Horse Creek Dam

There have been numerous dams removed throughout America especially in the last decade. One dam in California, Horse Creek Dam, was built in 1969 and is located on Horse Creek approximately 850 feet upstream from the Sisquoc River confluence within the Los Padres National Forest, San Rafael Wilderness Area, and Sisquoc River Wild and Scenic River Corridor (Stoecker, 2005). The dam was built after the Wellman fire, of which was very large, this dam was intended to block the debris and prevent flooding that would occur downstream in the following years. The dam was actually never functional after the first year of being built because of the volume of debris resulting from the fire (Stoecker T. B., 2011). Although this was a dam that didn’t have the easiest access, it was imperative that something needed to be done about it. The main reason surrounding the destruction of this dam is to dramatically improve the upstream salmonid habitat (Stoecker, 2005). The fish wouldn’t be the only species benefiting from the dam removal. Just as with any other area where dam removal occurs, much of the other life would gain from this such as providing water for more plants, other fish, snakes, animals that feed at streams etc. (Stoecker T. B., 2011). This project was funded in part through the partnership between NOAA Community-based Restoration Program and American Rivers (Map of US dam Removals 1936-2013). The project was initiated by Matt Stoecker and Michael Love and Associates (Stoecker, 2005). In my research, it was not apparent to me that there was an further concerns at this time, but the need for rain so the Steelhead can travel upstream more efficiently.

                                    Works Cited

Map of US dam Removals 1936-2013. (n.d.). Retrieved July 12, 2014, from American Rivers: <http://www.americanrivers.org/initiatives/dams/dam-removals-map/>

Michael Love and Associates, I. (2005, September 7). California.

Stoecker, M. W. (2005). http://www.stoeckerecological.com/reports/HorseDamHabitatReport.pdf. Retrieved July 12, 2014

Stoecker, T. B. (Director). (2011). Horse Creek Damolition - Restoring Steelhead with Dam Removal [Motion Picture].