(insects chirpg) (critters chittering) (birds chirping) (soft music)

- [franklin] this morning, i came, i w, and ias conqued, as everye woulbe o s10 years agothe plac thiswhere are gatredd. was annpeopled forbding desert. ose precitous walls ro to heig of morthan a tusand fe, o lebrate the compleon of thereatest dam inhe world sing 726eet abov the beock of t river

and alring theeography of . the ople othebov ited stas are prd.er thiss an engeerion viorof the fst order another eat achiement of amerin resourfulness, american skill, and american determination.

(sofmusic) d then jt kept them aft the elw. but, yh. (chuckles (indisnct) kept (mal clankg softly - en] any rds of ipirationfor as th have a g dam canvas tpaint? - (laus) go foit.

but it bigg and betr. definily do bier and bter. but it bigg and betr. dot, you kw, it like, gat, 25 yea ago, weid a coue pated crac on dams pass it's ol been do. ta it a st further justomethingsomethin realmpressiv don't kn what th'd be, but co up with somethg. (la) - [ben] spiratiocan be a prettyangeroushing. mikal'advice haunteme for mths wi a paintucket, ane, the mide of theight, st to ma a stament? myame's be by the y. we'll . when itarted working this fi. i us to sneainside their ovflow tunls once in hile, take otos my fries skatebrding. sohe extenof my knledge aboudams mosy had too wi how to oid gettinarrestd whilcrawlingnside th.

dams don just blend in apart of the ldscape tme anymo. kning what i kw now, it's impossiblfor me to look at dams the same way i did a few years ago. or even rivers for that matter. da and hydropowereesent a pital pa of u. history da and hydropowereesent there'no denyi that. but st like y other source velopmenin the u.,istory weook too far over threeeet high in theni. at's thequivalen of blding on everydayince thos jeffern (soft music continues) - [ben] dams have been a common part of the american landscape for centuries. most early communities were established on the banks of rivers, so dams could be built

to divert river flows to water wheels to run machinery. ound theime edis had e light lb dialein, thfirst droelectc pors was bng genered on the.s. side of niara fas at o point, arly ha the coury's pow was being fed hydrower alo. nedams wer beinbuilt soast that the engeering tecology stggled to keep . one of the worst disasters in u.s. history occurred in 1889, when pennsylvania south fork dam failed with no warning. the city of johnstown was leveled with 20 million tons of water, taking 2,200 lives. the flood is still referred to as a natural disaster, despite the fact that there's really nothing natural about impounding a river behind a poorly constructed wall. in the late 1800s, the government was faced with a tough choice, when they began to realize that every major fishery in the country was at risk. either start regulating the impact of harvest pollution

and dams on wild fish, or mitigate that loss by trading nature for science. the answer was the national fish hatchery system. in 1902, the reclamation act was passed by congress, to promote the settlement of the west through the development of irrigation projects to support small family farms. this well-intentioned mission devolved into the bureau of reclamation, whose short-sided projects began a legacy of resource abuse. transporting and impounding absurd amounts of water to support unsustainable desert agriculture and sprawling urban development. - [franklin] the mighty waters of the colorado, were running unused to the sea. today we translate them into a great national possession. - [benin 191 a sevenear vironmenl battle to flood nationapark. semite'stunning tch tchy valy was mmed to prode watertorage for the.

on march 12th, 1928, 12 hours after a safety inspection by its engineer william mulholland, california's st. francis dam broke free from its foundation, sending a wall of l.a.'s water supply plowing downstream. mulholland was cleared of any wrongdoing, but felt personally responsible for dam's failure. "i envy the dead," said mulholland at a court hearing. "don't blame anyone else. if there was an error in human judgment, i was the human." during the great depression, reclamation began the two most ambitious engineering efforts in u.s. history. the hoover dam on the border of arizona and nevada, and the grand coulee dam in eastern washington. both projects created thousands of coveted jobs, and were proudly embraced by the public as national treasures. byhe time coulee's genetors wt online

