When you think about the word “infrastructure,” what comes to mind? Roads, bridges, dams? What about rivers, wetlands, floodplains? This natural infrastructure provides clean water, flood protection and resilience in the face of climate change. How can we do a better job investing in our most valuable natural infrastructure — our rivers?

One way is by removing more dams. Yesterday we released our annual report on dams removed in United States. We’re thrilled to announce that 2019 was a record-breaking year: 90 dams came down 26 states!

Removing dams is about more than dynamite and backhoes. It’s about more than tearing things down. It’s about building things up by restoring rivers and reassembling the building blocks of a healthy ecosystem.

So let’s celebrate today and get back to work tomorrow — there are many challenges still on the horizon and we are grateful for your support!

For the rivers,