List of dam removals in the United States

Condit Dam, Washington, United States

• 1973 - Lewiston Dam, South Fork Clearwater River, Idaho – The 39 ft (12 m) dam was built in 1927 as a hydroelectric facility, but lacked fish ladders. Upon completion of the Lower Granite Dam and its reservoir, the lack of gradient on the river made it obsolete. Its removal improved salmon runs on the river.
• 1997 - Marie Dorian Dam, Walla Walla River, Oregon – The 8 ft (2.4 m) dam blocked passage to Pacific Salmon and steelhead into the Blue Mountains from the Columbia Basin.
• 1998 - 2001 - Waterworks, Oak Street, LaValle, and Linen Mill Dams, Baraboo River, Wisconsin – Opened 120 miles of Wisconsin River tributary to fish and wildlife.
• 1999 - Edwards Dam, Kennebec River, Maine – Built in 1837, the 24 ft (7.3 m) dam blocked access to Atlantic Salmon and American Shad. This was a landmark case in which a U.S. federal agency, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, required the decommissioning and removal of a dam against the operator's wishes.
• 2004 - Embrey Dam, Rappahannock River, Virginia - On February 23, 2004 the 22-foot-tall, 770-foot-long, 1910 hydroelectric Embrey Dam was demolished, using 600 lbs of explosives, by divers from an engineering detachment at Fort Eustis. The aim of removal was to re-open miles of spawning grounds to aid populations of American Shad, herring, catadromous American eel, and other species. The historical character of the Ambursen-type reinforced concrete structure required a parallel documentation and (partial) preservation project by industrial archeologists. In 2008 longtime U.S. Senator from Virginia John Warner described the removal of Embrey Dam as the "proudest achievement in his legislative career."
• 2004 - Cuddebackville Dam, Neversink River, New York - Built in two portions dating from the 1820s (for water diversion into a canal) and 1915 (for hydroelectric power), the dam had been abandoned since 1945. The dam was removed in October 2004 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in a novel partnership with the Nature Conservancy, to benefit the aquatic life in the area, specifically the Dwarf Wedge Mussel and the American Shad.
• 2007 - Marmot Dam, Sandy River, Oregon – The removal of this 50 ft (15 m) dam by Portland General Electric has been extremely successful at improving access for Pacific Salmon and steelhead to the upper Sandy River watershed up into the Mount Hood Wilderness.
• 2008 – Fossil Creek Dam, Fossil Creek, Arizona - Built in 1916, this dam supported hydroelectric power production. In 2008, the dam was removed to restore flow, travertine deposition, and native fish populations.
• 2008 - Milltown Dam, Missoula, Montana - Dam held startling levels of toxic sediments from 100 years of mining and logging. Removal improved water quality, trout habitat, and the general ecological condition of the watershed.
• 2009 - Savage Rapids Dam, Rogue River, Oregon – Built for agricultural water diversion, it was removed by the Bureau of Reclamation due to its out-dated facilities and non-functioning fish ladders that prevented fish migration past the dam.
• 2011 - Condit Dam, White Salmon River, Washington – The 123 ft (37 m) dam blocked access for Pacific Salmon and steelhead runs on 33 miles (53 km) of river. PacifiCorp proposed to remove the dam, rather than paying for fish passage upgrades. Removal was proposed in 2006, but actions from Skamania and Klickitat counties held up the process. In fall 2008, salmon were trucked up above to dam to allow them to spawn higher up the river. In October 2011, PacifiCorp contractors used explosives to blow a 15-foot (4.6 m) hole in the dam to drain its reservoir and allow young salmon to enter the Columbia River and head to sea.
• 2012 - Elwha and Glines Canyon Dams, Elwha River, Washington – The largest dam removal project in history is the Elwha Ecosystem Restoration project on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington. Starting in 2012, and finishing in 2014, the 108 ft (33 m) Elwha Dam and the 210 ft (64 m) Glines Canyon Dam were removed to restore stocks of Pacific Salmon and trout species to the Elwha River watershed. The removal of these blockades allows migratory salmon to travel past the dam sites and upriver, an event that has not occurred since the dams' creation in 1913. After spawning there, the salmon die and their carcasses decompose, releasing marine nutrients laid down in their bodies as they fed in the open ocean. This reintroduction provides a valuable research opportunity for interested parties. Since the dam removal, reservoir beds that looked like moonscapes have returned to vibrant rich habitat. Within a year of the Elwha Dam removal, an increase in salmon-derived nutrients was documented in the American dipper.
• 2012 - Great Works Dam, Penobscot River, Maine. Removed as part of the Penobscot River Restoration Project.
• 2012 - Brown Bridge Dam, Boardman River, Michigan. Removed as part of the Boardman River Dams Ecosystem Restoration Project after hydropower from the dam was decommissioned in 2005.
• 2013 - Veazie Dam, Penobscot River, Maine. Removed as part of the Penobscot River Restoration Project.
• 2015 - San Clemente Dam, Carmel River, California. This 106 ft dam was deemed unsafe back in 1992 by the Department of Water Resources. The dam was no longer serving its use by supplying water to the Monterey Peninsula and blocked steelhead from spawning upstream.
• 2017 - Boardman Dam, Boardman River, Michigan. Removed as part of the Boardman River Dams Ecosystem Restoration Project after hydropower from the dam was decommissioned in 2005.
• 2018 - Sabin Dam, Boardman River, Michigan. Removed as part of the Boardman River Dams Ecosystem Restoration Project after hydropower from the dam was decommissioned in 2005.