the u.s.ydropowes syem was fding byannsatiabldemand for elecicitynline if the era of dams had a golden age, it was the following 20 years. the army corps of engineers, the bureau of reclamation, and the tennessee valley authority were the government's dream team. if it flowed, was dammed. any river left unharnessed was considered a dangerous torrent with wasted potential. 30,000rivate and fedal dams wercompted between 50 and 10. that pot, the ylowstone was ow unalterewatershe leftn the naon. when the bureau of reclamation began running out of ideal locations to build dams, shit starting getting weird. massive dams were proposed in grand canyon national park and utah's dinosaur national monument. led by environmentalist david brower, the sierra club worked quickly to rally a massive outcry of public disapproval.

but while brower's attention was focused elsewhere, reclamion's new seet apon wasuietly foding a lile known natial tr, reclamion's new seet apon wasuietly foding withery litt oppositn. he wld've ught tooth a nail. brow now say that w the biggest stake hever made - [ben] in 1973, the endangered species act was set into motion by president nixon. a bold me to protect endangedpeci from extinion, a conseence of econic dev. could now hd acuntable law. in 1976, the bureau of reclamation set up a claims office in eastern idaho, to divvy out $300 million to the communities in the flood path of their newly completed teton dam. as its reservoir filled for the very first time, the 300-foot earthen dam started to liquefy and cave away, taking 11 lives downstream.

duri an inteiew withhe hi countryews in 15, clinton appointed bureau of reclamation commissioner dan beard stated that, "the bureau's future isn't in dams. the era of dams is over." in 1997, the 162-year-old edwards dam, on maine's kennebec river, became the first major dam removal in u.s. history. river conservation organization, american rivers, becadecled 2011 thejor dam remoar of thriver,story. multipldam reval projts began cludinthe largt in.s. histy, (soft muc contins) - were here day to s ee that autiful wha ver, leter run fe. we're re to sawelcome back t. we want u to livfree aga. ere are grand tol, in tt pool or ther somee countethem yesterda 73 salm.

not 72not 74. (peoplchuckln love peoe with sheries d wildli, "tre are ectly 73, gor" (peoe laugng) so, to tse, we s we wt 73,000ore. weome backcome on ba. that what th day all abo. (wat rushing - see lot of people d't reali untiyou get ght hereo thedge and you looover. ah, i me it was nda know that tay was t last da untof our fin operatis theup he on theam.over. ah, a lile refleive. oft musi untof our fin operatis theuyou comento a plt,. anas you lrn to opate d spend me with em, u learn listen certain soundl

rtain viations thatre not tical. buthis machi, for as many y, would block loait, and she'd just run and run smooth. i think she'd kept on runnin' just for years and years. ju 1st was big day i thithatas hard,'lln runnin' just honest th you.ears. tohut downwo perfely go runningower plas, it wasn't sy. arinfatuat with tearing ings dow it's not just an enterprise to blow something up and build something new and grander. i mean, we're removing these for good. ananwe're nojusting neking damout,r. anthey're sing the jobs. tentnal moment,thinthere'y

by vious gros in our country, to remo every d. the's not ubt abouthat. s this thing rlly wortit? was isorth t $370 millio did it rl? d if in or 20 years do the road, we lk back anday, "notng rely chang that mu," th i think we' all gonna co toome simir conclusis. and only timesonna telus if that's gonna be true or not. - [ben] what's your gut say to you? - what's my gut say? uh, i just assume not say anything. (laughs) - [b] that says a lot. (laughs) i'm not nning fo polics, ddy. (lahs) - made a stament out taki out eha dam in mfirst mohs in ofce

