that stretches back generations, and Texas’ newest wildlife refuge. If these lawmakers get their way, a dam could soon choke the Neches River under the Fastrill Reservoir, for a dam that is completely unnecessary.

#7 Kinnickinnic River (Wisconsin): The Kinnickinnic River gathers up a heavy load of problems as it flows through the heart of Milwaukee. But none is more pressing than the accumulation of toxic sediments that are choking the river and flowing out into Lake Michigan. Due to the pollution, sedimentation, low water levels, and the negative impact on Lake Michigan, the Kinnickinnic River has been named one of the most endangered in America.

White Salmon< WA

#8 Neuse River (North Carolina): As rivers go, North Carolina’s Neuse is a tough one. But with more than a million people and two million hogs – and woefully inadequate sewage treatment in place for both – in the Neuse Basin, it is a river in deep trouble. More than a million new residents are expected to move into the area in the next two decades. This exploding growth will push the Neuse past the breaking point unless the state seizes the opportunity this year to control existing sewage pollution in the river and prevent new arrivals from adding to the problem.

#9 Lee Creek (Arkansas, Oklahoma): One of Arkansas’ great natural treasures is facing the prospect of drowning, and one in every six of the state’s rivers could be at risk along with it. Lee Creek is a picturesque vacation destination for thousands of people every year and an economic engine for local economies all across Northwest Arkansas. A local water district is trying to trade all of that away for an unnecessary dam that will not only destroy the creek, but will open many of Arkansas’ most treasured rivers and streams to similar obliteration.

#10 Chuitna River (Alaska): Insatiable demand for coal throughout Asia has driven demand into some unlikely places, even into the headwaters of Alaska’s pristine Chuitna River. Even in a state known for wild salmon and wild country, the Chuitna is special, producing some of Alaska’s largest king salmon. A massive, proposed coal mine threatens the Chuitna, with plans to dump millions of gallons of mine waste a day into the river’s tributaries and wreck more than 30 square miles of the river’s headwaters.