Rivers Reborn · Episode 8 of 12 · 35 min
The Eastern Ghost: The Lesson the West Ignored
A century before the West dammed its rivers, New England's mill dams had already wiped the Atlantic salmon out of the Connecticut and the Merrimack. The lesson was on the books. The episode asks why it did not carry west and weighs three readings fairly, ignorance, indifference or greed, without a tidy verdict.
Who's who
- Spencer BairdHead of the U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries from 1871
- Ulysses S. Grant+8 more episodesPresident who created the federal fisheries commission
Where it happens
- Connecticut River, MassachusettsFlagship salmon extinction after dams like Turners Falls
- Merrimack River, Lowell and Lawrence, MassachusettsTextile mill dams cut off the salmon
- Penobscot River, MaineLast stronghold of U.S. Atlantic salmon
Timeline
- 1798First mainstem Connecticut River dam near Turners Falls completed.
- 1820sConnecticut River salmon run effectively gone.
- Mid-1840sGreat Stone Dam at Lawrence blocks the Merrimack; salmon extirpated.
- 1871-1872Federal fisheries commission created; American fisheries science is born.
Still debated
How to weigh ignorance, indifference and greed, and at what dates, is left open. A strong case holds that no channel existed for the Merrimack's lesson to reach Columbia engineers, so 'they should have known' may be hindsight.
← PreviousCeremony of Tears: The Drowning of Celilo FallsNext →The Turn: How Dam Removal Became Possible
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