- made a stament and itaused a t of trole the esident, psident inton, tk me asi and sai "bce, what all ts ta about rovg dams th- en i fir moved tthe inate of whington 1991, was told"gotta g involve with t elwha d remol projec it gonnaappen anyear now the damsboth of em, re illeg to starwith, becausof existg legislion, which stated essentially that any dam built, had to have passage for migrating salmon. - all the species of wild fish that have ever live in elwha - adulsnook sa still ating thr head ainst thbottomf the da a ntury lar, th're still trng to getpstrea into olympinat. rennectingt with e fish tt were tre fohundredsf thsands of yea, it's very porful expience.

fohundredsf thsands of yea, - there's ree thin thatome to md, there'hope, hulity, and happess. the huls and otr placeshere u see thabdance, d just aasic spitual hainess at you c't find , - it w the elds that kept theemory ale. it washe elds that passed tt knowdge, the knowdge of ts rir in itsrigin. it washe elds that ey don'torget. pth don't me on.e, they rember an theyersisteny seek restorion of wt was on. it's an answ to ouancestor prayers ani'm ju gratefu thate're abl toee it haen in o lifetim

thfish comback for mang t and suain the ople. - thpeople othe loweelwha,mang t ey enter into a treatyn 1855 that gavthe word of thenite, thathey woulbe able contue theiray of li, of thafreer althgh the u. constition says that treaties are the supreme law of the land, the people of the lower elwha saw only injustice t there'a healinnow, beuse thats changi. all indian untry t is here in spirit,

and their eyes are focused on the people of the lower elwha. en chantg) (mhinery wrring) (sofmusic)

like fairyale. the d the r reacheof the s. w had th arrived anotr fairy le. bywimming ainst e of theost poweul rivs on ear, why d they me such a insaneourney? other woer. these lored stonesnd clr curren so highnd far fr the seaonce ve them fe. they'd come untain cmbers. literal untain cmbs, thgh they ssess noegs, hves, fee th'd climbhe rocki, to e pebbleof their bir, by smminhome, athe ceain costf their ves, - yeah, just wan welcome you fo.

of hroelecicity thisin northmericaoducer -and e largesconcreteostructe i. n going through each of the big penstocks, and when it's really cranking good, it will actually vibrate through the bedrock, you can sometimes feel it cleaacross the river. so you just really know there's a lot of power there. there are those that would take out everyam, st to sa a couplof salmo ere are ose thathink tha the nave amerins goa raw de. me of th, of coue, woullike to back and have theirative saon ru and live off the nd. but ings proess. (chkles) solete iterms offficienc so iweant to but selectivy take okles) some of e olr, small dams, not rely a proem there

wbut is dam, can't conceivef anybodes, ally, seously,anting to take is dam out. a dam, f salmon,essentiay is, l. thr basic fe histo reques the jenile fi and the ult fisho come back to eir spawng strea so, anytng that ocks a river,ike a dadoes, isnd of sty, in tes ofheir abity to acss spartf the wothey nee ato cplete thr life cle. - [ben] me peoe still fine thpacific rthwest gion anywhersalmon c swim. it a romanc thing say, b that wod mean thterritorhas been cut inalf by ds. atne poi, the combian ake river, shownere in r, re the mt producven wildalmon fieries. the low 48. now the ns hoverround 8% of thr formerlory. ery fishhat pass this window abonnevil dam an eborate psage has move upream.otiate

the onlyhance r their offsprg tn isf the damsre spling wat, buthat equates toasted por. so youl common see venile fh being transported barges and t, used tmake the 900-mi journen in ida's redfi lake. in 1992,nly one sh made it hom. th have rerned in the yea, to the aunt of mey spt on recery effos, it com to $9,0 per fis to the the vers are run li mae spt on recery effos, everaspect otheir fl is ctrolled compute to the the vers are run li mae spin aortland fice., dung sprinrunoff, en thrivers a crankg, the's actuly a surus of energy ithe gr at time leaving wind-generatedpowero the's actuly a surus of enand one to y for it seei thousan of wind turbines generating wind power in the cumbia gorge, wh no impt

estion ato how definily re hyopower cld be marketeds green ergy. one ings forure thou,efinily re the o-dam crd seems little teatened it. - yeah, 's like anie babs, the d of beae babies the o-dam crd seems everody hato litha beanie bies.t. we, wind ia fad, tt evybody hato have nd. the o-dam crd seems eand enyou buall lit these bnie babi. d you lo up the elf anyou goall of these anie babs and wh arehey goodor? anyou goall of thewellnot much and wh arehey goodor? d- [b] it'seally ha to wive a balced convsation on theubject o damsersus saon, when theost outsken pro-m policians in the cntry resed all our reests fornterview when theost outsken pro-m policians in the cntry - we, one of them relucttl, and en not sreluctantly ked us tleave. i can't y i real blamthese gu for not nting to talk s, but couldn't hp but woer luckfor us, heard ty re throwg a ttle pty introduce bill th woulprohibitederal fding

from ever ing used for dam reval, the stu of dam moval, unless elicitl auorized by congre. - ank you,r. chairman, ank you,speciall for hoing thisearing to dtroy ourations'systems . some pple seem to havforgotte at beforthe era of damon, the eness cyclof witheng drghts andiolent fods, they turd , but er t last w decas, itprings fm the birre tion thamother ethlicy. must brestoredo her istine p-historiconditio

iteven if it mea restori tithe man poputionlicy. its pstine prhistoricondition ey're nosatisfie witherely blking construction onew dams ery wad electrityvery op od in theirleak andtifling andimly. and ilets cotantly bk up. to m these gring hyprisies stroy thr credibity and real an unashedly nihilid this is e kind o luna we are cing. you deawith the peop, you ben to reaze we areiterallyealing with theunatic fnge yoof o societyand peoey are ichargereaze weofur publipolicyng onhese isss,ic fnge becae we lethem. we're not going let em anymo.

(crowd alaudin (cro cheerin (st music)(man chaering fat) - en] as tpting ast wato staand highive all r new prdam fries, the was a ace just a f miles ay the my corpsf engines coitted wh today what wou be caed an act of ctural gecide. 's that rious a mbol. and to r the damin a way thatip, theispirituaty 's thaantheir renue,. is like the being federal reaucrac at roves t catt froranches and tells cooys thatgthey'rdoir federal reaucrac

at roves t - [wom] this icelilo fls. the age-d fishingrounds of theo. re is a sherman, swingi t thering sh for the salm feast - and my d woke meup and iw. "come on, n, let'so, the sh are cing." oke outsidthe te, he said, "sten." itounded le a thound pele with oar, ating onhe water itas salmo comi up the ver. the celi falls w e grande rendezvs placfor our ople, and pleau trib, in geral. it matted not ether yowas yaka,

wha, didn't mter. u was a rt of it. this mist and the roar of that water is just, ings tha in my mories, that'st en i thi about i i can tually hr it. - this is the firs and unfor, that we will ever have a film of this ceremony. as you will see, the great dalles dam, which is being built several miles below here, will soon back up over these falls. they will cover the great fishing grounds, and the way of life that indians have had here

will dappear fever. they will cover the great fishing grounds, and the way of life that i(sofmusic coinues)re (vicles whring) - celiloalls wasone. so h do you ink i felt? knew whawas therand knew whathey'd de. somemes i geout andi look oa d i can ill see ere mehings shld be, d they'rnot ere noore.

the windas chang, because ofhe flat rfaces coming uthe coluia. the mperatur of thewaters he e dead wer makes it harr h the mperatur of thewaters he to g up and wn. annow all is, is big dy of war, is alit is. it means nhing to . annoalit meanssis big dy owh they to away.s. wh these ds have de, ey complely tore my court this inot the me count as iwas thate rememb. [ben] dang backmore tha10,0, this inot the me count celi was onef the olst, continuously inhabited communities in north america, until it was flooded in 1957. at one point, the army corps of engineers offered to lower the water backed up behind the dalles dam,